Some providers have exhibited “really irresponsible behaviour” over speculation of pension tax changes at the upcoming Budget, Pensions Minister, Torsten Bell, has said.

Speaking at the Pensions UK Annual Conference, Bell was asked about tax stability heading into the Budget.

Pensions UK chief policy officer and session chair, Zoe Alexander, noted that some commentators and organisations had speculated that schemes could be forced to invest more in the UK, including via the tax system.

These rumours were also mentioned by Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Helen Whately, at the conference, who argued that pension tax relief was not a loophole to ensure ministers get the investment decisions they want.

However, Bell appeared to quash the rumours, stating that he had seen some tax speculation that had been unhelpful for pension savers.

“If I’m really honest, I would say I’ve also seen some really irresponsible behaviour by people who call themselves pension providers,” he continued.

“Which is, for cheap points to get a bit of publicity in the run up to Budget, producing nonsense that maybe makes them feel good because they look like they are providing a wealth business and they can get coverage in the FT, but at the price of scaring people.”

Bell said speculating on potential tax changes was misleading, had driven coverage, and had changed outcomes for people.

“I think people working in the pensions industry should understand that we should be rebuilding trust, and that means not choosing cheap routes to publicity and instead trying to build the brand of pensions,” he stated.

“Everybody that has written total certainty about X and Y changing have been lying to people for the last few years; they’ve done a big disservice to the pensions industry. Judge us on what we have done.”

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