Karen Barrett, Chief Executive of unbiased.co.uk 

“While the Autumn Statement didn’t reveal many surprises, there is certainly a lot for consumers to be getting their heads around when it comes to financial planning. While an increase in the basic state pension is a positive note, the rise in pension age has just made the need for retirement planning even more crucial.

“The increase in life expectancy is placing greater demands on our finances and it’s vital that consumers seek the correct advice in preparation. No matter what your stage of life, factoring in these changes now and seeking professional financial advice could prove critical to your long term financial aims. An independent financial adviser (IFA) can help you make sense of your financial situation and to make the right choices according to your needs.  You can find an IFA near you by searching free and confidentially on www.unbiased.co.uk.”  

Anna Sofat, Addidi Wealth Ltd

“Major steps have already been taken by this government to reduce the amount of tax relief that higher earners can claim on pension contribution in terms of reducing the annual and lifetime allowances. Limiting tax relief to the basic rate would have been a step too far because it would have drastically undermined pension saving. Right now, we desperately need a period of pension stability to give people confidence that they can save for the long term without having the rug pulled from under them”.

“As member of a small angel investment club, I am pleased to see the increase in tax incentives introduced to encourage investment in small business. This should help more people to invest in start ups”.   

“The measures announced by the Chancellor to help people set up and run small businesses, which are the lifeblood of our economy, will go some way to reduce the failure rate of new businesses, promoting sustainability rather than growth. Whether these introductions will encourage UK job creation and economic recovery, we can only watch and see.”

Jaskarn Pawar, Investor Profile

"The amendment to the rate of change in the state pension age is just the latest measure in a continuing 21^st Century theme of people facing the prospect of working longer and becoming more and more responsible for their own pension income. Most people will not want to work until they are 70, but the only alternative is to develop your own income strategy for retirement which can include the state pension as well as company pensions, personal pensions, ISAs etc. The important message here is that if you do not want to work into old age then you do want to have a strategy to avoid that. It’s one or the other really."

Danny Cox, Hargreaves Lansdown

"The Autumn Statement announced that the capital gains tax allowance will be frozen in 2012/13 at £10,600. We were expecting the allowance to increase by September’s inflation measure by £500 to £11,100. However this will now not happen."

"Capital gains tax is paid at either 18% or 28% on gains realised above the annual capital gains tax allowance. If you do not use your allowance in a tax year, you lose it forever potentially costing you as much as £2,968 when you do realise gains."

"Perhaps the easiest way to avoid unnecessary capital gains tax is to shelter existing investments in ISAs, using a process known as Bed & ISA. This simple process enables you to shelter £10,680 of investments from capital gains tax and any further income tax."

"Bed & ISA involves selling your holding then buying it back in your ISA. If your holdings are in profit, there may be a CGT liability; however, as long as your total realised gains for the year are less than £10,600 (for 2011/2012) there will be no tax to pay."

"Furthermore, lower investment values enable you to shelter more shares or units from tax within your ISA. What's more you will be realising a lower amount of capital gains."

Dan Clayden, Clayden Associates

"Bearing in mind the current economic backdrop and the need for the Chancellor to balance the books, there should be no surprises that this report didn’t contain a huge raft of giveaways, however despite this there were still some interesting features and a few surprises too. The freeze in capital gains tax allowances means that for investments tax wrapper selection becomes more important than ever and the increase in State Retirement Age being brought forward by 8 years means the retirement plans of many will need to be reviewed. The removal of the stamp duty freeze for first time buyers will do the mortgage market no good but the introduction of the SEIS as a new investment structure does look interesting for those with a more adventurous attitude to risk. All of this means that the need for financial advice has never been more apparent and now is the time to book a meeting with your financial planner."