Why the Treasury must merge pension and ISA tax regimes

The pensions and ISA regimes should be unified as the next logical step in the evolution of UK savings culture, Michael Johnson has said.

The Centre for Policy Studies research fellow, who earlier this year proclaimed the death of pensions, argues the current savings landscape is characterised by a "fundamental schism" between pensions and ISAs. He said up-front tax relief on pension contributions should be abolished and a workplace ISA should be introduced instead of traditional retirement savings vehicles. Johnson called for a wholesale shift from the current tax relief system attached to pensions - 'exempt, exempt, taxed' (EET) - to 'taxed, exempt, exempt' (TEE) relief on savings. He said it was a logical progress...