Salary sacrifice cap will undermine pension savings

26 November 2025

Responding to the UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Autumn Budget delivered today, Paul Sweeting, President at the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, said: 

“The decision to impose a £2,000 limit on salary sacrifice for pension contributions will undermine current efforts to improve retirement outcomes for individuals. In doing so, the act of saving into a pension will now be more expensive, more complex and less attractive to both employees and employers. 

“As we highlighted before the Budget, the most successful interventions on pensions policy have been built upon foundations of long-termism and stability. This announcement is at odds with the welcome steps the Government is taking elsewhere to improve pensions provision, notably via the Pensions Commission and measures in the Pensions Schemes Bill designed to help savers grow their pension pots.”

~ENDS~

Notes to editors

Contact

Sonia Sequeira, Communications Lead, IFoA 
Tel: 07525 592198 
Email: sonia.sequeira@actuaries.org.uk

 

About the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries 

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Research undertaken by the IFoA is not commercial.  As a learned society, research helps us to fulfil our royal charter requirements to further actuarial science and serve the public interest.   

Actuaries provide commercial, financial and prudential advice on the management of a business’s assets and liabilities, especially where long term management and planning are critical to the success of any business venture. They also advise individuals, and advise on social and public interest issues. 

Members of the IFoA have a statutory role in the supervision of pension funds and life insurance companies. They also have a statutory role to provide actuarial opinions for managing agents at Lloyd’s of London. 

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