The big omission from this statement was anything for those subsisting on means tested benefits. They will be facing cost of living increases of probably 10% but their benefits will rise by just 3.1%.
And cut compared to last year if you account for withdrawal of £20 UC uplift
— Paul Johnson (@PJTheEconomist) March 23, 2022
From the OBR notes to the Spring Statement
I wonder why the Pension Industry pays so little attention to pensions. Reading the various assessments of Sunak’s Spring Statement , I’m guessing that all that matters to us is our capacity to get more cash out of the general public. The fact that the general public will have less cash to spare as a result of high inflation , low real wage growth and an increase in stealth taxes doesn’t matter, what matters is the LTA, AA, CGT and IHT limits , which are what advice focusses on. These weren’t mentioned = nothing to see here!
Standard Life managing director of customer savings & investments Jenny Holt said the chancellor’s decision to not change the frozen pension lifetime allowance will hit savers hard.
Meanwhile pensions this year are set to fall by 5% on an inflation adjusted basis. This is the real news of the Spring Statement.
The biggest fall in pensions in a generation and I’m told that the Spring Statement had no impact on our sector?
And is this really a tax giveaway?
The highest taxation since the last war and people will still find the will to save?
Is this really great news for the homeowner and the aspiring homeowner?
Interest rates set to rise throughout the next 12 months and mortgage payers see no need to reduce pension contributions.
The obsession with tax incentives as the only things that count for pensions beggars belief but these are the headlines I am reading
Claire Trott: What the Spring Statement means for pensions
Pensions got next to no mentions in the Spring Statement document or the tax plan, which wasn’t a huge surprise given the nature of the statement. However, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t any implications when it comes to financial planning both in the short and long term.
The reduction in the basic rate of tax from 20% to 19% in 2024 will make the most impact to pension savers
This budget comes at a time when there are more jobs on offer than ever but a 650,000 people , mainly over 50 males who are non-productive
Just where Rishi Sunak’s hopes for greater productivity lie , I don’t know.
Sharing the proceeds of greater productivity?
We are being asked to tighten our belts – it would be irresponsible to cut taxes now. We are told that by 2024 inflation will be back to normal. So before the end of this parliament, the basic rate of income tax will be cut fro 20 to 19p in the pound from 2024.
In the meantime, grin and bear it – paying 1p less in income tax will be worth it. Even if frozen tax thresholds make that 1p a drop in the ocean of tax increases we’ll have paid by 2024.
Of course, having increased the NI floor to match the income tax floor, both will then be *frozen* until the middle of this decade, eroded each year by inflation…
— Steve Webb (@stevewebb1) March 23, 2022
