The government may not have the option of withdrawing a person's right to hold an alternatively-secured pension as doing so could risk prosecution for religious discrimination.
At the moment, the ASP regulations which came into effect from A-Day allow people to continue into income drawdown past the age of 75 without buying an annuity, although an inheritance tax (IHT) charge will apply to any leftover funds. And although many people do not wish to buy an annuity when they reach 75, comments made by Ed Balls, economic secretary to the Treasury, in the House of Commons on 4 July, suggested the government regards the ASP as being a limited product only available to those with religious objections to the mortality cross-subsidy aspect of annuitisation, such as the ...
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