The government has responded to AJ Bell’s Pension Tax Lock petition, which has gained over 18,500 signatures, but gave no assurances on pension tax-free cash or relief ahead of the Budget. Instead, it referred the issue to the Pensions Commission. Tom Selby, AJ Bell’s director of public policy, warns that ongoing uncertainty risks undermining savers’ confidence and urges the government to rule out pension tax changes until the Commission reports.
Tom Selby, AJ Bell director of public policy, says:
“Side-stepping calls for stability in pension tax rules ahead of the Budget gives the government an easy get out clause for now, although it means savers are subjected to at least another five weeks of uncertainty.
“Nonetheless, the level of support our Pension Tax Lock petition has generated sends a clear message to government: moving the goalposts on pension tax incentives is not the way to promote confidence in retirement saving.
“The government’s response suggests it could look to the Pensions Commission for an opinion on the future of pension taxation, meaning immediate reform at this Budget should be off the table. If this is the intention, as an absolute bare minimum, Chancellor Rachel Reeves should pledge not to make any changes to the pension tax system at least until the Commission reports, removing uncertainty in the immediate term, allowing time for the entire pension landscape to be considered in the round and for the implications of any changes to be carefully thought through.”
Government response
“The government has at least acknowledged the importance of the pension tax pact between savers and the taxman, under which Brits are able to defer income tax until retirement and are incentivised by the added perk of a 25% tax-free entitlement. This deal is struck decades ahead of retirement when people start working and saving in a pension. Changing the rules of the game before people retire would be an absolute betrayal of those still working hard to build up their pension, who deserve the right to retire on the same terms as the generation before them.
“Focussing on the gross cost of pension tax relief, as the government does in its response to our petition, is also misleading, failing to take into account that pensioners pay tax on their income in retirement. This tax deferral system is the bedrock of retirement provision in the UK and means people, with the help of their employer, can build savings for later life, forming an important part of the consumer economy, reducing dependence on the state in retirement and helping smooth tax revenues in an ageing population. None of that can be captured by looking at the issue only through the lens of the ‘cost’ of pension tax relief for the Treasury.”
The role of the Pensions Commission
“Looking ahead, the Pensions Commission will clearly play a pivotal role in the future of the entire retirement savings system. The government is right to argue there are still challenges with under-saving across the UK, particularly among certain groups such as the self-employed, and it is sensible to look at those challenges holistically through an arms-length commission.
“Nowhere in the terms of reference has government specifically indicated that the Commission should review pension tax incentives, however, and the Commission’s focus should instead be on pension adequacy – ensuring everyone has at least enough to fund a decent retirement. That is best achieved by looking at boosting participation among groups with fewer savings. Ripping up the rulebook will only damage confidence, doing nothing to help encourage people to save for the future.
“Fundamentally changing the terms under which people can access their own money, which they set aside for retirement in good faith, threatens to undermine people’s confidence in long-term saving and damage public faith that governments can be trusted to keep their end of the bargain when people sacrifice income today to provide for themselves in the future.”
Background
Government response
This response was given on 22 October 2025 and can be found on the petition page:
The Government is committed to ensuring pensioners have security in retirement and has launched a Pensions Commission to look at what is required to ensure the system is strong, fair and sustainable.
The Government wishes to encourage pension saving, to help ensure that people have an income, or funds on which they can draw on, throughout retirement. The Government is committed to supporting savers at all stages of life. That is why, for the majority of savers, pension contributions made from income during working life are tax-free. This is known as ‘pensions tax relief’. This relief is available at an individual’s marginal rate. For example, contributions from a basic rate (20 per cent) taxpayer who contributes to a registered pension scheme in 2025/26 receives tax relief at 20 per cent. This makes pensions tax relief one of the most expensive reliefs in the personal tax system, costing £78 billion in 2023/24.
Investment growth of assets in a pension scheme is also not subject to tax. From age 55 (or when scheme rules allow a pension to be taken), up to 25 per cent of the pension can be taken tax-free (capped for most at a maximum of £268,275), depending on scheme rules. Pension income received (for example as a regular annuity payment or as income drawn down from a pension) is subject to income tax at an individual’s marginal rate, to reflect the fact that pensions in payment are a form of deferred income and have not been previously taxed.
With regard to the proposed ‘pension tax lock’, the Government does not comment on proposed tax changes or tax related speculation ahead of Budgets.
The Government recognises the importance of promoting confidence in pension saving and is committed to ensuring future generations of pensioners have security in retirement. This is why the government announced a landmark two-phased review of the pensions system days after coming into office.
The first phase, the Pensions Investment Review, focused on reforming the pensions landscape to boost savers’ pension pots. These reforms will be delivered through the Pension Schemes Bill. The Pensions Commission will build on these foundations and make recommendations to the government on the broader questions of adequacy, fairness, and sustainability to guide the long-term future of our pensions system. The Pensions Commission will be undertaken by Baroness Jeannie Drake, Sir Ian Cheshire and Professor Nick Pearce.
More information on the Pensions Commission, including its Terms of Reference, is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pensions-commission-terms-of-reference
