McPhail: No tax cuts for workplace savings

The Treasury will not use tax incentives to encourage more workplace saving for retirement, Tom McPhail, head of pensions research at Hargeaves Lansdown said.

In April, the Treasury said it would focus on encouraging retirement provision with more flexible solutions such as corporate ISAs and wraps.

Pension consultancy Hymans Robertson said the government could improve saving into ISAs by providing a National Insurance break for contributions to the savings accounts, as it does with pensions.

But McPhail said the Treasury is unlikely to put in place any measure that will cost it money due to the economic downturn.

"The Treasury is not going to give more generous tax incentives," McPhail said.

Instead, the Treasury is likely to make savings vehicles more flexible to make them attractive and simple to investors.

"For example, you could make it easier to re-register your investments, such as from an ISA to a SIPP," he said.