For those hunting for a festive financial boost, a simple check could see you clawing back around £3,500 from the taxman. Pensioner households with a two-digit tax code may be owed thousands in pension tax rebates from HMRC , reports Chronicle Live .

Between July and September this year, HMRC handed back a staggering £48,560,205 to pension savers, with an average reclaim of £3,539. This happened after pension savers were stung by "emergency" tax charges. If you're over 55 and have a defined contribution (DC) scheme or personal pension, you can take the first 25% tax-free.

Anything above that gets taxed at normal income tax rates. But savers making a large one-off withdrawal on their first attempt get hammered with an "emergency" higher tax rate.

If your tax code ends with "M1", mean

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