Around 8.27million of the UK’s 12.3million pensioners paid income tax last year, and this is set to hit almost nine million this year, with many pulled into higher tax bands.

This compares to less than five million in the 2010/2011 tax year, marking a huge rise under the Tories who lifted our tax bills to a 70-year high.

Yet with careful planning pensioners could potentially generate income of more than £23,000 a year without handing a penny to HMRC, figures from Gary Smith, partner in…