What do financial advisers think about the Autumn Budget?

28th November, London

Ahead of the Budget, there was widespread pessimism, with 51% of financial advice seekers feeling pessimistic before the event, according to research from Unbiased.* 

Now that the policies have been announced, Unbiased has asked financial advisers its platform for their thoughts on the Budget and what it means for people. 

Many advisers recognise the widespread impact of the upcoming changes. 

“Labour’s combined policies announced over their term so far have been the biggest change for savers and investors in a generation,” warns Finn Houlihan, chartered financial planner at AAF Financial. 

“Both people saving for retirement and people in retirement have been significantly affected, but good planning can ease the negative impact.” 

Extension of frozen tax thresholds 

“Frozen tax thresholds continue to push more professionals into the 40% bracket, creating another effective tax rise as incomes struggle to keep pace with living costs,” comments Richard Ward, financial planning consultant at Quilter Financial Advisers. 

“With fewer genuine tax efficiencies available and more people being caught by higher rates, careful financial planning has never been more important to protect income and build long-term financial security.” 

Phil Anderson, managing director at Phil Anderson Financial Services, says the burden from the income tax threshold freeze will fall ‘disproportionately on low and middle-income households.’ 

“Consumers should budget for gradually lower real take-home pay, check PAYE tax codes, and consider tax-efficient steps such as salary sacrifice pensions/benefits (while they can), maximising ISA allowances, and planning bonuses or overtime around band edges,” says Anderson. 

Cash ISA reform  

“The reduction of the cash ISA allowance to £12,000 per year is an attempt to nudge more Britons towards investing in stocks and shares ISAs, which retain the £20,000 annual allowance,” says Matt Pike, financial adviser at Opal Financial Planning. 

He believes that the chancellor is aiming for the UK to become more like the US in terms of investing culture, and is using the cash ISA limit cut to ‘alter this mindset’ and aim for more investment in UK stocks to ‘boost the sluggish growth prospects for the economy.’ 

“Before investing in a stocks and shares ISA, you should seek appropriate financial advice to ensure you have the necessary risk appetite to invest your money,” comments Pike. 

Jeannie Boyle, director and chartered financial planner at EQ Investors, says that the cash ISA cut will ‘disproportionately impact women.’  

She flags that 11.5 million women have a cash ISA compared to 10.7 million men – and only 31% of women invest, while 44% of men do, leaving women worse off.  

“It’s important targeted support focuses on building investment confidence for this part of the population,” comments Boyle.  

Increased tax on assets (Savings income, property and dividends) 

Gary Jefferies, director at Panoramic Wealth, believes the tax changes are primarily to be levied against investment income. 

He warns that business owners who pay themselves via dividends will have to pay 2% more, adding more financial strain after employers’ national insurance (NI) contributions rose to 15% from April 2025. 

Landlords will also be affected, potentially affecting the UK rental market.  

“With many buy-to-let owners already stretched, this could lead to fewer rental properties being available,” comments Jefferies. 

James Carter, senior mortgage adviser at Independent James, says the additional rate of tax on property income produces a ‘further barrier to entry for new landlords.’ He believes it’ll reduce profits, and combined with the Renters Rights Bill, will see more landlords choose to sell up.  

Pension salary sacrifice cap to £2,000 

“Whilst I may have preferred to see changes to the income tax brackets, overall, I don’t think the Budget leaves too much that can’t still be planned around,” comments Luke Turner, managing director at Toro Wealth Planning. 

“That income tax relief remains on pension contributions is hugely promising, and the added NI shouldn't put clients off keeping pensions as an important part of retirement planning beyond April 2029.” 

Marco Chabbi, chartered financial planner at Advanta Wealth, says that anyone earning over £39,000 will pay NI on pension contributions from April 2029, based on the 5% minimum auto-enrolment contribution. 

“Individuals and employers should review their arrangements now and look at whether changing contribution levels is appropriate,” comments Chabbi. 

Ward from Quilter stresses that there’s still a ‘crucial window’ to maximise pension funding, including using carry forward, while the current rules remain.  

Karen Barrett, founder and chief executive of Unbiased, comments on the Budget: 

"When so many rules shift at once, it becomes much harder to see the full picture, especially if you’re managing your finances on your own. 

“In times like these, qualified financial advice can help you understand what these changes mean and make decisions with more confidence." 

Disclaimer: These are the views of financial advisers. Anyone who is concerned should seek personalised advice for their unique circumstances. 

About Unbiased 

Unbiased is an AI-enabled financial advice platform, empowering people to make confident financial decisions and delivering unrivalled growth for advice firms.  

With the greatest wealth transfer in history now underway, Unbiased connects people to trusted advice across pensions and retirement, inheritance planning, mortgages, accountancy, and more.  

The Unbiased platform applies advanced models trained on a rich dataset of user activity to intelligently match individuals with qualified advisers, providing the easiest and most reliable way to access financial expertise.  

Since 2009, Unbiased has generated over $100 billion in AUM opportunities for financial advisers, with 65% of prospects new to advice. Reaching more than 10 million consumers annually, it is the leading source of client demand in the industry.  

For more information, visit unbiased.co.uk  

Methodology   

Adviser insights are based on select responses from a survey sent to Unbiased financial advisers on 27 November.  

*Consumer insights are based on anonymised data from 1,192 UK consumers who used the Unbiased platform to seek financial advice between 18 September and 29 September 2025.