By removing the requirement to buy an annuity, Mr Osborne sent the share prices of the nation’s biggest retirement income providers into the type of tumble not seen since the start of the credit crunch.

As well as an end to ‘forced’ annuity purchase delivered as part of an overhaul of the defined contribution pension tax regime, an impartial advice service for those with defined contribution pots was also promised.

In a Budget full of shocks and surprises, cash and stocks & shares Isas were also merged to form what has already been rebranded as a Nisa savings product, while a further crackdown on tax avoidance loopholes was outlined.

This guide explains all the key pensions, investment, mortgages and tax changes contained in Budget 2014 and the impact these new rules are likely to have on the industry and the advice you offer.

Contributing material from: HM Revenue & Customs; HM Treasury; Andrew Sneddon, partner and head of tax at law firm Trowers & Hamlins; Anna Bowes, director of SavingsChampion.co.uk; Tom Stevenson, investment director of Fidelity Worldwide Investment; Richard Fearon, head of Halifax Savings; Adrian Walker, retirement planning manager at Skandia; Ian Hammond, managing director of Rowanmoor Group; Catherine Doyle, head of defined contribution, UK at BNY Mellon Investment Management; Rick Eling, head of investment solutions at Sanlam UK; John Overs, partner at law firm Berwin Leighton Paisner; and Tony Clare, pensions advisory partner at Deloitte.