If, like many of us, you’ve left filing your Self-Assessment to HMRC to the last minute, then it might not be too late to take advantage of these suggestions to boost your pension savings from online pension provider PensionBee.

Lisa Picardo, Chief Business Officer UK at PensionBee says: “For many, completing a tax return could unlock unexpected pension benefits. If you’ve changed jobs, started self-employment or entered a higher tax bracket, filing ensures you don’t leave valuable tax relief unclaimed.”

Here are three top tips from PensionBee to help convert tax liability into pension savings

       1.Higher earners can claim extra tax relief – but many don’t

Hundreds of billions of pounds each year are effectively being gifted to HMRC in unclaimed tax relief from higher and additional rate taxpayers.

That’s because only basic rate relief is added automatically to pension contributions by providers operating “relief at source” pension schemes. So, if you earn more than £50,270 and pay into a “relief at source” pension, you might need to fill out a Self-Assessment return to claim your extra tax relief – worth an estimated £425 on average for a higher rate taxpayer.

       2. Remember: tax relief on pension contributions from previous tax years can be carried forward

To claim tax relief on pension contributions, total contributions must be within certain limits: £60,000 for the 2023/24 tax year and £40,000 for 2022/23. However, savers who exceed the Annual Allowance can use the “carry forward” rule to apply unused allowances from the previous three tax years.

This can make a big difference if your income has varied significantly over the last few years.

        3. If you’re self-employed, your pension contributions can reduce your taxable income

Your contributions are treated as a personal, rather than a business expense and will directly reduce your taxable income. For example, if you earn £60,000 and make £10,000 in pension contributions, your taxable income is reduced to £50,000.

Unlike employees in workplace schemes, who typically receive automatic tax relief, self-employed individuals need to claim this relief actively – usually through Self-Assessment.

Make sure you’re saving enough for retirement!

Now might also be a good time to assess whether you are saving enough to ensure the retirement you’ve been planning for yourself.

Checking up on your RetireEasy LifePlan on an annual basis to ensure your plans remain on track, and don’t require adjustments to your savings or planned retirement date, is a hugely worthwhile exercise… and takes just minutes.

You can also run through a few different scenarios to check what might happen if you do make any changes: you’ll instantly be given a chart to show what difference that will make to how much you can afford to spend in each year of your retirement.

If your subscription has lapsed, or you aren’t yet a RetireEasy subscriber, it costs just a few pounds a month to ensure you are in total control of your retirement plans.