The government has confirmed that the lifetime allowance (LTA) will be abolished from April 2024.

Plans to remove the LTA were first announced in the 2023 Spring Budget, with Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, confirming they will go ahead in his Autumn Statement.

The LTA charge was removed from April 2023, but the government will now legislate in the Autumn Finance Bill 2023 to abolish the LTA from April 2024.

In its Autumn Statement documents, the government stated: “The measure will clarify the taxation of lump sums and lump sum death benefits, and the application of protections, as well as the tax treatment for overseas pensions, transitional arrangements, and reporting requirements.

“This will take effect from 6 April 2024.”

The LTA has been a feature of several Budgets over the past few years, having been previously frozen at £1,073,100 until April 2026 as part of the Spring 2021 Budget.

Commenting on the abolition of the LTA, Broadstone head of policy, David Brooks, said: “The Autumn Statement document confirms today that the government are storming ahead with the abolition of the LTA by next spring in what appears to be a decision driven by ideology rather than practicality.

“The complexity and sheer volume of detail that the Department for Work and Pensions will have to wade through means the margin for error is high given the ambitious timeframe. The transition period is working well which makes the rush even more perplexing.”

Royal London pensions and tax expert, Clare Moffat, added: “We know the devil will be in the detail which we are expecting in the Finance Bill coming soon, and we hope to get clarification in how this will be implemented.

“Until we get this clarity making decisions and advising on LTA will remain challenging for advisers.”

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