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Fixed protection and the lump sum allowance
A frozen lifetime allowance that now survives as a higher lump sum allowance. The ceiling depends on the vintage; the continuing accrual restriction depends on the application date.
Based on HMRC’s Pensions Tax Manual (PTM176410, PTM176430–PTM176450, PTM174700, PTM171000, PTM172000), Finance (No. 2) Act 2023 and Finance Act 2024 Schedule 9.
6 min read · Last reviewed
— In short
Fixed protection preserves a former lifetime-allowance ceiling as a higher lump sum allowance and lump sum and death benefit allowance. FP2012 gives £450,000, FP2014 £375,000 and FP2016 £312,500 at LSA level. A valid application received before 15 March 2023 can accrue benefits from 6 April 2023 without losing a still-valid protection; a valid application received on or after 15 March 2023 remains subject to protection-cessation rules, so later benefit accrual can cancel it.
Put the rule to work
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Use the Lump Sum Allowance (LSA) calculator with your figures and see the working. Free, with no sign-up required.
Fixed protection originally let a saver keep the old, higher lifetime allowance each time it was cut in exchange for a promise to stop building up pension benefits. Whether that accrual restriction still applies now depends on the application date. The lifetime allowance was abolished from 6 April 2024. The protection did not die with it: it now survives as a higher lump sum allowance and a higher lump sum and death benefit allowance.
The rule: three vintages, three frozen ceilings
There were three rounds, one for each cut in the lifetime allowance. Fixed protection 2012 froze it at £1.8m, fixed protection 2014 at £1.5m, and fixed protection 2016 at £1.25m. Under the post-2024 regime each frozen figure is re-expressed as a pair of allowances: the lump sum allowance is 25% of the frozen lifetime allowance, and the lump sum and death benefit allowance is the frozen figure in full.
- Standard (no protection)
- £268,275 LSA · £1,073,100 LSDBA
- Fixed protection 2016 — engine-verified
- £312,500 LSA · £1,250,000 LSDBA
- Fixed protection 2014 — HMRC figures (not engine-computed)
- £375,000 LSA · £1,500,000 LSDBA
- Fixed protection 2012 — HMRC figures (not engine-computed)
- £450,000 LSA · £1,800,000 LSDBA
Our engine carries the FP2016 ceilings in the tax-year config and resolves them directly, so the £312,500 / £1,250,000 row is reproduced to the penny by the calculation tests. The FP2012 and FP2014 rows follow the same 25% / 100% rule but are not modelled in the engine — they are shown here from HMRC’s manual so the comparison is complete.
The application date decides whether accrual still breaks it
There are now two cohorts. If HMRC received the member's valid application before 15 March 2023, benefit accrual from 6 April 2023 does not cancel a still-valid fixed protection. The member can contribute, join a new arrangement or make a transfer without losing it under those former cessation rules (PTM176440).
A valid application received on or after 15 March 2023 remains subject to the protection-cessation rules. For that cohort, a new contribution to a money purchase arrangement, or defined-benefit build-up above the permitted level, can still lose the protection. Auto-enrolment therefore remains a trap for a later FP2016 applicant who does not opt out. Loss drops the member back to the standard £268,275 LSA — a £44,225 fall for an FP2016 holder.
Valid applications before 15 March 2023 can accrue benefits from 6 April 2023 without losing protection. Valid applications on or after that date remain subject to protection-cessation events.
New applications are closed
The ordinary online application window for fixed protection 2016 ended on 5 April 2025 (PTM176430). HMRC keeps a separate written route for eligible people affected by the public-service pensions remedy, but FP2016 is otherwise closed to new applications.
What to do with it
Confirm the vintage and the application-received date from the protection certificate or the member’s online HMRC record before relying on any figure — the three vintages sit £137,500 apart at the LSA level end to end (£312,500 for FP2016, £375,000 for FP2014, £450,000 for FP2012), and the application date decides whether current accrual can still cancel the protection. Then treat the protected figure as the ceiling the standard calculation starts from: the lump sum allowance calculator and the LSDBA calculator work the standard allowances and the excess charge; with fixed protection, the higher ceiling above simply replaces the standard one they begin from.
PTM176430–PTM176450 (fixed protection) · PTM171000 / PTM172000 (LSA / LSDBA) · FA 2024 Sch 9
Common questions
- What lump sum allowance does fixed protection give?
- Fixed protection 2016 gives a lump sum allowance of £312,500 and a lump sum and death benefit allowance of £1,250,000 — 25% and 100% of the £1.25m frozen lifetime allowance. FP2014 gives £375,000 / £1,500,000 and FP2012 gives £450,000 / £1,800,000, against £1.5m and £1.8m respectively.
- Can you still hold fixed protection if you restart pension saving?
- It depends on the application date. If HMRC received a valid application before 15 March 2023, benefit accrual from 6 April 2023 does not cancel a still-valid fixed protection. A valid application received on or after 15 March 2023 remains subject to the cessation rules, so contributions or excess defined-benefit accrual can still cause protection to be lost.
- Can someone still apply for fixed protection 2016?
- The ordinary FP2016 application window closed on 5 April 2025. HMRC has a separate written application route for eligible people affected by the public-service pensions remedy, but FP2016 is otherwise closed to new applications.
Sources & grounding
FP2016 ceilings engine-pinned: applyProtection({ kind: "FP2016" }, getConfig("2026-27")) → protectedLSA £312,500 (31,250,000p), protectedLSDBA £1,250,000 (125,000,000p), from config protectionCeilings.FP2016 (calc-engine/pension/protection.ts; calc-engine/configs/2026-27.json). Reproduced 0p in lump-sum-protections-content.test.ts.
FP2012 (£450,000 LSA / £1,800,000 LSDBA) and FP2014 (£375,000 LSA / £1,500,000 LSDBA) are NOT modelled by the engine (which carries FP2016 only) — stated from HMRC PTM174700 (the FP2012 / FP2014 / FP2016 lump sum allowances), PTM176410 (the matching lump sum and death benefit allowances) and the fixed-protection LSA amounts in FA 2024 Sch 9; clearly labelled in-body as not engine-computed.
Accrual rule split: valid applications received before 15 March 2023 can accrue benefits from 6 April 2023 without losing a still-valid fixed protection; valid applications received on or after 15 March 2023 remain subject to benefit-accrual and other protection-cessation rules (PTM176440 / PTM176450; F(2)A 2023).
Primary sources:PTM176440PTM176450F(2)A 2023).
The ordinary FP2016 application window ended on 5 April 2025 (PTM176430; FA 2024 Sch 9). HMRC retains a separate written route for eligible public-service pension remedy cases.
Primary sources:PTM176430
From 6 April 2024 the protected amount is expressed as a higher LSA and LSDBA (F(2)A 2023 / FA 2024 Sch 9). The standard LSA is £268,275 / LSDBA £1,073,100 (PTM171000 / PTM172000).
Primary sources:PTM171000PTM172000F(2)A 2023 / FA 2024 Sch 9). The standard LSA is £268,275 / LSDBA £1,073,100 (PTM171000 /
For planning and illustration purposes only. Verify all inputs against source documents. This explainer does not constitute financial or tax advice.
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