TfL Ref: 0279-1920
 
Thank you for your email received by us on 29 April 2019 asking for information about Transport for London’s (TfL) defined benefit pension scheme.
 
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy. I can confirm that we hold some of the information you require. You asked for:
 
information with regards to your defined benefit pension scheme(s).
 
a)  The number of pensions scheme members that have exceeded the annual allowance in each of the last 10 tax years (08/09 – 18/19). Please disclose the number for each tax year separately, not a cumulative total for the ten year period.
 
b) How many scheme pays applications the pension scheme has received and how many it has accepted in respect of annual    allowance tax charges, in each of the last 10 tax years
 
When responding, please specify the name of the scheme(s) to which the figures relate.
 
Please see the following table in respect of the TfL Pension Fund:

Year                                   Exceeded Annual Allowance             Scheme pays in respect of excess input for this year
2008/09                                             15                                                                        N/a
2009/10                                              1                                                                         N/a
2010/11                                             14                                                                        N/a
2011/12                                             11                                                                          1
2012/13                                              6                                                                           1
2013/14                                             19                                                                          0
2014/15                                             41                                                                          7
2015/16                                             61                                                                          2
2016/17                                            298                                                                        10
2017/18                                            299                                                                        16

 
I can advise that figures in respect of the 2018/19 tax year are not yet available and are not due to be calculated until June 2019. For awareness, the Annual Allowance was reduced to £40,000 from April 2014. However, for 2014/15 and 2015/16, the impact of this reduction was cushioned by the allowance for Consumer Price Index (CPI), when calculating the level of a member’s savings against the Annual Allowance.  For 2016/17 and 2017/18, the allowance for CPI was much lower - leading to more members having pension savings for the year in excess of the Annual Allowance.
 
If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for any reason, please do not hesitate to contact me.
 
Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal as well as information on copyright and what to do if you would like to re-use any of the information we have disclosed.
 
Yours sincerely
 
 
Jasmine Howard
FOI Case Officer
Information Governance
Transport For London