HMRC has agreed to exempt pension administration professionals from new legislation that would require 'tax advisers' to register with HMRC, following several industry concerns over the initial lack of an exemption.

The Society of Pension Professionals (SPP) previously raised concerns that the draft legislation, whilst including an exemption for payroll professionals had been included, could mean that actions taken as part of general pensions administration by a firm appointed by trustees as a third-party administrator would fall within scope.

Given this, it urged HMRC to consider an exemption to ensure that pensions professionals, who HMRC previously confirmed were not the intended target audience for these proposals, being inadvertently captured by the new regulatory regime.

The SPP has now shared an update, confirming that HMRC has listened to these representations and consequently agreed to exempt pension administration professionals from the new requirements.

Officials are currently working through the specifics of the wording for an exemption in legislation.

Commenting on the news, SPP president, Sophia Singleton, said: "We have always believed that the government’s plans to compel those giving tax advice to register with HMRC is an improvement that could prove effective, proportionate, and reasonable in raising standards but equally that pension administrators are not tax advisers, are already regulated and so should not have been included in these plans.

"Whilst we await the detail as to the final wording of the legislation, the fact that HMRC have listened to our arguments, and recognised the importance of an exemption, is great news for the pensions industry.

"It will ensure many pension professionals performing only administration duties will now be exempt and so avoids a further regulatory requirement.”

---