Phillip Inman’s focus on pension tax relief does highlight areas where savings might be made in the long term – but there are no quick fixes (Reeves’s £50bn problem solved: stop splashing it in pension tax relief, theguardian.com, 6 September). Moreover, his proposals would probably disproportionately impact public sector workers because of their membership of defined benefit pension schemes.
A significant reduction of the tax-free cash payment may deliver some savings from such schemes. According to figures on Dan Neidle’s Tax Policy Associates website – capping the benefit at £100k might save £5bn – a sum that might usefully offset a few weeks of government debt interest payments each year.
