How Much Can I Put in My Pension

What Is a Pension?

Pensions offer valuable tax relief on your contributions, but there are rules about how much you can put in each year. The limits depend both on your income and government allowances, so it’s important to understand how they work.

🟩 Annual Allowance

The Annual Allowance is the maximum amount you can contribute to all your pensions in a tax year while still receiving tax relief. For most people, this is up to £60,000 (2024/2025).

BUT:
You can only receive tax relief on contributions up to 100% of your earned income for the year.
For example, if you earn £30,000, the most you can contribute and receive tax relief on is £30,000 — even though the Annual Allowance is £60,000.

🟩 Carry Forward Allowance

If you have unused Annual Allowances from the previous 3 tax years, you may be able to "carry forward" those unused allowances and make larger one-off contributions — subject to your income limit for the year.

🟩 Money Purchase Annual Allowance (MPAA)

If you’ve already started taking flexible income from your pension, your Annual Allowance may reduce to £10,000 per year under MPAA rules.

🟩 Tax Relief Limits

Tax relief only applies to contributions up to your annual earned income. You can’t receive tax relief on contributions that exceed your taxable earnings.