FT Logo

Copy article

FT Editor Banner

What the Spring Budget means for advisers and clients

Journalist: Ima Jackson-Obot, FTAdviser

ended 17. March 2023

Hello Advisers,

Following the budget yesterday I wanted to find out what the impact will be on advisers as well as clients. Can you please help me with the questions below, please?

Who will the pension tax changes affect? 

Will it keep doctors in work? What about other higher earners? 

What is the emphasis given that they are restricting annual allowance but not LTA, but also restricting the tax-free cash amount - what will be the long-term consequences of that?

Some people are saying the changes could be as radical as pension freedoms. Is this a fair assessment?

What will the role of the financial adviser be going forward? 

Are you likely to be very busy, once this legislation goes through? 

What will it mean in practical terms, in the advice you are giving clients?

If you'd prefer to respond by email, my email address is: ima.jacksonobot@ft.com.

Thanks

2 responses from the Newspage community

Copy all

Copy

Editor
Samuel Mather-Holgate
Independent Financial Adviser at Mather and Murray Financial
For clients trying to navigate the lifetime allowance threshold, having to decide when to crystalise their funds or not to at all, these headaches have gone away. Of course, that's great news for them, but at a time when the poorest in society are struggling the most, this was a gift for the Labour party, who can say the government's priorities were wrong. Raising the annual allowance to £60,000 will make a difference, but there are still plenty of consultants who will be caught with a tax charge because of the way they calculate final salary pension benefits. The biggest beef in the NHS is conditions and culture and tax tinkering won't change that. Overall, the benefits are positive for pension savers, but they don't go as far as the Chancellor would have us believe and the main beneficiaries are a few top earners.
Copy

Joshua Gerstler
Chartered Financial Planner at The Orchard Practice
There are lots of opportunities for discussion with the families we look after. The removal of the Lifetime Allowance will be a hot topic. Those who had stopped contributing into theIR pensions may now want to reconsider this. The increase in the Annual Allowance will allow people to grow their pension pots at a faster rate than they have been able to. The increase in the Tapered Annual Allowance is also a positive as for high earners, being restricted to £4,000 of pension contributions was far too low. In addition, the increase in the MPAA will allow those who have had to access their pensions for whatever reason, to continue to contribute meaningful amounts into their pensions.