Individual protection covered pensions worth over £1.25 million in 2014 or £1 million in 2016. Today it can raise your tax-free lump sum limits.
If you hold an individual protection reference, it still matters for how much tax-free cash you can take, even though the lifetime allowance has gone. Your IP14 or IP16 reference deserves a second pair of eyes before you draw anything. Read the reference out to an FCA-authorised adviser and they will say what it means for you, without charge: complete this page's form and they arrange the call. Below: what the protection is, who could get it, and what it does today.
What is individual protection for pensions?
HMRC's Pensions Tax Manual describes two versions. People with pension savings "in excess of £1,250,000" on 5 April 2014 could apply for individual protection 2014 (IP14), and people with "in excess of £1,000,000" on 5 April 2016 could apply for individual protection 2016 (IP16). Each was meant "to protect them from the lifetime allowance charge when those rights come into payment" after that date.
The lifetime allowance was the ceiling on pension benefits before an extra tax charge applied; the history is in the lifetime allowance explained. Individual protection set your personal ceiling at the value of your pots on the valuation date, up to a cap. What sets it apart from fixed protection and enhanced protection is that GOV.UK attaches conditions you must keep meeting to rely on those two, while HMRC's manual names pension sharing on divorce as the one thing that can cut or end individual protection, so it never depended on stopping your pension saving. Primary protection is a separate, older route.
Who could apply for IP14 and IP16, and by when?
The test was the total value of your pension pots on one date, and the protected amount is that value up to a cap. The table pulls together what GOV.UK and HMRC's manual say.
| IP14 | IP16 | |
|---|---|---|
| Savings needed to apply | over £1,250,000 on 5 April 2014 | over £1,000,000 on 5 April 2016 |
| Protected at | the lower of your pots' value on 5 April 2014 and £1.5 million | the lower of your pots' value on 5 April 2016 and £1.25 million |
| Application deadline | closed on 5 April 2017 | closed on 5 April 2025, with one exception covered below |
GOV.UK's change log records that "the deadline for applying for this protection closed on 5 April 2017" for IP14. For IP16, HMRC's January 2025 newsletter to pension schemes said the deadline was 5 April 2025 and that "After this date, individuals will not be able to apply for either of these protections", meaning IP16 or fixed protection 2016.
What does individual protection do now the lifetime allowance has gone?
GOV.UK says the lifetime allowance was abolished with effect from 6 April 2024. HMRC's manual adds that "an individual is entitled to have their lump sum allowance and lump sum death benefit allowance protected". For most people the standard figures are a lump sum allowance of £268,275 and a lump sum and death benefit allowance of £1,073,100, according to GOV.UK; a valid protection can lift both.
GOV.UK sets out the individual protection figures:
- IP14: a tax-free lump sum of the lower of 25% of the value of all your pots on 5 April 2014, and £375,000. IP16: the lower of 25% of the value on 5 April 2016, and £312,500.
- Lump sum and death benefit allowance: equal to your protected amount, to a maximum of £1.5 million for IP14 or £1.25 million for IP16. Contributions made after the valuation date do not increase it.
GOV.UK's example: if all your pots were worth £1.4 million on 5 April 2014, IP14 gives an increased tax-free lump sum of £350,000. The figure shows the method only; your own result depends on your valuation. GOV.UK also warns: "You can only take a maximum of 25% of your pension pot, even if you have a higher amount of tax-free lump sum available."
If you drew pension benefits before 6 April 2024, there is an extra step: HMRC's transitional rules deduct for those earlier benefits first, which can shrink what remains. The mechanics sit in our guides to the death benefit allowance and the maximum tax-free cash.
Is it still possible to get individual protection?
Mostly no. IP14 has been closed since 2017 and the general IP16 window shut on 5 April 2025. One route remains for some public sector members. Having been a public service scheme member between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2022 may make you eligible, because of the public service pensions remedy (known as McCloud), to apply for IP16 or fixed protection 2016. The application is a letter to HMRC's Pension Schemes Services team that names the protection, says it follows the remedy, and gives your National Insurance number and contact details.
GOV.UK's page for this route prints no closing date, but the law sets one. Regulations in force since 24 April 2025 (SI 2025/419) moved the cut-off for anyone with remediable service, and HMRC's June 2025 remedy newsletter sums up the effect: "Generally, individuals must have applied for fixed or individual protection 2016 before 6 April 2025. This deadline is extended to 6 April 2027 for those members with remediable service." So the last day to apply on this route is 5 April 2027. Whether the public service remedy reaches your own service is something an adviser can explain; ask through the enquiry form here and they ring you free.
How do you check or prove individual protection?
Holders of a protected allowance can sign in to HMRC's online service to check it. Anyone who applied online has two reference numbers: a protection notification number and a scheme administrator reference. IP16 numbers start with IP16 followed by 10 digits and a letter. IP14 numbers usually take the same form with IP14, but GOV.UK says some IP14 holders have an 8-character reference mixing digits and letters instead, such as A012345A. The scheme administrator reference is "PSA followed by 8 digits and 1 letter". HMRC's guidance adds that you can usually find them online even if the application was made on paper.
You give your scheme administrator these references when you decide to take money, to show you have a protected allowance. HMRC's manual says the administrator "should accept the reference number as evidence" for IP16, because no certificate was issued, and may ask for a copy of the certificate for other protections. If you want HMRC to pass your details on, you must authorise it with form APSS203.
Can individual protection be reduced or lost?
HMRC's manual says individual protection "cannot be given up and can only be reduced or lost through pension sharing on divorce". If a pension debit takes your pots below the minimum value for the protection, GOV.UK says your increased lump sum reverts to 25% of your pot up to £268,275, and your overall allowance to £1,073,100. You must tell HMRC in writing within 60 days of the debit. For divorce more generally, read what happens to your pension if you divorce.
Individual protection questions
How much of my pension is protected?
The protected amount is the value of all your pension pots on the valuation date, capped at £1.5 million for IP14 or £1.25 million for IP16. Contributions made after that date do not raise it, according to GOV.UK.
Does holding it stop me paying into a pension?
GOV.UK says you may have continued to contribute from 6 April 2014 (IP14) or 6 April 2016 (IP16), and those contributions do not count towards the tax-free lump sum you are entitled to. Yearly limits are separate: see the pension annual allowance.
Does it help beneficiaries as well as me?
The lump sum and death benefit allowance covers a serious ill-health lump sum and lump sum death benefits, and GOV.UK says tax-free lump sums and lump sum death benefits both count towards it. The rest of the death benefit rules are at how pension death benefits work.
What if I cannot find my reference?
Sign in to HMRC's online service, which GOV.UK says shows the numbers in most cases. IP16 holders were given reference numbers only, so there is normally no certificate to look for.
No IP16 paperwork in the drawer? Which papers matter before you draw a penny is something an FCA-authorised adviser answers free; ring-back requests begin at the form on this page.