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1/9) Despite his four ovens, @jbrokenshire’s proposal looks half-baked. Most obviously, letting 1st time buyers raid pensions for deposits bids up prices to the extent that supply is fixed & the buyers would be buying anyway.
2/9) This transfers wealth from 1st-time buyers to existing owners. Like other demand-push policies, it worsens the relative position of people it purports to help.
3/9) Pension contributions were tax-deferred, so would tax be paid on withdrawals for deposit? (If >25% were tax-free, there would be a more generous tax treatment for housing than for retirement saving.) Would funds derived from employer contributions remain NI-free?
4/9) Does he want public sector workers to be allowed to withdraw a transfer value from unfunded defined benefit schemes? (HMT wouldn't like the cashflow implications even if it saved taxpayers money in the long term.)
5/9) Alternatively, does "protecting the integrity of pension investments” (@AVMikhailova's report) mean assets would stay in pension wrapper but buy a chunk of the saver’s home (transferable on moving)? How would he then tax ‘withdrawals’ if home bequeathed on death after 75?
6/9) How does either approach fit with the Lifetime Allowance? Would withdrawal for deposit be a crystallisation event? Would homes be valued at age 75 to see how much the % owned within the pension was worth?
7/9) Where does his claim about the average 35-44 yr-old having £35k in pensions comes from? ONS say median pension wealth for those 35-44 year olds who had any in 2014-16 was £32k, but only 60% had any.
8/9) As this is not Govt policy and collective responsibility is effectively suspended anyway, can any ministers explain publicly why this is a bad idea? Did anyone ask @GuyOpperman about this at ABI event today?
9/9) Great to read the powerful & articulate critique from @stevewebb1 in the Telegraph telegraph.co.uk/politics/2019/… . Especially as he was pushing something similar a decade ago (picture). More joy in heaven over a sinner who repents/etc. 
