Taxation, pension schemes and stakeholder wealth

Platanakis, E. and Sutcliffe, C. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0187-487X (2020) Taxation, pension schemes and stakeholder wealth. Advances in Taxation, 27. pp. 125-158. ISSN 1058-7497 doi: 10.1108/S1058-749720200000027005

Abstract/Summary

Although tax relief on pensions is a controversial area of government expenditure, this is the first study of the tax effects for a real world defined benefit pension scheme. First, we estimate the tax and national insurance contribution (NIC) effects of the scheme’s change from final salary to career average revalued earnings (CARE) in 2011 on the gross and net wealth of the sponsor, government, and 16 age cohorts of members, deferred pensioners and pensioners. Second, we measure the size of the twelve income tax and NIC payments and reliefs for new members and the sponsor, before and after the rule changes. We find the total subsidy split is roughly 40% income tax subsidy; and 60% NIC subsidy. If lower tax rates in retirement and the risk premium effect of the exempt-exempt-taxed (EET) system are not viewed as a tax subsidy, the tax subsidy to members largely disappears. Any remaining subsidy drops, as a proportion of pension benefits, for high earners; as does that for NICs.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/id/eprint/85993
Identification Number/DOI	10.1108/S1058-749720200000027005
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Henley Business School > Finance and Accounting
Publisher	Emerald
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