The U.K. government today announced it will consolidate its tax regime for pension funds into one code covering both defined benefit and defined contribution plans, but Gordon Brown, chancellor of the exchequer, said the changes will be delayed until 2006. Currently, Britain has eight tax codes for pension funds.
Simon Miller, spokesman for the National Association of Pension Funds, questioned the need for delaying the changes until 2006, especially since the changes were first announced in 2001. However, the changes should restore confidence in the occupational pension system and are welcomed by the association, Mr. Miller said at the NAPF conference in Edinburgh today.