Pension tax relief isn't working well - how can we improve it?

For incentives to work, they must be understood – and that is not the case, says Baroness Ros Altmann

clock • 3 min read

Tax relief in its current form just isn’t working. It’s meant to offer an incentive to get us to save for retirement, but it is so complex that most people don’t understand it. Without knowing how it works and how valuable it is, it clearly cannot provide much incentive for increasing contributions.

This is a real shame, because the pension tax relief system costs the government more than £40bn a year when including national insurance relief - but these huge sums of money are not being well ta...

To continue reading this article...

Join Professional Pensions

Become a Professional Pensions Lite Member today

  • Three complimentary articles per month covering the latest real-time news, analysis and opinion from the industry
  • Receive important and breaking news stories via our two daily news alerts
  • Hear from industry experts and other forward-thinking leaders

Are you a trustee, investment consultant or in-house pension and benefit scheme professional? You can apply for full complimentary access here

Join now

 

Already a Professional Pensions
member?

Login

More on Defined Contribution

What can the UK learn from the Australian pension system?

What can the UK learn from the Australian pension system?

Gregg McClymont says attention to differences as well as similarities is important

Gregg McClymont
clock 17 December 2025 • 3 min read
SPP: Making retirement choices simpler and safer

SPP: Making retirement choices simpler and safer

Anish Rav says initiatives that help achieve a better outcome in retirement are welcome

Anish Rav
clock 17 December 2025 • 3 min read
DC schemes delivering 12% value from contributions of 8%, LCP finds

DC schemes delivering 12% value from contributions of 8%, LCP finds

Consultancy finds minimum of £15bn could be invested in private markets by 2030

Martin Richmond
clock 16 December 2025 • 2 min read
Trustpilot