Will I still get or need a P45? Yes, you should still get a P45 from your last employer when you retire. You should hang onto it, too. Your pension provider will expect you to have it to hand, and you'll need it to keep your tax code straight if you make any withdrawals from your pension.
If you don't have a P45 to give to a new employer, the new employer should ask you to complete a starter checklist. If they don't, print one off, complete it and give it to your new employer anyway. The phrase P46 is still sometimes used to refer to the starter checklist.
You'll get a P45 from your employer when you stop working for them. There's a separate guide to getting P45s if you're an employer. Your P45 shows how much tax you've paid on your salary so far in the tax year (6 April to 5 April).
You must give your employee a P45 when they leave. If you're exempt from filing your payroll online, you can order copies of P45s from HMRC.
Your employer and any pension provider will normally tell HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) when you retire. To prevent a delay that might result in an overpayment or underpayment of tax, you should also tell them. If you're self-employed and about to retire, you must always contact HMRC.
I've lost my P45
Again, HMRC do not provide replacement copies if you lose your P45. Don't panic, there's another way! Your new employer will ask you to fill in a new 'Starter Checklist' form, which will calculate what tax code you should be on.
An employer is supposed to issue an employee with their form P45 at their date of termination or, if this is not practicable, without unreasonable delay. With the employee's agreement this could be left until the final payment of wages is calculated and paid.
Employers are required by law to send P45 Part 1 details to HMRC when an employee leaves their employment. Employers in RTI do this by including leaving information on their Full Payment Submission (FPS). Those not in RTI are required to send the information on form P45 Part 1.
Alternatively, you can ask your employer if they can send you a replacement P45 if they produce them electronically. However, if they produce paper P45's, they won't be able to create a new one for you. If this happens, you'll need to call HMRC on 0300 200 3300 who will have all the information contained on a lost P45.
There are two PAYE forms in particular that you'll come across quite often, and you may recognise them from life as an employee. These are the P60 and P45. The P45 is used when employees change jobs and the P60 is used to summarise the employee's tax information at the end of the tax year.
In theory about a week after the last payroll you are "on" is processed. In practice anywhere between 1 week and never dependent on how competent your payroll department is. The best thing you could do is drop them an email reminding them you're leaving and that you need your P45 sending to your home address.
It is made up of four parts, as follows: Part 1 - your previous employer sends this to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) Part 1A - your version of the form; keep it for your records. Parts 2 and 3 - to be given to your new employer, or Jobcentre Plus if you are out of work.
P45 documents aren't rewarded to you as an employee, they are an official document that you have a right to receive when leaving a company. If you have lost your P45, then you can simply request a new one from your employer and they should provide it to you.
Your P45 should also contain your tax code number (which you can also find on a copy of your payslip), as well as total earnings for the year to date, and a breakdown of how much tax and National Insurance has been deducted for the year so far. When you receive your P45, you will notice it comes in four parts.
So as you can see there is a lot of Income Tax to be saved by choosing March as the month best to retire in. As a bonus there is also another good reason to retire at the end of the tax year. You will be going into spring so the weather should be warmer and the nights longer with more you can do!
For men and women, you can access your state pension from age 66. The state pension age is scheduled to rise to 67 between 2026 and 2028. However, you can access your private or workplace pension when you reach age 55.
After you've retired, you still have to pay Income Tax on any income over your Personal Allowance (find out more below). This applies to all your pension income, including the State Pension. Many people assume that their pension income – especially the State Pension – will be tax-free, but that's not the case.
Who issues a P45? Your employer issues and generates a P45 automatically through their payroll system. By law, your employer must give you a P45 when you finish working - you can ask for one if they do not provide it.
The P60 must be given to you by 31 May after the end of the tax year (5 April), so that, if you need to, you can complete a tax return or claim a repayment of tax. The only circumstance where an employer is not required to issue you with a P60 is if you have left their employment during the tax year.
Normally, you would be entitled to full pay up to the effective date of termination of employment (your last day of employment), including any holiday pay for holiday you have built up but not taken, overtime, bonuses and commission earned up to that date.
Generally, upon resignation or dismissal, these are the payments you can expect should you resign: an employee is entitled to be paid the notice pay where applicable, salary up to last day worked, plus any outstanding leave pay.
As part of PAYE modernisation, paper-based P45s and P60s were replaced with an online system. You no longer get a P60 at the end of the year. Instead, you can get an Employment Detail Summary through Revenue's myAccount service.
Do you pay tax on your pension? The short answer is that income from pensions is taxed like any other kind of income. You have a personal allowance (£12,500 for 2020/21 tax year) on you pay no income tax, and then you pay 20 per cent income tax on everything from £12,501 to £50,000 before higher rate tax kicks in.
Among the many other things on your retirement checklist, you must notify your employer. Often, they require you to submit an official retirement letter of resignation. Even if writing a retirement resignation letter isn't required, it's the considerate thing to do!