But some advisers have criticised the missed opportunity to give more details about how the biggest changes to the pension system for generations are to be implemented.
Barnett Waddingham senior consultant Malcolm McLean says: “Apart from the proposed withdrawal of the 55 per cent tax charge on inherited pension previously announced, the autumn statement contained no further significant changes to pensions.
“Given the radical changes that were announced in the Budget earlier this year, it comes as somewhat of a relief that the Chancellor has refrained from interfering with pension rules any further ahead of April 2015.
“There is still a lot of work to be done to implement and educate the public about the Budget changes, and the pensions providers and indeed the pensions industry as a whole will no doubt be breathing a collective sigh of relief due to the uneventful nature of today’s announcement.”
Barclays Corporate & Employer Solutions head of DC pension & investment consulting Lydia Fearn says: ”With the most substantial reform to pensions in a generation being introduced in April, we would have liked to see more clarity on the rules governing the new financial freedoms and a stronger indication of the impact the new measures could have.
“Our recent research of 2,000 DC members has found there is broad support of more choice (64%), suggesting that trustees and the wider pension industry will need to continue to focus on making the necessary changes to allow members to exercise the new flexibilities. This will include changes to the default investment option as well as helping to communicate to those members who will be immediately affected by the flexibilities in April.
“With greater flexibility and access, though, also comes a greater responsibility for individuals to take more control of their personal finances. It is therefore vital that savers have access to good financial education and information. While we welcome the commitment to impartial guidance near the point of retirement, there is some concern that this may come too late for many people.”
Sackers partner Zoe Murphy says: “Having heard so much from George Osborne on pensions over the last year, it is perhaps not surprising that there was very little left to say. In the Autumn statement the Chancellor confirmed the abolition of the 55 per cent “death tax” on unused pension savings which had previously been announced in September. But in the statement the tax-free treatment was also extended to payments made to a spouse under a joint-life annuity.
“George Osborne made no mention of spouse’s pensions paid from occupational pension schemes – but it seems hard to justify the difference in treatment between a pension paid from a scheme and one paid as an annuity by an insurance company.
“As part of the focus on savings in the statement, he also confirmed that the pensioner bonds announced in the 2014 Budget would be available from next week, potentially good news for existing retirees struggling with poor savings rates.”
