Pensions boost for wealthy as Hunt ditches lifetime allowance

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Labour said the chancellor’s decision to unveil generous pensions allowances in the Budget was a tax cut for “the richest 1 per cent”. But in a surprise announcement, Mr Hunt said the lifetime allowance – dubbed the “doctors’ tax” – would be abolished completely. Mr Brown said that removing the cap “won’t impact the vast majority of hard-working savers, and means very little to the millions of people who save through automatic enrolment”, adding: “Reform to workplace saving will be the only way to ensure that millions more people can save enough to live on in retirement.” But Treasury sources insisted the policy was the “quickest and most effective way” to stop so many experienced doctors from retiring early. open image in gallery Sir Julian Hartley, chief executive of NHS Providers, welcomed the announcement, saying: “For far too long, a series of temporary quick fixes has failed to stem the flow of senior NHS staff either taking early retirement or not taking on extra work for fear of punitive tax bills.” Mr Hunt’s Budget measures to boost employment will have a “marginal but positive” impact, the Institute for Fiscal Studies think tank has said.