The timely £1 trick is a lifesaver

ONE pound might not sound like much, but for thousands of pension savers, it could be a powerful tool to sidestep one of the tax system's longstanding glitches.

- by Katie Elliott

The £1 trick could save retirees from being unfairly overtaxed, and waiting months to get their own money back.

Between July and September 2025, Britons reclaimed nearly £50million in overpaid tax on pension withdrawals, new figures from HM Revenue and Customs show. More than 13,700 savers submitted reclaim forms, each pocketing an average refund of £3,539.

Since the Pension Freedoms legislation was introduced in 2015 (giving people more flexibility to access pots from the age of 55), total tax repayments have soared past £1.5billion.