Logistics within the government suggest there will be no pensions minister to control changes to the taxation of pensions, leading it into “a very dark place,” ex-Pensions Minster Steve Webb has warned.

Speaking at Pension and Benefits UK today, Webb highlighted how the Department for Work and Pensions has three ministers; an employment minister, a disabilities minister and secretary of state – none of which are responsible for pensions.

The new Minister for Pensions Ros Altmann will sit in the House of Lords, alongside the Labour Shadow Pensions Minister Lord Keith Bradley,where changes to pension legislation can be changed, Webb said.

However, he said: “By convention, the Lords don't meddle with taxation, so pensions tax relief and the changes in next week’s Budget will only be debated in the House of Commons, where there’s no pensions minister,” he said.

“So, you start to see how things are going to happen. The Treasury will have a bigger and bigger role in pensions policy.”

During the same speech, Webb branded the government’s plans to reduce the lifetime allowance and toy with the annual allowance as both “ridiculous” and “messy” respectively.

"If I earned between £150,000 and £210,000 then my annual allowance could fall from £40,000 to £10,000," Webb said.

"Most people will only know this once they have filled out their tax return, so you could end up facing a tax charge in the tax year 2017/18 based on your earnings in the previous year. You can't gauge how much you may have to pay the following year because you haven't done your return yet,” he added.

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