Financial Planners have given the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement a qualified thumbs up, particularly in the area of pension saving, although many are holding fire until all the details are released in the Finance Bill.

David Gow, director at Acumen Financial Planning in Edinburgh, said the Autumn Statement was generally good news for pensioners and pension savers.

He said: “Pensioners will find themselves among the best-placed beneficiaries of the Autumn Statement, with the Chancellor confirming that the Triple Lock will be maintained and the state pension to see an increase of 8.5% in April.

“In further welcome news, the government’s commitment to consulting on giving people ‘one pension pot for life’ has the potential to be a game-changer in the pensions industry. Not only could this proposed policy result in greater competition among pension providers, but it may also help to improve public knowledge around pensions – a crucial area which remains widely misunderstood.”

Faye Church, senior Chartered Financial Planner, Investec Wealth & Investment, said the pension pot for life idea could be a boost for many.

She said: “Gone are the days where we have a job for life and retirement meant a gold watch and gold-plated pension. However, a “pot for life” goes some way to allowing us to accumulate pension benefits in one place, rather than having a collection of small, bitty pensions that can get lost or forgotten. It’s a headache for payroll, but a flexible win for the employee.”

She said the confirmation the Lifetime Allowance was being scrapped was good news but the rules were complex and would require clients to get good advice from a Financial Planner.

Simon Taylor, head of strategic partnerships, Investec Wealth & Investment (UK) was positive about the changes but said the many updates could strain the financial advice sector’s ability to service clients.

He said: “The Autumn Statement is certain to boost the demand for advice but the fact is the advice industry is under strain – and it’s getting worse.

“There are people in the lower tax bracket not even realising they need to complete a tax return. More people are being dragged into tax bands, the tax system is becoming more complicated, inheritance rules are complex yet more people are starting to move into retirement and live off their savings.

"There is a limited supply of advice in the UK and the advice industry is under more stress to support demand. There are 5,000 advice firms, with 28,000 advisers in the UK and advisers are retiring, with 50% planning to retire in the next five years, according to our research.

“The industry is under pressure yet this should be a golden era for advice firms, with demand far exceeding supply. We are working with advisers to help them become more efficient to meet the ever-increasing demand for advice.”

Rachael Griffin, tax and financial planning expert at Quilter, said the Chancellor's ISA changes - allowing multiple subscriptions in one year - could boost investment and saving.

She said: “The Chancellor's newly unveiled plan to allow multiple subscriptions to ISAs of the same type every year from April 2024 is a step in the right direction for invigorating the savings culture in the UK. However, the real issue at hand is the complexity of the current ISA system.

“The multitude of ISA options available can be daunting for the average saver, potentially deterring them from saving altogether. A more streamlined approach, such as consolidating cash and stocks and shares ISAs into a single, more straightforward product, could significantly reduce this complexity.

Gavin Jones, associate director at Financial Planning and accountancy firm Old Mill, said the pensions pot for life plan was welcome.

He said: “UK workers change jobs, on average every five years and auto enrolment is now more than 10 years old, so many workers could already have a handful of pension schemes, and while it is easy to lose track of what might be small pots of money, added up over a working lifetime, it could dramatically change income in retirement.

“The Government have set out, in letters to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Pensions Regulator, that they are exploring a Lifetime Provider Model, enabling individuals to have one pension pot for life, reducing the barriers to engagement and increasing their control over their pension pots. This is certainly welcome news, but we would like to see safeguards are in place that the pot employees choose to stick with is good value for money and to ensure administration costs will not be prohibitive for employers.”

Helen Howcroft, head of women’s Financial Planning at Financial Planner Atomos, suggested savers who do not benefit from financial advice may struggle to get to grips with the many investment options available if they take a DIY approach to choosing a pension scheme provider.

Elliott Silk, Atomos head of Financial Planning, added that the pension pot for life changes could burden employers and payroll paying contributions into multiple different pension plans. He added: “It may also raise the cost of pensions, as providers might not be able to offer the low charges that they do on group personal pension plans because the efficiency of being paid contributions from one source will be diminished. It may be easier for people to accumulate through one plan, but we will continue to watch this space.”

On the pension pot for life proposals Claire Trott, divisional director of retirement & holistic planning at wealth manager St James’s Place, said the concept was interesting but much would depend on the rules.

She said: “The call for evidence on the proposed “pot for life” is a very interesting concept and could be a real benefit to those that want to move jobs and keep all their benefits in one place, as well as those who already have substantial funds and want to ensure they don’t have to sweep their savings into one pot on a regular basis.

“However, the administrative burden of paying pension contributions to a variety of different providers for your workforce is likely to be a headache that employers don’t need. It also remains to be seen how this could work with the Auto Enrolment regulations currently in force. Overall, 88 per cent of eligible employees (20.4 million) were participating in a workplace pension in 2022."

Andrew Dixon, head of wealth planning at SG Hambro, said he welcomed pension innovation with the ‘pension pot for life’ initiative but it may conflict with the Pensions Dashboard plans and other pension plans.

He said: “The Chancellor’s recent announcement of the massive pensions shake-up sounds good in theory. In practice, this can be difficult to get off the ground due to the legacy of pension system and complexity for employers. It is also difficult to see the benefit of both the Pension Dashboard and a pension for life as they are both aiming to solve the same issue.

“Pleased to see the establishment of investment vehicles to channel pension funds into start-up companies. As a passionate supporter of the venture space in the UK, it is pleasing to see the Government focusing on innovation, and from a personal finance perspective, extending the sunset clause on Venture Capital Trusts and Enterprise Investment Schemes.”