We are now less than a month away from Philip Hammond’s first Autumn Budget Statement.

It’s fair to say that, thus far, the new Chancellor has kept his powder dry when it comes to any concrete indications as to his position on economic policy in the years ahead. Granted there has been some repositioning from the supposed “austerity” position of his predecessor, but very little detail has yet been forthcoming. So will November 23rd signal a change to this approach, and if so how will this impact the world of Employee Benefits?

These are difficult questions to answer. It seems likely that any major decisions the new Chancellor makes will be driven largely by the direction and progress of Brexit negotiations with the European Union. And given that the current timetable for this project appears to indicate Article 50 not being actioned until early 2017, this could suggest that this will be a quiet statement in terms of headline-grabbing decisions, with perhaps more major change delayed until the full Budget in March next year.

Yet that does not mean that this announcement will be without interest to employers and the employee benefits industry, for there are several changes already in train that need to be tidied up sooner rather than later.

As was covered in Cover Magazine last week, we are rather hoping for clarification on the following issues either in the run up to 23rd November, or on the day itself:

- Final details of the proposed Pension Advice Allowance which is targeted to commence in April 2017. This may be an important step towards providing older savers with specific advice around their retirement planning, and it is important for the industry to fully understand the proposals so that this can be embraced and offered at the earliest opportunity.

- Clarification of the launch date and definitive final details of Tax-Free Childcare. This new and valuable state financial support for working parents is also due to commence in 2017, but again, the industry, employers and working parents are awaiting the definitive final details of this proposal.

- The formal consultation on the use of Salary Sacrifice concluded last month, and many employers are anxiously awaiting the outcomes as this will impact offerings within many flex and voluntary benefit packages. An end to the uncertainty here would be welcomed by all.

- Finally – and not least – confirmation of any tweaks to the proposed structure of the Lifetime ISA (to be launched in April 2017) would be welcome. Hand in hand with this would be an indication as to whether the new Chancellor is to look into the reforming of Pension Tax Reliefs (a project shelved by his predecessor just before the March Budget).

So plenty to look out for - and we will of course comment further on this as and when further information is available.

Best regards

Steve

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