Autumn (Statement) mood
From the blog: More than a month to go until the Autumn Statement, and the first shots are already being fired.
While the Treasury is familiarly tight-lipped ahead of its official announcement, this is less the case elsewhere.
Hargreaves Lansdown’s proposal for age-based pensions tax relief has recently been speculated to be under consideration by the Treasury, but some pensions veterans have denounced the idea as “terrible in practice” (Steve Webb, Royal London), and as an essentially pointless exercise that could not stop the ship from sinking – Hymans Robertson’s Calum Cooper likened the suggestion to “shuffling chairs on the Titanic”.
Whether anything will be changed or not, the rumour mill goes into overdrive twice a year, mainly leading to uncertainty for those who have to plan their finances, and to some heated exchanges on Twitter and the like.
Inertia or incentives? https://t.co/xaJtSXop8O @hymansrobertson @HLInvest @PensionsMonkey @RoyalLondon @stevewebb1 #autumnstatement pic.twitter.com/Xl8YqzdsLp
— Pensions Expert (@pensions_expert) October 17, 2016
@pensions_expert @hymansrobertson @HLInvest @RoyalLondon @stevewebb1 need to look forward, not bask in glory of past policy success
— Tom McPhail (@PensionsMonkey) October 17, 2016
@stevewebb1 @pensions_expert @hymansrobertson @HLInvest @RoyalLondon SMRT a good idea but not the only solution; need to do more
— Tom McPhail (@PensionsMonkey) October 17, 2016
It is unclear if such discussions lead to anything more than perhaps a few ‘likes’ and a slightly higher profile for those taking part, but they highlight two things: one is the desire for change that many declare when it comes to pensions – the feeling that something has to give; and secondly, it puts the spotlight on just how much change the Treasury has already introduced to pensions over the past few years, and how conscious the industry therefore is of what might come next.
The savings crisis: Top-up v save more tomorrow
The debate about tax relief on pension contributions and incentives for saving has kept industry and policymakers entertained (or unamused) for five or six years now.
George Osborne’s shadow is long it seems, and the pensions industry has not yet moved out of it. To find out if Philip Hammond is equally as keen on moving the pieces of the pensions puzzle around as his predecessor, we have to wait another month, but I expect there will be plenty more speculation before then.