Rachel Reeves will walk a very difficult line between raising the funds the country needs and disincentivising investment and saving.

There has been a lot of speculation recently on pensions. The legacy of former Labour Chancellor Gorden Brown’s £5bn tax raid in 1997 is looming large. This time around we could well see a flat rate of tax relief on pension contributions ending the current higher rate advantage or measures being introduced to impose inheritance tax (IHT) on undrawn pension funds or on death.

Similarly, national insurance contributions (NICs) could be imposed on employer pension contributions and the 25% tax free lump sum removed.