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Pension reforms: 80% of retirees feel betrayed by hidden tax timebomb

Many retirees have spent decades carefully saving for retirement, only to find that the rules keep changing—often in ways that make their financial future more uncertain. A recent survey revealed that 80% of UK adults aged 55+ agree or strongly agree that the government is punishing older generations with pension reforms.

This sentiment highlights the growing concern among retirees who have accumulated significant savings and now face unexpected tax changes. With shrinking tax-free allowances, new inheritance tax implications, and uncertainty around long-term value retention, those with substantial pension pots need a safe, stable alternative to protect their wealth.

80% Agree they are worried about potential pension reforms

Pension Reforms 2025: What’s Changing for Retirees?

The government insists pension reforms are about “fairness,” but for many retirees, it feels more like a stealth tax raid. However, the exact details of upcoming changes remain unclear, leaving those planning for retirement anxious about what might happen next. Here’s what is currently known:

1. Pension Reforms and the Shrinking Tax-Free Lump Sum

Starting in April 2025, the government will impose a £268,275 cap on tax-free pension withdrawals. This means that those with larger pension pots will see a portion of what was once tax-free money become taxable income. For those who have worked hard to build their savings, this could result in thousands in unexpected taxes. (MoneyHelper)

2. Inheritance Tax on Pensions: A Pension Reform Concern

  • From April 2027, pensions will no longer be inheritance tax (IHT) exempt. If you pass away before drawing your pension, your heirs could face a significant tax bill, even if they were expecting to receive it tax-free. This change makes it more important than ever to consider alternative wealth preservation strategies. (This is Money)
  • For pre-retirees who have spent years building up substantial pension funds, this could mean a significant portion of their savings is lost to tax instead of benefiting their loved ones. With IHT rates at 40% for estates above £325,000, the financial impact could be severe for families who were relying on this inheritance for their own financial security. (Gov.uk)
  • Many retirees are now reassessing their estate planning options to ensure their savings aren’t subject to excessive taxation. Some are exploring tax-efficient wealth transfer strategies, including gifting funds before passing, transferring pensions into more flexible investment structures, or shifting assets into gold-based savings accounts like TallyMoney, which are not directly tied to government pension regulations.
  • The uncertainty surrounding pension taxation has led many wealth-conscious pre-retirees to seek asset-based alternatives. Gold, as a globally recognized store of value, provides an option to preserve wealth in a way that is independent of government-imposed tax policies and inflation erosion. By holding savings in Tally, retirees can protect their purchasing power, avoid surprise tax liabilities, and ensure that their wealth remains intact for future generations.

These changes may seem small at first glance, but for those who have built substantial savings, it feels like a direct financial attack.

How Pension Reforms Are Forcing Retirees to Protect Their Wealth

Faced with unpredictable pension reforms, many retirees are reassessing their financial plans and seeking alternative ways to preserve and grow their wealth. Here’s how they are taking control:

  • Reducing reliance on traditional pensions. With increasing government intervention in pension policies, retirees are exploring alternative savings vehicles that give them greater control over their money.
  • Looking for inflation-proof assets. As pension values erode due to inflation and changing tax laws, many are shifting part of their wealth into gold-based assets like TallyMoney to ensure long-term value retention.
  • Prioritizing tax-efficient wealth transfers. With inheritance tax now applying to pensions, retirees are restructuring their estate plans by moving funds into gold-based savings, which offer flexibility and security for future generations.
  • Diversifying financial portfolios. Instead of relying solely on a pension pot, many are incorporating gold savings alongside ISAs and other investment accounts to protect against government policy shifts and economic instability.

Why Gold-Based Savings Like TallyMoney Offer a Pension Reform Alternative

1. Escape Government Control Over Your Savings

– With traditional pensions increasingly subject to higher taxation and reduced benefits, many retirees are seeking a system that offers true financial sovereignty. Unlike pensions, which are at the mercy of government policies, gold retains its value over time and isn’t subject to sudden regulatory changes.

