With any detail regarding pension tax allowances missing from the Labour Party manifesto, retirees could see a Labour government cut back allowances to raise funds, according to pensions industry experts.
While Labour pledged to maintain the Triple Lock on the State Pension, its pensions market review and absence of detail on pension tax allowances leaves uncertainty.
Helen Morrissey, head of retirement analysis at Hargreaves Lansdown, said savers should be prepared for a cut back to allowances.
She said: “A notable absence from the manifesto is any detail regarding pension tax allowances. The Conservative manifesto says there would be no changes, allowing people to plan ahead and make full use of the allowances available to them. As yet, Labour has made no such promise, raising the prospect of things like the annual allowance or pension tax relief to be pruned back.”
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Tom Selby, director of public policy at platform AJ Bell, said Keir Starmer’s commitment to stability should give savers confidence.
He said: “Labour’s commitment to stability should give savers confidence to plan for the future. This move also supports wider efforts to boost investing, including in UK companies. Any pension tax reform taken forward by the next government should focus squarely on simplification and encouraging more people to save for the long term.
“In addition, Keir Starmer’s party says it will carry out a wide-ranging review of the pensions landscape if it wins power, with the aim of improving outcomes and encouraging greater levels of investment in UK markets. While the focus on pushing greater investment in UK plc is understandable, it is critical the interests of savers are at the heart of any future reforms.
“While ensuring the investments held by auto-enrolment default funds are appropriate is clearly important, ultimately the biggest driver of retirement outcomes is contribution levels. It is therefore likely the next government will need to think carefully about the question of pension adequacy and how to scale up minimum contribution rates beyond the current level of 8% of qualifying earnings.”
It its response to the manifesto, Financial Planner and wealth manager Quilter focused on Labour’s “private school tax raid.”
Rachael Griffin, tax and Financial Planning expert at Quilter, said if Labour win the election more grandparents will be looking at using the annual gifting allowance to help fund grandchildren’s education.
She said: “For many parents a 20% increase in the cost of private schooling will simply be a financial step too far. This could lead to thousands of school children leaving private education and joining the state system. Many grandparents can utilise their wealth to help keep their grandchildren in private education while also mitigating their inheritance tax liability.
“For older grandparents utilising just their tax-free gift allowance may be sensible but younger grandparents, who feel they have more than enough wealth to live on, could consider gifting over and above the limit.”
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