Lump Sum applicants can abort 2022 BPS for earlier exit cash

Farmers will be able to get their full Lump Sum Exit Scheme capital payment as early as November if they withdraw their 2022 Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) application.

The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) is contacting scheme applicants in England who have already completed their evidence forms offering them this option.

By taking up the RPA’s offer, the full lump sum would be paid in early November 2022.

Those who have applied will be contacted directly.

See also: Defra’s lump sum exit scheme opens for retiring farmers

Organisations representing farmers, including the Tenant Farmers Association, are advising farmers to action the letter as soon as they receive it to ensure prompt payment.

Some advisers say that while this will suit some applicants in certain circumstances, the timescales need careful thought to allow for the inevitable planning and reorganisation of both business and personal matters.

The lump sum is in lieu of the direct payments claimants would otherwise have received if they had continued farming until 2027.

It is set at an average of the 2019-21 BPS receipts, multiplied by 2.35, with a cap of £100,000.

The Lump Sum Exit Scheme aims to incentivise more farmers to retire completely from farming to free up land, via sale, lease, transfer or gift to the next generation, or to new entrants. 

The scheme closes for applications in September 2022 and will not reopen next year.