2. Hedge Against Inflation and Market Volatility

– Traditional pensions and ISAs are tied to fiat currency, which loses value over time due to inflation. Gold, however, has maintained purchasing power for thousands of years. By holding savings in Tally, retirees can ensure their wealth is backed by real, physical gold rather than relying on depreciating fiat money. (Gold.org)

3. A Smarter Way to Pass Down Wealth

– With inheritance tax now applying to pensions, passing wealth down to loved ones is becoming increasingly expensive. TallyMoney provides a flexible way to preserve and transfer assets, ensuring that savings maintain their full value without being subject to surprise tax deductions.

Why You Can’t Afford to Wait: Act Before Pension Reforms Hit

 1. Reevaluate Your Pension Strategy

– If you have a substantial pension pot, now is the time to rethink how you structure your savings. Consider moving some of your wealth into gold-based assets like TallyMoney before tax rules tighten further.

2. Diversify Beyond Traditional Pensions

– The days of relying solely on a pension pot are over. Gold-based savings accounts like Tally offer an inflation-resistant, government-proof, and tax-efficient way to protect your retirement funds.

3. Stay Ahead of Further Pension Reform Changes

– If these changes are happening now, what’s next? Watch for new Budget announcements that could further impact retirement savings. (Gov.uk)

Final Thoughts: Protect Your Wealth with Gold

The reality is pension reforms are changing retirement forever. The government can adjust the rules at any time, leaving pre-retirees vulnerable to higher taxes, reduced access, and lower payouts.

But you don’t have to be a passive victim.

Move your savings into physical assets like TallyMoney before tax hikes take effect.

Ensure your wealth retains value over time without being at the mercy of government policy.

Stay proactive and take control of your financial future today.

If 80% of retirees already feel betrayed, the question is: what will you do to protect your future?

The research presented in this blog was conducted online between 28th February 2025 and 3rd March 2025. The study was carried out with a sample size of 2,012 UK adults aged 55+. All research methodologies adhere strictly to the UK Market Research Society (MRS) Code of Conduct (2023) and comply with the Data Protection Act (2018) to ensure ethical and responsible data collection and processing.

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Real World Examples

  1. Fancy a coffee? Use your TallyMoney Mastercard. Boom – paid. (Yes, you’re buying a flat white with gold. How amazing is that?)

  2. Need cash? Use any Mastercard ATM worldwide or spend across the globe. ZERO fees from us, ZERO markup. (When you spend or withdraw, your gold converts instantly at the global spot price. No catches, no hidden charges – just straight-up Mastercard exchange rates. Because your money shouldn’t cost you… more money.)

  3. Want some money back in your bank? Just tap ‘transfer’ in the app. (Though after a while, you might wonder why you’d want to…)

    Zero faff. Zero waiting. Zero fees when you spend tally.

Meet Cameron Parry

Meet the guy who wouldn’t accept being trapped in a ‘heads they win, tales we lose’ government-run monetary system that protects and benefits the financial institutions, to the detriment of the public. Where people’s deposits are constantly at risk, and losing value through inflation caused by central bankers and politicians.

If necessity is the mother of invention, then frustration may be the roommate’s cousin of motivation. In any case, he decided to stop getting mad and start a new monetary system with sound money. Where deposits serve the depositor, where savings build wealth for savers, and transactions are made in a familiar way. And he called it TallyMoney.

TallyMoney: Gold upgraded

With TallyMoney:

  • Your pounds instantly become physical gold (1 tally = 1mg of real gold)
    Stored in Swiss vaults (not under your bed)
  • Fully insured and allocated (actually yours, not a paper promise)
  • Spend it anywhere with your TallyMoney debit Mastercard
  • Transfer back to pounds instantly if needed (but why would you?)

We’re not anti-bank because it’s trendy. We’re anti-bank because the current system is rigged against you. Every day you leave money in a “savings” account, you’re funding their profits while your wealth evaporates.

Enter gold: the original currency

Why gold? It’s value is universally acknowledged.

  • It’s not controlled by any single government
  • It can’t be printed or manufactured
  • It’s actually scarce 
  • It requires effort to extract it 
  • It doesn’t rust, decay, or disappear
  • It has remarkable properties

So while the pound’s lost 50% of its value since 2004, gold’s grown by 146% in the last decade alone. While your bank savings got mugged by inflation, gold owners were laughing all the way to… well, not the bank.

