‘Gov’t – stop meddling with tax and make pensions work’: TMI
The government has been accused of meddling with pensions rather than addressing the real issues, according to Matt Phillips, managing director of City-based investment and wealth manager Thomas Miller Investment.
He said: “The government risks undoing its good work achieved through pension freedoms by making pensions less attractive.”
Mr Phillips was referring in particular to the government’s recent consultation on pensions tax relief, which he said was “yet another clear indication that some of the generous tax reliefs that are attached to pensions are going to be lost in the near future”.
He added that there needed to be financial education for consumers and a campaign to improve people’s perception of the industry.
Adviser view
Laurence Sanderson, financial consultant for Essex-based Sterling & Law said: “We need a period of calm as there has been too much change, too soon, which creates confusion. You want to know what you are saving for, but with the threat to higher rate relief and the tax-free cash lump sum that is difficult.
“The suggestion of a campaign to improve the image of the industry might be a good idea after government has stopped changing everything. I think we have to ask what the real agenda is here. Are the changes intended to benefit people or just to create more tax receipts?”