Overview
- The Chancellor will deliver the Autumn Statement on 26 November, with pensions widely discussed as a likely focus for revenue-raising.
- Economists expect the OBR to downgrade the outlook, creating a roughly £20–£40 billion fiscal gap while government pledges rule out rises to NI, income tax rates, VAT and the headline corporation tax rate.
- NFU Mutual’s Sean McCann outlined four reported options: cutting the annual allowance from £60,000 to around £25,000, introducing a 5% National Insurance charge on employer pension contributions, taxing all pension death benefits, and lowering the tax‑free lump‑sum cap from £268,275 to about £150,000.
- AJ Bell’s Tom Selby urged a formal Pension Tax Lock to give savers certainty that rules will not tighten unexpectedly.
- Reports linking Pensions Minister Torsten Bell to pre‑Budget work have reinforced speculation about trimming tax‑free cash, and separate analysis warns frozen thresholds will lift tax bills in 2026 even without new measures.