Without doubt, 6 April 2006 was something of a red letter day for pensions; it saw the start of a unified tax regime and a number of developments deriving from the Pensions Act 2004 came into force. These included rules on trustee knowledge and understanding (TKU) and a requirement for employers to consult members before making changes to their pension schemes. However, as soon as the new pensions tax regime was introduced, a process of continual adjustment to the legislation began, with amendments in every year’s Finance Act.

Although the big picture of the new regime remained largely untouched at first, we have seen plenty of changes over the last six years, with repeated adjustments to the lifetime and annual allowances.