kintyred - for AFPS there is no pension pot. Our pensions are written into UK Law as effectively an IOU. Think of it a bit like this:
So, as we qualify for our pension the Government “promise to pay” it from the UK’s coffers. They can’t wriggle out of it unless - 1. We fail to meet the requirements within the Pension Law. Or 2. The country goes completely bankrupt, which even Kwasi couldn’t manage!
Now, the lifetime allowance (LTA) looks at what your pension is when it is taken - known as a Benefit Crystallisation Event (BCE) - for both annual pension and lump sum(s). As long as those lump lump sums do not exceed 1/4 of the LTA (currently £268,274) then you won’t be due the wicked 55% tax on the lump sum, and also as long as your annual pension, multiplied by 20, does not exceed £1,073,100 (including any lump sums) then you won’t need to pay 25% tax on any amount over the £1,073,100. Now, typically, anyone with a BCE coming up in the next few years with say £120k lump sum and £49k pension then they are likely to get clobbered.
Now your suggestion of reducing the multiplier below the current 20 (let’s say 15) would make things a whole lot worse and likely see people with a £100k lump sum and £40k pension would fall foul of it. So hopefully you can see an increase in the multiplier is what is needed?
LJ