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January 2012

Five key dates for your diary

2012 may only just be underway but there are already several key dates in place that could affect your finances. Here are five to watch out for…

31 January

Self assessment tax deadline: people who complete a self assessment tax return must file the return online and pay any outstanding tax for the tax year ending 5 April 2011 by 31 January. Failing to file on time will result in an initial £100 fixed penalty, even if there is no tax to pay or if the tax due is paid on time.

21 March

The Budget: Chancellor George Osborne's announcement is likely to be keenly awaited by businesses, families and individuals looking for measures designed to support the economy and ease pressure on personal finances.

6 April

Pension change 1…: the lifetime allowance (LTA) for pension savings will be cut from £1.8 million to £1.5 million from 6 April 2012. Anyone who already has, or who may have, total pensions valued at more than £1.5 million on that date can apply for fixed protection, but their application must reach HM Revenue & Customs by 5 April 2012. Fixed protection will protect their pension savings from the lifetime allowance charge, the tax on savings above the LTA. …and pension change 2: from 6 April 2012, individuals will no longer be able to contract out of the additional State Pension (also known as the State Second Pension) on a defined contribution (money purchase) basis. They will instead automatically be brought back into the additional State Pension and begin to build up entitlements.

1 October

Auto-enrolment into workplace pension schemes: in a phased programme that will affect all employers by an expected date of 2017, businesses with 120,000 or more employees must start auto-enrolling staff into qualifying workplace pension schemes from 1 October 2012.

21 December

Gender ruling: following a European Court of Justice ruling, insurers will no longer be able to take a person's gender into account when pricing insurance, which will have implications for annuity payments. The government, which is currently consulting on the issue, has said its legal interpretation is that the judgment will apply only to new contracts entered into after 21 December 2012.