How to harvest your investments for over £30,000 tax free income a year

By TP Financial Solutions

27 Sep 2022

tp-financial-john-headshots-high-res-1.jpg

It’s harvest time in the farming calendar. Land management has proven that the timing and order in which crops are harvested makes a great deal of difference to the yield. Some factors are relatively predictable, such as when a crop is likely to be ready. Other factors are very uncertain, like the weather.  

Investments are similar - markets are unpredictable although tax allowances and rates are more predictable, but not totally. So, when it comes to harvesting your hard-earned money, it too is important to look at the timing and order in which you do this.

Whether you are in retirement, shortly approaching it, or it still lies some way in the future for you, it can be tempting to assume that you go to your pension first as your source of income in retirement. But beware – taking income from your pension first could mean that you are losing out on significant disposable income.

Many people arrive at the age they want to partly, or fully, retire with a range of assets. These can include cash, property, ISAs, bonds, pension plans such as SIPPs, and maybe some multi asset funds or other investments.  As a result, you will have a choice of where to take your income from first. But it’s likely that the best choice is not your pension.

Why is this? Well, it can be complicated. Which is why it’s a good idea to have a qualified financial adviser whose job it is to optimise how you take your income. But to give a simple example:

Tax rate on your income from your ISA – 0% Tax rate on your income from your other investments – normally Capital Gains Tax at 20%, and Compared to the tax rate on your income from your pension – Income Tax at 20%, 40% or even 45% depending upon your income.

Given that the difference is greatest for higher rate taxpayers, it’s worth noting that the current freezing of many tax allowances is greatly increasing the number of people who will be paying the higher 40% tax rate. In fact, the number is projected to increase to 5.5 million this tax year, up from 3.8 million in 2019/20.1

According to Rachael Griffin, tax and financial planning specialist from Quilter: "When it comes to retirement income, well planned use of allowances can allow you to stretch your hard-earned savings that much further. If you have used a diverse set of investment products, you can now stand to tap into a minimum of £32,8702 of your savings per year, using the available tax allowances for 2021-22.3 Each of the different products enable you to take home a rather small amount of tax free ‘income’ per annum but add them all together and you find yourself with a substantial amount."

This is another benefit too in organising your retirement income to come from several different pots at different times. It can be a good idea to take more investment risk on the portion of your money that you don’t need immediately. This is because you are more likely to get a higher return on it on average, plus it stays invested longer for that higher return to compound. And it can be even more efficient if this is in a pension because the compounded growth is not taxed.

However, along the way there will be times when investment markets are down, and you don’t want to be to having to sell these investments to take income at such times, which would lock in otherwise temporary losses. That’s why it’s usually a good strategy to take the higher investment risk only with the money that you are sure you aren’t going to need in the short term and have your ‘essentials’ money come from cash or short term deposits.

So, it’s about organising your ‘pots’ not just in the most tax efficient way, but in a way which optimises the balance of investment return, investment risk, and timescales for when you will need the money.

It is worth noting too that even when you do finally come to take income from your pension, you can make a massive difference to how much tax you pay depending upon how you take the money from it. This is especially true if you have more than one pension, and a spouse or partner who has pensions too. Factors to consider include your respective ages, how much to take of the tax-free cash allowance, what to leave in flexi access drawdown and with which provider, inheritance tax (IHT) implications, whether and how you can get access to your capital, and death benefit flexibility.

Again, it’s the job of your financial adviser to optimise this for you. If you’d like to learn more, please get in touch now.

The value of pensions and investments can fall as well as rise.

You may get back less than you invested.

Tax treatment varies according to individual circumstances and is subject to change.

References

1Frozen allowances see almost twice number of higher rate taxpayers - FTAdviser.com

2Take home at least £32,870 in tax free income per year in retirement | Quilter Media Centre

3Capital Gains Tax: what you pay it on, rates and allowances: Capital Gains Tax allowances - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) Tax on dividends: How dividends are taxed - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) Tax on savings interest: How much tax you pay - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Latest news

1

Financial Affairs support the Red Rose Award winners' reception Networking photograph

Financial Affairs support the Red Rose Award winners' reception

24 Apr 2025

2

Lancaster University unveils cutting-edge computing and cyber security facilities Head of Lancaster University's School of Computing and Communications Professor Nigel Davies, Chris Ensor, Vice-Chancellor Professor Andy Schofield and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Engagement) Professor Sarah Kemp

