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Billy Mackay, marketing director of AJ Bell, said HMRC had confirmed where a cheque was sent or the process of payment started before Budget day but payment was not completed until on or after, contributions must be treated as payments made after 22 April.

This raises the prospect of a potential charge to the new special annual allowance tax charge.

Mr Mackay said: "This is further evidence of pension policy that is at odds with any aspiration to encourage people to save.

"In similar circumstances, where contributions were sent immediately before the end of the tax year but not received until afterwards, HMRC has allowed pension administrators to treat them as pre-tax year contributions.

"Such an obvious lack of consistency suggests that consumers are paying the price for a government that has allowed gross habits to outgrow net income."