Interest in pensions was intense this year and our popular columnist Steve Webb received many questions about how the Government might tap or make use of our retirement savings.
Concerns ran high around the Budget and in the event the Chancellor did clamp down on saving into salary sacrifice schemes to boost pension pots, though this will not start until 2029.
Steve explained to This is Money readers how this would affect the way they save for retirement a few days before Rachel Reeves announced the measure in the House of Commons.
As a former Pensions Minister, Steve has great political insight into what is likely or even possible, and he also made the correct call in predicting there would be no raid on tax-free cash in the Budget.
Weeks before the Treasury ruled out the move, he said in his column: ‘Whilst it’s theoretically possible that the Chancellor could drastically scale back tax-free pension lump sums, there are good reasons why successive Chancellors, having looked at this, have decided against.
‘It would be a shock if the present Chancellor came to a different conclusion.’
Steve also fielded many questions about the state pension, including on ‘contracting out’ and the pending increase in the qualifying age to 67.
We have selected some of his best columns of 2025 below. If you have something you would like to ask Steve, who is a partner at pension consultant LCP, scroll down to find out how to send in your own question.
Steve Webb: Scroll down to find out how to ask him YOUR pension question
Britain’s biggest pension funds have pledged voluntarily to boost investment in businesses and infrastructure projects in the UK in a move that could unlock £50billion for the economy.
But there is a possibility that Chancellor Rachel Reeves will force the issue if investment in the UK continues to lag.
Co-opting people’s individual pension savings to help the economy was pushed by her Tory predecessor Jeremy Hunt too.
But it has prompted a mixed response and This is Money has published expert opinions both for and against this endeavour.
Steve explained what the Chancellor was trying to achieve and the likely impact for savers, but criticised a ‘sting in the tail’ of the measure.
Months of rumours that the limit could be at risk panicked some people into pulling tax-free cash out of their pensions for fear this perk would be curbed.
People over the age of 55 can withdraw 25 per cent of their pension tax-free up to a £268,275 cap, but This is Money published many warnings by experts that you should only do this if you planned to anyway and have a specific financial goal in mind.
This is because the move is irreversible and you can miss out on investment growth under the tax protection of a pension in future.
Steve reckoned that once all the complexities in an already complex system – like transitional protection – were fully considered the Treasury would rule out cutting tax-free cash.
A reader who used AI as a guide to answering a personal finance question prompted Steve to look at how useful it is and offer some tips on the benefits and downsides of this technology.
He gave a few examples of how he has used AI himself, and ways to improve the chances you get accurate responses and check them afterwards.
‘For all the value that these new tools have, and which will no doubt grow over time, my view is that people need to be very aware of their limitations,’ he says.
‘There is always talk of “raiding” private pensions in one way or another but there is little discussion around the cost to the public purse of the public servants’ pension schemes,’ noted a This is Money reader.
Steve explained how public sector schemes work, the attempts made to cut the cost to taxpayers over the years, and the challenges of making even more sweeping changes.
The topic was also debated on This is Money’s podcast the following week.
Steve was in his 20s during the 1980s when Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister and well remembers the publicity encouraging people to ‘contract out’ and open personal pensions – he did so himself.
He looked back at how pensions worked at the time, why individuals and schemes chose to opt out of ‘Serps’ – the now abolished second earnings-related tier of the state pension – and the impact this has had on different groups of savers.
‘Contracting out’ remains one of the top topics Steve is asked about by readers.
The qualifying age to receive the state pension will rise to 67 between April 2026 and April 2028.
Steve gave a rundown of the timetable if you are reaching state pension age in this period, and looked ahead to when the next hike might happen.
‘A third independent review of the state pension age has just been set up and it is widely expected that this will lead to a faster pace for reaching 68, as well as setting out a potential timetable for 69 or even 70,’ he says.
‘Anyone thinking about their financial plans would be well advised to keep an eye on any changes which may be made to their state pension age, as you will not necessarily get a personal letter.’
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