Lancaster University unveils cutting-edge computing and cyber security facilities

24 Apr 2025

3

Northcote announces new owners Alf and Clare Ellis as Lisa Goodwin-Allen returns as chef patron-director Craig Bancroft and Lisa Goodwin-Allen

Northcote announces new owners Alf and Clare Ellis as Lisa Goodwin-Allen returns as chef patron-director

24 Apr 2025

4

Major shareholder makes Inspired takeover bid inspired-500x500.png

Major shareholder makes Inspired takeover bid

23 Apr 2025

5

Nominate your favourite family-run business in Lancashire. Thompsons meeting (1).png.png

Nominate your favourite family-run business in Lancashire.

22 Apr 2025

Pc Prestonmacan Gif980x120 March
Background image for hub sign up block

LBV Hub

Leverage Lancashire Business View platforms

Post your news
Post your events
Post your offers
Build your network
Improve your SEO
Gain coverage in the magazine
Sign-up
Events
LBV122 May/June Launch Event
121 Lancashire Business View Magazine Launch
Networking
21 May 2025

LBV122 May/June Launch Event

Lancaster and Morecambe College, Lancaster, LA1 2TY

08:30 - 10:30

Sub36 Networking
Networking
11 Jun 2025

Sub36 Networking

British Jewellery School, Scorton, PR3 1BA

15:00 - 17:00

Lancashire Net Zero Carbon Conference
Net Zero Carbon Social 1200px 2
Networking
18 Jun 2025

Lancashire Net Zero Carbon Conference

Crow Wood Hotel & Spa Resort, Burnley, BB12 0RT

08:30 - 13:00

Lancashire Built Environment Conference 2025
BEC 315 X 315 Px
Networking
25 Sep 2025

Lancashire Built Environment Conference 2025

Blackpool Football Club, Blackpool, FY1 6HX

08:30 - 13:00

CMI Level 5 Management and Leadership Course
UCLanAerialCampus.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Seminars
21 Feb 2025 - 21 Feb 2026

CMI Level 5 Management and Leadership Course

Preston Campus, Preston , PR1 2HE

09:00 - 17:00

CMI Level 5 Project Management Course
UCLanAerialCampus.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Seminars
21 Feb 2025 - 21 Feb 2026

CMI Level 5 Project Management Course

Preston Campus, Preston, PR1 2HE

08:00 - 17:00

RISE - The Academy for Female Leaders and Managers
WENDY BOWERS RISE Illustrstion copy.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Seminars
02 Apr 2025 - 08 Oct 2025

RISE - The Academy for Female Leaders and Managers

East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce, Clayton le Moors, BB5 5JR

09:00 - 15:30

People Power: Exclusive Event Series
Stay ahead in 2025.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Seminars
29 Apr 2025 - 29 Apr 2025

People Power: Exclusive Event Series

People's History Museum, Manchester, M3 3ER

17:00 - 21:00

Planning for the future + navigating Inheritance Tax changes
Planning for the future + navigating Inheritance Tax changes for website.png.png
LBV Hub Seminars
01 May 2025 - 01 May 2025

Planning for the future + navigating Inheritance Tax changes

Stanley House Hotel, Mellor, Blackburn, BB2 7NP, Blackburn, BB2 7NP

08:00 - 10:30

Advantage: AI – A Workshop for Business Leaders – May 2
EV-land-2025-05B.png.png
LBV Hub Seminars
02 May 2025 - 02 May 2025

Advantage: AI – A Workshop for Business Leaders – May 2

Door4 Office, Burnley Wharf, Manchester Road, Burnley, BB11 1JG

09:00 - 11:00

A night at the races
1.png.png
LBV Hub Dinners / Balls
02 May 2025 - 02 May 2025

A night at the races

Morecambe FC, Morecambe, LA4 4TB

19:00 - 23:59

Innovating business solutions through PhD Partnerships
30478 Skills Bootcamp open day setting.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Networking
07 May 2025 - 07 May 2025

Innovating business solutions through PhD Partnerships

University of Central Lancashire, Preston , PR1 2HE

14:30 - 15:30

Advertise with us

Reaching 50,000 members, our print, digital and event platforms offer a fantastic way to raise your business profile and help you grow.

Find out more Lbv121 Online Graphic
Subscribe now

Weekly news bulletin