Like many people, I suspect I’m fed up with the annual trauma that surrounds budgets. I’m sure that it’s the same in other sectors but financial services is particularly vulnerable to rumours because so much of what is sold is sold on tax-breaks.

There are some pretty straightforward lobbying by senior figures in financial services that may not suit the current Government but suits the readership of the Times and those who are purchasing product from our large insurers. This looks legitimate.

Amanda Blanc, CEO of Aviva has this warning to the Labour Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healy in the Sunday Times.

Reducing or retargeting pension tax relief may (or may not) produce revenue today, but it definitely risks shrinking the pool of patient capital available to finance the investment and growth of tomorrow. Worse still, it can limit the size of pension pots that people rely on to fund their retirement.

None of these measures offers a single dramatic solution. That is precisely the point. Britain doesn’t need yet another slogan about growth; it needs practical reforms that make it easier for households to build long-term financial security, for institutions to invest and for good projects and businesses to obtain capital.

The article may have been sent to the Times before Torsten Bell’s speech to the Pensions UK Conference but pension providers have been accused by Bell of fuelling savers’ fears around potential tax changes to generate publicity ahead of the autumn Budget. The article is only one of many that we read about pension taxation and may be annoying to a Pensions Minister looking to reform the pension system (not, so far,  its taxation). T

Torsten Bell has said some providers havedemonstrated “irresponsible behaviour” in an attempt to secure media coverage.

Bell warned at Pensions UK Conference that  the coverage had the potential to change outcomes for savers and urged provider communications teams to consider the wider interests of the pensions industry.

Bell who had spoken of the need to build trust in pensions, said:

“People working in the pensions industry should understand that we should be rebuilding trust.”

That means not choosing cheap routes to publicity, but instead trying to build the brand of pensions.”

The brand of pensions is taking a big beating from younger generations.

The budget’s position on private pension taxation is unlikely to make much difference to ordinary people.

The budget’s less than a fortnight away and then we’ll find out if tax breaks are limited. If the changes are introduced it will be those who benefit from tax relief who will suffer. The biggest beneficiaries of pension tax relief are the high earners.

There is a  strong argument to reform pension taxation to make it more of an incentive for everyone. This rather than pension taxation being biased towards those who pay higher rates of tax relief.  If the argument is that less money would go into  SIPPs and other forms of wealth management tools, then it is very expensive money to the lower rate tax-payer. It’s the wrong kind of subsidy for me.

All the same, I think it highly unlikely that pensions will have tax relief’s taken away and I do hope that we stop speculating about bad news and focus on the reforms that are here and those that are to come.

Maybe this is legitimate if predictable complaining

Amanda Blanc has got  form in trying to control what goes on before budgets , having campaigned  in August that the Chancellor not to fly pension taxation kites before the budget as she claimed Rachel Reeves’ team did last year

It looks as if the Chancellor has picked up on this criticism. I suspect Amanda Blanc and John Healy are on the same page

But is this from AJ Bell?

Blanc’s calls look different to calls for the Chancellor to make pre budget promises about tax detail – AJ Bell  has some public lobbying aimed at  the Chancellor which is more difficult for the Treasury. AJ Bell is a wealth manager, lobbying mostly for SIPPs for the wealthy.

This to me is not responsible. As Nico Aspinall says on his and Darren Philp’s podcast, declaring what will be exempt before one budget sets a precedent for future budgets. If there is a declaration this year and no declaration next year, there will be speculation that the sacred pension tax relief is at risk again.

There really are many more important things that we can devote our time to do than worrying about how pension taxation will change in the budget. I’m with Torsten Bell, all this speculation isn’t doing anyone much good, especially tax-payers who distrust the pension industry.