press release

• Chancellor’s pre-budget move on pension term assurance short-sighted
• Families’ futures put at risk for short term gain by Treasury

THE POPULARITY of the life premium loophole that gives consumers big tax relief savings has proved to be its undoing, says Moneynet.co.uk following the Chancellor’s quashing of pension term assurance in this week’s pre-budget report.

“For the Treasury to be backtracking so soon after launching this product in April of this year, it is not very helpful for the industry or for the public who have taken advantage of these new rules to arrange protection for their families,” said Moneynet.co.uk chief executive Richard Brown.

“These about-turns make it very difficult for the industry to provide confident advice to consumers and only serve to further complicate the market in their eyes. We believe that consumers should be given incentives to act responsibly and make adequate provision for their dependents rather than placing a burden on the state should they die prematurely - tax relief on life insurance premiums is surely one way to encourage this.”