Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the amount of money that can be withdrawn from a pension scheme tax-free in any one financial year.

The government has increased the Personal Allowance (PA), the amount of income an individual does not have to pay income tax on, by over 40% in real terms since 2010. The PA at £12,570 is high by international standards – it is one of the most generous tax allowances in the OECD and highest in the G7.

The government wishes to encourage personal saving, to help ensure that people have income, or funds on which they can draw, throughout retirement. This is why, for the majority of savers, pension contributions are tax-free.