2017 Pre-Budget Briefing: Savings

Key Points

• The government spends £9 billion a year on tax reliefs for non-pension saving and this is expected to have risen by almost another £1 billion since the introduction of the Lifetime ISA. This is a regressive use of taxpayers’ money that only benefits people who can, in any case, afford to save.

• Evidence shows that women, once they have children, are more likely than men to have little or nothing in the way of savings and investments. This is due to both immediate and persistent effects of the work-life balance they must typically juggle in order to care for children and also frail adult family members.

• The £9 to £10 billion for savings-related tax reliefs would be better spent on improving the provision of affordable, good quality childcare, promoting flexible working in higher-paid jobs and measures that foster a move away from the current gendered distribution of unpaid work.

Read our full Pre-Budget Briefing on Savings here.