A Teesside financial planning expert has welcomed the Labour Government's plans for pensions.

Neil Parker, Founder and CEO of Joslin Rhodes in Stockton said:  “In its manifesto, the Labour Party made the welcome commitments to project the triple lock on pensions and scrap the initial plans to reintroduce the lifetime allowance. We know this will have been a big relief to Teesside voters.

“In addition to these commitments was the promise of a pensions review, which we expect to take place between now and an autumn Budget.

"A pensions review has the ability to be a root and branch review, moving away from the years of smaller changes we’ve seen, which have created an often confusing system with complex rules. It will also be an opportunity to put an end to speculation on whether measures introduced by previous Governments, such as George Osborne’s ‘pension freedom’ reforms will be amended.

“Conversations with Teessiders have told me that they need certainty and simplicity in the face of challenging economic conditions. More people in their late 30s and 40s coming to Joslin Rhodes to enquire about retirement suggests that local people are becoming increasingly aware of their need to save, and we’d support a review that considers how to incentivise saving as early as possible.

“Given the Chancellor’s recent comments about the state of public finances, pensions will be one of many issues she’ll have to tackle in the coming months. While we wait to see what announcements are made in the potential autumn Budget and given that the tax landscape remains uncertain, now is the time for Teessiders to get their financial ‘ducks in a row’."