What to expect from the last ever Spring Budget
By Kirsten Hastings, 1 Mar 17
There has been little buzz around the last-ever Spring Budget taking place on 8 March, ahead of triggering Article 50. International Adviser has pulled together views from the industry about what it expects or would like to see addressed when the chancellor takes to the despatch box.
Richard Parkin, head of pensions policy at Fidelity International, said: “With pension freedom being such a success in terms of encouraging engagement, we must carefully consider any changes which could be seen to prevent good consumer behaviour or significantly hinder people’s access to pension freedoms.
“Consumers’ lack of trust in pensions is largely driven by constant changes to the rules,” he warned.
Parkin urged the government to delay the reduction of the Money Purchase Annual Allowance (MPAA) from £40,000 to £4,000 and work with industry to see if there is a better way of limiting recycling without limiting flexibility.
“The government has genuine concerns around recycling of pension cash and it is right that they should examine the issue carefully.
“However, these issues are complex and it is important not to push through rule changes quickly without running through all options first.”
Echoing the warning from Nucleus’s Rachel Vahey, Parkin said: “This constant chipping away around the edges only serves to undermine people’s confidence in long-term pensions saving due to the constant moving of goal posts.”
Tags: Aegon | AJ Bell | Fidelity | Nucleus | Old Mutual | Pension | Rachael Griffin | Rachel Vahey | Steven Cameron | Tom Selby
