The Guide Top Ten: Pension relief plans mean it's time tothink about how to maximise your tax efficiency

MEASURES affecting pension relief afforded to individuals with relevant income above £130,000 a year come into force in a year's time.

Jamie Corcoran, regional financial planning director with Barclays Wealth, offers his top tips on maximising tax efficiency.

1 SEEK ADVICE

The new rules on pensions coupled with the introduction of simplification in 2006 have resulted in a dramatic change in the pension landscape over the past five years. Understanding your personal situation and seeking tailored advice is now more important than ever.

2 GET REVIEWED

As a starting point, carry out a comprehensive review of your current position, taking both you and your partner's income and pension plan into consideration. This information will act as the bedrock of all subsequent advice.

3 REDUCED TAX RELIEF

The new rules state that an individual with a relevant income over 130,000 can contribute 20,000 into a pension and receive full tax benefits at a marginal rate if they have paid in less than that amount during the last three tax years. Alternatively, if they have paid in more in that timeframe, full benefits can be enjoyed on a maximum of 30,000. Amounts above this will trigger a special annual allowance tax charge, although regular contributions - paid quarterly, at least - in force at 22 April 2009 are protected until April 2011.

4 FUND YOUR SPOUSE'S PENSION

Look at maximising both yours and your spouse's assets by fully funding their pension, subject to the same limits, if you are caught by these rules. If this isn't possible, consider altering your income streams or investigating alternative saving models.

5 TRANSFER INCOME EARNING ASSETS

Can you minimise tax liabilities by redistributing assets to your partner, decreasing your income while increasing theirs? Assets can be freely transferred between spouses or between civil partners without becoming subject to stamp duty, provided those assets they are transferred and not sold. However, it must be recognised that assets transferred to a spouse cannot be recovered automatically.

6 BUMP UP YOUR ISA

Build up a capital lump sum by investing the maximum permitted amount (10,200 from 6 April) each year in an individual savings account (Isa). You will have access to 100 per cent of this amount as tax free income without the need to purchase an annuity.

7 GO OFFSHORE

Placing sums into offshore investment wrappers allows you to have "gross roll-up" on the funds. You then have the option of either taking a tax deferred income from the investment, bringing the monies back onshore, or leaving it for your beneficiaries. With the correct planning, this can be an excellent way of reducing tax on investments and therefore reducing your relevant income.

8 CHECK ALTERNATIVES

Investing in an enterprise investment scheme (EIS) or venture capital trust (VCT) allows you to produce lump sums from reclaiming income tax - 20 per cent and 30 per cent respectively. These, by nature, are more speculative investments, but a good addition to well diversified retirement strategies.

9 REGULAR SAVING CONTRACTS

Look at making regular contributions to a saving plan. An example would be a maximum investment plan where monies saved for a set period of time – usually aimed towards your retirement age – would then be returned to you as a tax-free lump sum on maturity, again for you to use as you wish.

10 GO FOR THE MAXIMUM

There will be changes to the pension rules for those individuals whose relevant income amounts to less than 130,000. There are no guarantees that further attacks will not be carried out on pensions, so those who are in this bracket would be best advised to place as much in their pensions as they can afford.