The Office for Budget Responsibility has quietly confirmed what we've seen in our own data for months: more than one in ten higher-rate taxpayers are not claiming the pension tax relief they're legally owed.
The admission was buried in technical forecasting notes on salary sacrifice contributions — not exactly front-page reading. But the implication is significant. If you earn over £50,270 and pay into a workplace pension like NEST, People's Pension or Aviva, there's a better than 10% chance HMRC is sitting on money that belongs to you right now.
And with the 2021/22 tax year expiring on 5th April 2026, the window to claim it is closing fast.
What the OBR Actually Said
In a supplementary forecast release published this week, the OBR assumed that "10 per cent of higher-rate and additional-rate relief from relief at source schemes is unclaimed." They used this figure to model future tax receipts — effectively treating unclaimed relief as a permanent windfall for the Treasury.
In plain English: the government knows people aren't claiming. They've budgeted for it.
Why Does This Happen?
It's not laziness. It's a system design problem.
If your pension is a Relief at Source scheme — which includes NEST (13 million members), People's Pension, Aviva, Scottish Widows, Legal & General and many others — here's what happens:
- Your contributions are taken from your pay after income tax
- Your pension provider automatically claims back 20% basic-rate relief from HMRC
- If you're a higher-rate taxpayer (earning over £50,270), you're entitled to 40% total relief
- That extra 20%? Nobody claims it for you. Not your employer. Not NEST. Not HMRC.
You have to claim it yourself — either through Self Assessment or by writing to HMRC directly. Most people simply don't know this step exists.
Your employer handles payroll, not your personal tax position. Your pension provider manages investments, not your tax affairs. HMRC knows you're owed money, but their position is that it's your responsibility to ask for it.
The result is billions of pounds sitting unclaimed.
The Numbers Are Not Small
The average PensionReclaim customer claims back £3,000–£4,000. Some claims exceed £6,000.
Here's what the maths looks like in practice:
| Salary | Pension Contribution (5%) | Years Claimable | Estimated Refund | |--------|--------------------------|-----------------|------------------| | £55,000 | £2,750/yr | 4 years | ~£2,200 | | £65,000 | £3,250/yr | 4 years | ~£2,600 | | £80,000 | £4,000/yr | 4 years | ~£3,200 | | £100,000 | £5,000/yr | 4 years | ~£4,000 |
This isn't a tax loophole or aggressive planning. It's standard tax relief that Parliament explicitly legislated for under Section 192 of the Finance Act 2004. The only unusual thing about it is that you have to ask.
The 5th April Deadline Is Real
Under the Taxes Management Act 1970, you can claim for the current tax year plus the previous four tax years. Each April, the oldest year permanently drops off.
On 5th April 2026, the 2021/22 tax year expires.
If you've been in a Relief at Source pension since 2021 and haven't claimed, you have 12 days to act. After that, whatever you were owed for 2021/22 is gone permanently — HMRC keeps it.
How to Check if You're Owed Money
The quickest way is our free calculator. Enter your salary, pension contribution rate and the years you've been contributing, and you'll see an estimate in under 60 seconds.
No registration required. No obligation to proceed.
If you already know you're eligible, you can go straight to claiming.
What Happens If You Do Nothing
The OBR has modelled this as permanent revenue for the Treasury. If you don't claim your 2021/22 relief before 5th April, that money stays with HMRC indefinitely.
There's no reminder letter. No automatic payment. No second chance.
The government isn't going to tell you this. Neither is your employer, your pension provider, or your payslip.
But now you know.
Check Your Eligibility Now
Use our free calculator to see how much pension tax relief you could claim back.
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