Tax relief

Pensions minister Ros Altmann has confirmed the government's wide-ranging pension consultation will consider scrapping "regressive" tax breaks for higher earners amid warnings changes could "disincentivise retirement saving".

The government has introduced anti-avoidance measures to stop people using salary sacrifice to ‘lower' their salary to get around the lower annual allowance for high earners.

Industry figures have warned the green paper on pensions tax relief published last week is "not a genuine consultation" as the government has already decided on the outcome.

The pensions industry has warned that tax relief cuts announced in the Summer Budget will deter people from saving into a pension and make the tax system even more complex.

Three problems with Osborne's policies

George Osborne's call for radical thinking on pensions tax relief could solve the problem "once and for all" but there are huge policy issues to overcome, industry experts have said.

A shift from an 'EET' to a ‘TEE' tax system could save the government £10bn a year, academic Michael Johnson has said.

Pension green paper: The eight key questions

Chancellor George Osborne is to publish a green paper to seek feedback on a plan to make "pensions more like ISAs".

High earners have had the tax relief on their pension contributions cut in today's Summer Budget.