Yes, you should tell HMRC when you retire to ensure your tax code is updated, preventing overpayment or underpayment. While employers and pension providers often notify them, you should confirm changes to your income, especially if you are self-employed or moving abroad.
Generally, providing your employer with around 2-3 months' notice can ensure a smooth transition for both you and your employer. This allows them enough time to find a suitable replacement, transfer your responsibilities, and tie up any loose ends.
Giving and withdrawing notice
In most jobs, an employer cannot force a worker to retire if they do not want to. However, if a worker has given their employer formal notice of their intention to retire on a certain date, the employer does not have to let them withdraw their notice.
If the State Pension is truly your only income and it's below the Personal Allowance (£12,570 for 2024/25), you won't owe any tax and won't need to file a return. The full new State Pension for 2024/25 is £11,502.40 per year, which leaves you comfortably below the threshold.
Announcing your retirement a few months in advance is often considered a courtesy to your company. Not only does it give your employer time to manage the transition and hire a replacement, but it also gives you plenty of time to get your personal finances in order.
It should often be preceded by an in-person conversation with your supervisor. The standard notice for most resignation letters is two weeks, but the time can vary for retirement letters. If you hold an upper-level management position, it may take your employer months to find a suitable replacement.
It has evolved over hundreds of years, and is full of legacy processes and systems. HMRC have absolutely no idea what your SIPP contributions are until you tell them. They may get reporting from pension providers but it's likely to be once a year, after the end of the tax year.
As long as you pay tax on your wages in your home country, you will not have to pay tax in the UK. You must file a Self Assessment tax return, together with a completed SA109 form. Use the 'other information' section of your SA109 to include: the dates you were stuck in the UK because of coronavirus.
People pay income tax on pension income, including payments from the state and pension schemes. The first part of a person's earnings, their personal allowance, is tax-free. In 2025/26, the standard personal allowance is £12,570. People can access up to 25% of their pension without paying income tax.
HMRC needs to know about your income when you retire or reach State Pension age so that they can make sure you: receive the right tax-free allowances. pay the right amount of tax.
What to Do Six Months Before Retirement: Checklist
This could be 3-6 months of notice. If your job is project-oriented, then consider key deliverable timelines and the possibility of being assigned a new long-term project, one you know you can't or don't want to stay until completion.
Once you have made your decision to retire, you should send a letter resigning from your post by reason of retirement to your line manager, giving your contractual period of notice. Your line manager should then complete the Leaver Form. This will begin the process of your retirement.
You can tell HMRC you're leaving through your Self Assessment tax return. Complete the 'residence' section (form SA109) and send it by post.
Generally, you do not need to tell HMRC if you are leaving the UK for a short period, such as for a holiday or brief business trip. However, if you are leaving the UK to live overseas, at the very least you should advise HMRC of your new residential address (and correspondence address, if different).
'Disregarded income' includes: UK dividends and interest payments. UK state pension. taxable UK social security payments (except jobseeker's allowance and income support)
If HMRC writes to you stating that they are doing so under “Code of Practice 9” they can go back up to 20 years. These cases are very serious because they involve HMRC alleging deliberate taxpayer behaviour involving fraud. If you receive a code of practice 9 notice you should get specialist help immediately.
From 20 September 2025, the full pension is available, under the assets test, for homeowner singles whose assessable assets are under $321,500 – for homeowner couples the number is $481,500. The numbers for non-homeowners are $579,500 and $739,500 respectively.
The $1,000 a month rule is a retirement guideline suggesting you need about $240,000 saved for every $1,000 per month in desired income, based on a 5% annual withdrawal rate (5% of $240k is $12k/year, or $1k/month). It's a simple way to set savings goals, but it doesn't account for inflation, taxes, or other income like Social Security, so it's best used as a starting point, not a complete plan.