Pensions - Articles - Steve Webb at Royal London comments on the Autumn Statement

 “It is good news that the rumours of a halt to automatic enrolment have proved unfounded. A six month delay, so that contributions rise in April 2018 and April 2019 may be a good thing. If people get pay rises and income tax cuts in April this will mean that the impact of higher pension contributions on their take-home pay will be reduced. If this leads to lower opt-out rates it would be a welcome change.

 “It is also good news that a decision on pension tax relief changes has been put off until the Budget. This is an important decision and the Government needs to take time to get it right. However, they should have put on hold the short-term changes to pension tax relief due in April 2016 which will simply make the system more complex.”