“The LTA tax charge created fear for many members,” he said. “Ordinary people that create wealth and employment shouldn’t be penalised for taking responsibility for their retirement income and engaging the next generation with pensions by becoming Ssas members.”
But Mark Ormston, director of propositions and corporate partnerships at Retirement Line, said pension taxation changes are inevitable.
He said: “In my mind, there are likely two things at play. Firstly, basic electioneering. One of the Conservative's main messages is to ‘attack’ Labour on increasing taxes and a key driver for the LTA being scrapped was NHS employee retention.
“No matter what the polls are suggesting, Labour will not want to allow their political opponents the opportunity to present the image that ‘Labour will tax your private pension and worsen the employment crisis within the NHS’ (I am no spin doctor, but you get the idea).
“Secondly, in an ideal world, Labour (or any political party) will want to bring industry along with any changes they may be considering. Typically, this involves numerous consultations and listening exercises before any changes are introduced.
“I feel pension taxation reform is inevitable and I feel this is a good thing. The unknown in my mind is how radical the reforms may be. I suspect the size of the Labour majority (if indeed there is one), will dictate how bold they might go.”
amy.austin@ft.com
