Child Maintenance Pension Contributions Template Letter

How to Claim For Private Pensions

If you are making child maintenance contributions via a private pension, and not through your employer, you will need to ask the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) to take them into account if you wish to claim lower CMS payments.  The video above explains the process in more detail, but this article includes a letter template you can adapt and send to the Child Maintenance Service.

This guide is for private pensions not work pensions.  

Three Things To Know About Pensions and the CMS

The first thing to be aware of is that your CMS is calculated on a previous tax year, such as 2023/2024, and therefore if you are claiming for pensions, the contributions must have been made in the same year as they are using to calculate income.

This means you cannot use 22/23 pension contributions, or current year pension contributions, if the CMS are calculating your income using 23/24.  You would have to use the 23/24 pension contributions.  You cannot mix years.

The second thing to be aware of, is that you cannot send in the pension paperwork early.  You have to send the information in after they issue the calculation.  This is because the reviews are computer generated and the staff cannot adjust the figures, until the computer generates the annual review.  We recommend you send your letter the day after calculation.  This may mean that the next payment will not have the pension taken into account, but don't worry the system will adjust future months so they are lowered to compensate for the higher payment months.

Finally, you can claim a discount for the pension contribution and the basic rate tax relief that the pension company added to the pension pot.  You can also claim the higher rate relief, but you will need to evidence that by sending in your SA302 Tax Calculation with the letter.

Sample Letter For Claiming a CMS Discount For Pensions

Here is a sample letter that you can copy, paste and edit.  make sure you add the date, and your details.  We recommend you upload the letter to the portal and make a note of the reference number on the letter that will be sent 30 minutes later confirming receipt.

31 Acacia Avenue

City

Postcode

Date

To Child Maintenance Service Via Portal Upload.

 

Dear Child Maintenance Service.

Private Pension Contributions and CMS Account 121 xxx xxx xxx 

 I am writing to you, as I pay into a Private pension and I would like my contributions to be recorded, and my child maintenance calculation to be updated.  

Since the Annual review on XXX  the CMS have been assessing me using my income for tax year XX/XX

In that same tax year, I paid £xxx.xx  into private pensions as per the following.

Pension Company ABC        £3,000 
Pension Company DEF         £1,000

I enclose my pension statements for both pension companies and the total of my contributions with the tax relief is XXX.

I am also a higher rate tax payer, and my SA302 says I am also entitled to the higher relief contributions of XXXX.      (Delete this line if you are not a higher rate tax payer)

Therefore please lower my earnings by XXXX and forward a revised contribution.

I attach a PDF showing my pension statements, and the SA302 from my tax return.

 

Thank you

Yours Faithfully

XXXXXX

Mobile Number XXXXX

Attachments: 
 
SA302 Tax Calculation
Pension Company Statement

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