CMS salary sacrifice Pension

hi,

i would suggest you speak to your HR team at work, can ask them to give you a letter about the salary sacrifice. then can report a change, send that letter to CMS via their self-service portal.

Posted by: @matt2002

Good morning all,

After years of me paying large amounts of money every month without fail plus taking my children on holidays every year (Ex does not take them anywhere) paying there phones, clubs, clothes etc she has decided its not enough money directly into her pocket.

 

the CMS have been in contact, i've been honest about everything. 

BUT, they are refusing to acknowledge I pay into a pension via salary sacrifice. This is because it is not shown on my Gross pay from the HMRC.

does anyone have any experience of this? is it just a case of suck it up and get on with it, or should they have to acknowledge my pension contributions?

 

any advice is greatly appreciated

 

What do you mean it doesn't show? If you are using salary sacrifice, the HMRC receives the lower amount. They don't have a clue about your pension payments. For all purposes, you earn your salary - pension contributions.

I tend to agree with @edpacket. I myself make additional voluntary contributions to my workplace pension - deducted from my pay at source via salary sacrifice, and this results in a reduction of my taxable income reported to HMRC. CMS use that (reduced) gross taxable income figure on which to base their child maintenance assessment.

So such additional pension payments (via salary sacrifice) are automatically taken in to account in the CM calculation via the reduction in your gross taxable salary that the CMS use.

Yep, as above.

Whatever you pay in salary sacrifice, it doesn't show in your wages anyhow, therefore you won't be assessed on it.  You are lucky!!

We don't have SS at work so I have to pay massive pension contributions to keep CMS lower, but i still pay Tax and NI on those amounts.  At tthe end of the following year it's added to my pension pot - so it's tax efficient eventually, but it really stings paying such a huge wedge out.....

I earn double what my partner does - yet my take home is barely a few hundred more, as my pension contributions are so large....

I just hope I live long enough to enjoy it!

UNLESS (@Matt2002 please advise) -

The OP’s CMS payments are calculated on the their gross taxable income that was correct BEFORE he started making significant salary sacrifice additional pension contributions in the current year. I.e. his current gross taxable income is significantly less than that used for the CM calculation. 

Others will correct me if I’m wrong, but if your current gross income is more than 25% less than that used for your CM assessment, then you can apply for a recalculation based on your current (lower) income. Not sure how you would demonstrate what your current income is, but others will know how this works.

Some work pensions can be bequeathed to a relative if you die in service.  It might be an idea to check that out.