The Scotsman - Business - A-Day awaits, the key to pension tax reform

In April 2006, Britain will toss out some legislation and replace it with a new set of laws that are supposed to be easier to understand. Jennifer Hill of The Scotsman has started a three-part series to try to explain what's coming and why:

IT IS on the way. In less than a year's time, A-Day will be upon us. Sounds ominous, does it not? Fear not. For, that is the name that has been given to 6 April 2006, when wide-spread changes to legislation governing pensions will come into force.

The changes will see a complex - and to many indecipherable - pension structure that has evolved over many years replaced by a single regime.

"Over many years, successive governments have made changes to pensions legislation. On the one hand, these were attempts to simplify the rules and thereby encourage people to save for the long term, and on the other to adjust the taxation of pension funds in line with economic policy," said Patrick Connolly, a certified financial planner at John Scott & Partners.

"Much of the current complexity is to prevent pension arrangements being used for tax avoidance. The result is that layer upon layer of complex legislation has been built up."

Hmmm. We have problems with complex and indecipherable legislation, too. Hello, Salem? Hello, Washington? Have you ever thought about looking at how unworkable your layer upon layer stuff has become? Hello?

Use the title link to read the rest of the Scotsman article.