Osborne should leave pensions alone, say readers

MAXIMUM TAX-FREE PENSION CONTRIBUTIONS should not be lowered by the chancellor in this week's Autumn Statement, according to Accountancy Age readers.

Of the 70 polled, 69% said contributing to pensions should be encouraged and that taxing them would be counter-productive. Almost a quarter, though, said George Osborne should drop the tax-free threshold to £30,000 in order to bring in an additional £1.8bn. The remaining 8% said the threshold should be lowered to £40,000.

Osborne is expected to move the threshold from £50,000 to £40,000 in Wednesday's Autumn Statement, a measure expected to bring in about £600m for the public purse.

There has already been considerable opposition to the proposal, with the National Association of Pension Funds suggesting changes to the pensions tax system would undermine public confidence in saving for retirement and could deter people from being auto-enrolled into a pension.