Hargreaves Lansdown’s Tom McPhail, chairman of the Pension Income Choice Association, believes the government missed its chance to shine:

The government has missed an opportunity to introduce one measure that would have a positive impact both on the Exchequer and future pensioners, and that is to ensure that people shop around for the best retirement income option. 

To put this into perspective, a change to the retirement options process could mean adding more than the value of a TV licence onto pensioners' income in retirement, or could pay over a third of the average pensioner’s electricity bill. 

Introducing this measure would give the Exchequer an immediate improvement in its finances of £6.7 million through savings on social security payments and increased income and indirect taxes.
 
While the chancellor’s announcement to raise the basic state pension is to be applauded, pensioners will only receive a further £123.83 next year.

Agreeing to our proposals will reward pensioners with a further £169 each, a substantial sum especially for those at the poorest end of the scale. We call upon the government, and any future government, to take a serious look into changing the retirement options process.