The Chancellor is under fire as hundreds of thousands more pensioners are dragged into the income tax net, thanks to the triple lock and the personal allowance freeze
Soaring numbers of pensioners are set to get caught in the income tax net this year – without feeling any richer – as HMRC stats indicate 420,000 more pensioners will pay the tax in 2025-26. Nearly 8.7 million over-65s will be paying income tax, marking a 5% hike from the previous year.
The issue stems from the ex-Tory government’s move to anchor personal tax allowances at £12,570 from 2021 all the way through to possibly 2028 – a decision that Chancellor Rachel Reeves upheld in her inaugural Budget. This worrying threshold freeze pairs with state pension values climbing almost 30% thanks to the ‘triple lock’, and that means a substantial number of retirees will now hand over basic-rate tax cash at 20%, despite relying solely on state support.
Policy expert David Brooks from Broadstone cautioned in The Times: “While the country’s demographic shift naturally increases the number of pensioners liable for income tax, fiscal drag is unequivocally pulling hundreds of thousands more into the income tax bracket each year.”
In 2021, the full new state pension was at £9,332.20. By April, it had increased to £11,973 – just £597 short of the frozen personal allowance. The Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts that within two years, it will rise again to £12,885.50, surpassing the tax-free threshold by £315.50.
Wealth manager Quilter has warned that pensioners receiving the full entitlement – after 35 years of National Insurance contributions – would be taxed £63 a year on their pension alone, without considering any other income such as savings, dividends or rental returns.
Critics have long contended that this so-called ‘fiscal drag’ is a method for the Treasury to gather billions, without outright raising tax rates. Meanwhile, millions of workers are also being pulled into higher tax brackets. The number of Brits paying 40% higher-rate tax is predicted to reach 7.1 million this year, up from 5.1 million in 2022-23 – a 39% increase.
Even more remarkable perhaps is the surge in those paying the 45% top rate: 1.23 million people will surrender nearly half their earnings above £125,140 this year, more than double the 570,000 from just three years ago. The number of basic-rate taxpayers has also risen – from 28.8 million in 2022 to 30.8 million today.
Neela Chauhan, partner at accountancy firm UHY Hacker Young, said: “Though it might seem equitable for higher earners to be paying more tax, there are real concerns over the impacts of placing an ever higher tax burden on high earners.
“Increasing the tax burden too high could push these people to leave the country or deter talented people from moving to this country. There are already concerns of a ‘brain drain’ in the UK.”
Rachel Reeves has said the freeze on tax thresholds will end in 2028, however she is now under pressure to continue it through to 2030 in order to head off a black hole in government finances and stick to her fiscal rules.