Pensioners are 'overpaying' in tax

Friday, February 26th 2010

The way that pensioners are taxed on their income has been condemned by a financial charity.

According to the technical director of the Low Incomes Tax Reform Group Robin Williamson, the government should do something about the issue.

The House of Commons Committee of Public Accounts produced a report that found HM Revenue and Customs guilty of "poorly serving" the over 60s.

It is often the case that this age group pays more tax than they should because the system is too complicated.

Some 1.5 million over 60s were found to have overpaid by a total of £250 million in taxes, the report found.

Mr Williamson said: "I think a lot could be done by getting the system working in the first place, working proactively to identify overpayers."

This group is particularly vulnerable and more should be done to protect their income, he added.

Over 60s count for 18 per cent of the UK's taxpayers, the report noted.