But here’s the rub: Traditional gold ownership is a right pain. Buy physical bars? Prepare for storage fees that’ll make your eyes water, insurance premiums that never end, and a 5-10% haircut when you need to sell. Plus, try buying your weekly shop with a gold ingot.
Paper gold ETFs? They’re classed as Tier 3 assets for a reason – that’s financial speak for “risky as hell.” You don’t own gold, you own a promise. A tradeable IOU. And when everyone wants their gold at once? Good luck with that. So you’re stuffed either way: real gold that’s impossible to use, or fake gold that might not be there when you need it.
Until now.

The truth about inflation

How? Well, when politicians overspend (and they invariably do), they need more money to ‘stimulate the economy’. But raising taxes makes voters angry. So what do they do? They fire up the money printer, and boy do they love to print. To give you a sense of the scale, since 2015 the Bank of England has created £520bn out of thin air through “quantitative easing” (electronic money printing) plus £86bn in physical currency. 

Thing is, more pounds in circulation = each pound is worth less. Think about it: In 2004, £100 could buy you a decent night out, theatre tickets, and a cab home. Today? That same £100 barely covers the theatre tickets. Your money didn’t disappear – it was diluted, like someone’s been topping up your whisky with water when you weren’t looking.

The “2% inflation target” they bang on about? That’s them telling you they plan to steal 2% of your wealth every single year. And calling it healthy.

How TallyMoney actually works?

  1. First things first: we’ve got actual gold bullion* (none of that paper-promise nonsense) locked up tight in a Brinks vault in Switzerland. Yeah, those Brinks – the security legends who’ve been protecting valuables since Queen Victoria was on the throne.

  2. You send your pounds to your TallyMoney account (bye-bye, inflation-addicted fiat!).

  3. We use the global gold spot price to instantly turn your currency into its weight in gold. No hidden or fuzzy exchange rates, just the real market gold price + 1.49% gold purchase fee.

  4. Each milligram of your physical gold = 1 tally (we keep it decimal because no one wants to faff about with troy ounces – the specific unit for measuring gold).

  5. That’s it! Your app shows your balance in tally, but remember – those aren’t just numbers on a screen. That’s your solid gold, in milligrams, sitting pretty in Switzerland.
  6. You can now save and spend your gold as you see fit.

*All Tally gold is sourced from LBMA-accredited providers because we’re rebels with a cause… and standards. Instead of tracking the gold price per kg, your money is directly converted based on the real-time global gold spot price.

TallyMoney is 
real money

  1. Store of value
    Your gold sits in a Swiss vault (not getting ‘quantitatively eased’ away)
    Evidenced by 5,000 years of holding its value
    Can’t be inflated by government whim and fingers on the ‘currency print’ button
  2. Medium of exchange
    Spendable at 150+ million shops worldwide (thanks, Mastercard)
    Currency converts instantly at market rates (no sneaky margins)
    Moves as quickly as sending a text 
  3. Unit of account
    1 tally = 1mg of gold. Simple
    Stable enough to actually plan your future with
    Speaks every currency’s language (gold’s kind of a big deal everywhere)

This is why TallyMoney is so much more than just owning Gold – it’s a real financial revolution. We’re not just helping you own gold; we’re bringing back what money was always meant to be. Sound Money for a Brighter Future. Because your hard work and wealth deserve better than being slowly robbed by external forces.

We want you to have real money

  1. A store of value:
    Keeps its value over time
    Insulated from devaluation/inflation
    Actually rare and can’t be created out of thin air
  2. Medium of exchange:
    Easy to use for everyday transactions
    Widely accepted
    Can be transferred efficiently
  3. Unit of account:
    Works like a proper value-measuring stick (imagine if your ruler shrunk every year – mad, right?)
    Splits nicely into useful bits
    Reliable enough to plan your future with

Why does this matter? Because your hard work deserves better than being turned into monopoly money by someone else’s actions. Every time your currency loses value (inflation) its stealing from your past work, which harms your present savings, and your future dreams.