Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond has stated that he wants to discourage people tying up their wealth in property and tackle the “structural issues” surrounding UK pension saving.
In an appearance before the Treasury, the Telegraph reported that Hammond suggested a review of household savings and how these could be utilised to aid the economy on a wider scale.
He stated: “We do have some structural issues around saving in the UK, some of them specific to the UK – the structure of pension saving, the extraordinary role that housing wealth plays in the overall calculation of UK households.
“We do need to look at the interaction between the desire to save in the most effective way – and historically for many people that has been through housing – and the needs of the economy around accessing pools of savings. That is a productivity challenge for us.”
In regards to the much higher level of saving in Japanese homes, Hammond said: “If we could persuade Mr and Mrs Smith to save like Mr and Mrs Watanabe to finance our debt then we might be looking at a different scenario, but we are not.”
Bank of England Chief Economist, Andy Haldane created controversy in September, when he suggested property was a favourable vehicle for saving as opposed to pensions in regards to retirement planning.
