Beware of pension reform shortfalls, warns accountant
Changes to the laws surrounding tax relief on pensions could leave people with income shortfalls in retirement if they fail to make plans now, a Coventry-based accountant has warned.
Chartered accountant and financial adviser Harrison Beale and Owen, which has offices in Coventry and Leamington, has urged people to seek advice ahead of changes to tax relief and funding laws for pensions which are due to come into force later this year.
The government has announced that from April, a significant reduction in the maximum amount of pension savings which will benefit from tax relief.
Tracey Hackett, director at Harrison Beale and Owen, said: “These changes are very complex and it is important to get good professional advice in order to effectively prepare for them.
“It is essential that business owners and higher paid employees sit down with their Independent Financial Advisor and discuss all the options for retirement planning. If people want a comfortable retirement they must act now.”
In order to cut several billion pounds from the tax relief given to pension savers each year, the government has decided that the reduced annual allowance for 2011/12 will be £50,000, rather than £255,000.
