The Treasury will drastically reduce the Money Purchase Annual Allowance (MPAA) from £10,000 to £4,000 from today (6 April 2017), the start of the new tax year despite strong opposition from Financial Planners and the industry.

Pensions experts have condemned the Government’s decision to take the “easier route, not the right one” by forging ahead with the MPAA cut.

The Association of British Insurers has today called for the tax relief crackdown on pension freedom users to be put on hold, adding its weight to the growing opposition to the MPAA changes.

Showing my age, one of my all time favourite Motown songs is: “The world is like a great big onion” by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell. I am reminded of this classic at every budget or autumn statement because our pensions world has been growing like an onion – with layer upon layer of complexity added almost every time the Chancellor gets to his feet.