Personal Accounts to be delayed until 2013 in PBR

According to reports in The Independent the chancellor will postpone the Personal Accounts plan until 2013 as part of his plans to cut spending and protect budgets for schools, hospitals and the police.

Personal Accounts are aimed at ensuring low-paid workers not in a company scheme have an income in retirement on top of the basic state pension.

Under the proposal, employers would be forced to contribute to the personal accounts unless they choose to opt out.

The government promised to introduce them in 2012, however the delay, initially for one year, is expected to save the Treasury between £1bn and £2bn.

A Treasury source told The Independent: "We are under no illusion that that will mean some tough choices – cutting unnecessary programmes and lower-priority budgets."

A spokeswoman for the Personal Accounts Delivery Authority (PADA) added: "We do not comment on speculation."

Meanwhile, it has also been reported that Mr Darling will cut the majority of public spending in the PBR on average by 14 per cent over the next three years.

FTAdviser.com will deliver all the key points as they happen, plus analysis and reaction as the government outlines its pre-Budget report.

From 12.30pm today (9 December), FTAdviser.com will keep you up-to-date with Alistair Darling's pre-Budget speech and give you access to the following industry experts thoughts on what is being proposed.