PUBLICATION DATE: MARCH 2026
PAGES: 249
EDITION: 18th
ISBN: 9781917392099
READ CONTENTS & FIRST SECTION

Pension Magic

How to Make the Taxman Pay for Your Retirement

By Nick Braun PhD

Pensions are arguably the best tax saving device for both salary earners and business owners... with full Government backing!

Pension Magic shows you how to secure thousands of pounds of extra tax relief on your pension contributions and pay less income tax when you withdraw money from your pension.

The latest edition has just been published (March 2026) and is completely up to date.

The book is written in plain English with dozens of real-life examples and is essential reading for:

• Self-employed individuals and landlords
• Company owners
• Private sector employees
• Accountants and financial advisers

New in this Edition

The Big Freeze - Income tax thresholds will now remain frozen until 5th April 2031 which means more and more of your income could be taxed at 40%, 45% and even 60%. Find out how you can protect yourself with carefully timed pension contributions (making bigger than normal contributions in some years and smaller contributions in others).

Inheritance Tax - Everything you need to know about inheritance tax and pensions (coming on 6th April 2027). The good news is pensions will still be the best tax shelter out there: both for retirement income AND passing wealth to family members.

ISA Freeze - The £20,000 ISA allowance has also been frozen until April 2031. If you are making full use of your allowance, and have savings sitting in a taxed account, you could end up 73% better off by sticking some of that money in a pension.

Salary Sacrifice Pensions - These provide both income tax relief AND national insurance relief. A £2,000 cap is being introduced but only from 6th April 2029, so there is still plenty of time to make use of this powerful tax break.

Company Owners - Dividend tax rates have been increased again (from 6th April 2026). Company pension contributions are more than ever an attractive alternative to dividends: You could end up paying just 15% tax with a pension compared with the 53% combined tax rate on dividend income (corporation tax and income tax).

Plus lots more...

Other Information Contained in the Guide

Subjects covered include:

• A plain-English guide to the pension rules:
• How much you can put in
• How and when you can take money out
• How to maximise your tax savings at every stage
• Why higher-rate taxpayers will typically end up 41.67% better off by saving in a pension instead of an ISA.
• How couples can increase their retirement income by over 30% by correctly choosing who makes pension contributions.
• How pension contributions can help you pay less capital gains tax when you sell assets like property.
• How higher income earners can enjoy between 50% and 60% tax relief on their pension contributions.
• How to avoid the child benefit charge with carefully timed pension contributions.
• Changes to salary sacrifice pensions from 6th April 2029.
• The new Lump Sum Allowance which caps the amount of tax-free cash you can take.
• Why pension contributions are still worth making even after you've used up your Lump Sum Allowance.
• Tax saving strategies to follow in light of the introduction of inheritance tax on pensions.
• How your children could still end up with between 16.67% and 41.67% more money by inheriting your pension pot instead of alternative investments like ISAs.
• Pension strategies for business owners, including:
• Why company pension contributions are now, more than ever, an attractive alternative to dividends.
• Why it's better to get your company to make the contributions instead of making them personally.
• How to use your pension savings to buy property for your business.
• How your business can borrow money from your pension.
• How to avoid the pension recycling rules - rules that prevent you enjoying two rounds of tax relief.
• The increase in the minimum pension age from 55 to 57: How those in their early fifties are affected.
• How to save income tax when you withdraw money from your pension.
• Plus lots and lots more!

Click here to read the full contents listing and first section of the book

About the Author

Dr Nick Braun founded Taxcafe in 1999. Since then, the company has become one of the UK's best-known tax publishers and has won several prestigious business awards. Nick has been a specialist tax writer since 1989, first in South Africa where he edited the monthly Tax Breaks publication and since 1999 in the UK, where he has authored several tax books. Nick also has a PhD in economics from the University of Glasgow where he was awarded the prestigious William Glen scholarship and later became a Research Fellow.

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