Reeves’s £50bn problem solved: stop splashing it in pension tax relief

Boomers and better-paid gen Xers do not need pension tax relief. Photograph: Justin Kase zsixz/Alamy

Rachel Reeves could stop giving money away if she wants to close the UK’s looming spending gap. And baby boomers could be her first target.

At the moment the chancellor gives away more than £50bn in tax relief for pension saving, most of which goes to wealthier boomers and better-paid gen Xers who do not need the money and would save anyway if state support was more limited.