Autumn Statement uncharacteristically quiet(ish)

Speculation about potential changes was rife ahead of time, but only two headline changes to pensions were announced in the chancellor's speech: the state pension and delaying the phasing up of auto-enrolment statutory minimum contributions.

Dear @George_Osborne. I'm doing a pensions exam in January. Please don't announce any more pension changes before then. Thank you.

— Patrick Connolly (@bristolpat) November 25, 2015

As predicted on social media, reforms to pension tax were left alone for now, with the government promising a response to its tax incentivisation consultation in next year's Budget.

But hidden away in the document accompanying the speech, the government promised imminent detail on the proposed pooling of the Local Government Pension Scheme into six British Wealth Funds, a potentially massive change for public sector pensions.

Auto-enrolment phasing delayed

This makes sense in the context of supporting small business, reflecting the government's belief that, as the chancellor put it in his speech: "There is no growth without a vibrant private sector and successful entrepreneurs." However, some worried about the potential impact on members.

Shift in auto-enrolment schedule good for government and businesses but bad for members, retirement just got a little further away

— Tom McPhail (@PensionsMonkey) November 25, 2015

Hargreaves Lansdown's Tom McPhail also pointed out in a tweet that changing the schedule was set to save the government £390m in 2017-18 and £450m in 2018-19.

State pension increase

The state pension's 'triple lock' – the guarantee that it will rise in line with whichever is highest of growth in prices, average earnings or 2.5 per cent – was maintained.

The chancellor also committed to a £3.35 rise in the state pension, bringing it up to £119.30 a week, which he described as "the biggest real terms increase to the basic State Pension in 15 years".

LGPS pooling details tbc...

Local authorities and asset managers have been eagerly awaiting detail on the proposed pooling of LGPS assets into six super funds worth at least £25bn each.

The funds were not mentioned in the statement, but a guidance document released alongside it stated that further detail will be released imminently. However it's up to local authorities to submit proposals that adhere to four key criteria: scale, governance, cost and ability to invest in infrastructure.

The document stated: