“However, the paper makes no attempt to address what could be the real headache of any change – namely how to cope with the messy transition between two quite different approaches.”
Nigel Green, founder of deVere Group, was also critical, branding the chancellor’s £10,000 cap on tax relief “short sighted”.
“This is short sighted in the extreme,” he said.
“Individuals being financially secure in later life must be being actively supported by the government, not only because it means that people will be best-placed to have the retirement they wish, but it means that they are less likely to be a burden on the State later in life, and this will help ensure the country’s long-term, sustainable economic growth.”
He fears the government is gearing up to scrap pensions tax relief altogether.
“Worryingly, by highlighting that a Green Paper is to be published, the chancellor is, in my view, hinting that tax relief on pension contributions could go altogether [at] some point in the future.”
