lenahan;328297 wrote:Sara G;328291 wrote:I suppose people really shouldn't have acted in haste, but if the government hadn't been floating so many alarming possibilities around pensions, perhaps they wouldn't have felt the need to do so.
Was it the Goverment or elements of the right wing traditionally supporting Tory press that were pushing this? .
In a nutshell… no. The recommendations for pension reform, including changes to the tax free lump sum and annual tax allowances on contributions came from the ‘Fabian Society’ the socialist think tank and advisors on policy to Labour governments and from which The Labour Party was actually formed. Many past and present Labour front benchers are members.
See their pension recommendations here. I am convinced that the longer Labour are in power, the closer we will get to these recommended changes.
https://fabians.org.uk/p.../expensive-and-unequal/
The headline/description read as follows:
EXPENSIVE AND UNEQUAL
BY ANDREW HARROP
PUBLISHED 26 AUGUST 2024
TOPICS PENSIONS
In July 2024, chancellor of the exchequer Rachel Reeves MP confirmed that she will raise taxes in October’s budget. Reform of tax relief on pension contributions is said to be on her menu of options. Such changes have been proposed previously by the Fabian Society. In this report, the Fabian Society’s general secretary, Andrew Harrop, sets out the case for measures to reduce and redistribute pension tax relief. He also sets out a menu of reform options.
As things stand, individual pension contributions are exempt from income tax, employer pension contributions are exempt from income tax and national insurance, and pension investments are untaxed. This all falls under the umbrella of pension tax relief.
Almost all workers receive far more in tax relief on their pension contributions and investments than they can expect to pay in tax on their pension income. This is especially true for high earners. As Labour looks for revenue sources that do not breach its manifesto commitments, reform of pension tax relief should be a priority, Harrop argues.Note the bit about ‘redistribution’.
So, hardly right wing Tory press.
As for the original question… i activated my 25% tax free allowances after being advised by both Vanguard and H/L that I had one month to reverse the whole process and repay the lump sum if I changed my mind. It did not get that far anyway and I was able to cancel the process.
Pension tax reform…… delayed…. but coming soon. Be prepared.