Spring Budget 2023

Mint8 said:
Its not about what you earn or save - its how big your pension pot can get before its subject to tax. Many, many people can achieve a pot of £1m if they work all their adult lives and especially if they stay with the same company for the majority. Surrender values prior to the pandemic were going crazy - I should know - I took mine.
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Someone with £50K in a pension pot at the age of 35, that contributes £500 per month for the next 30 years, and gets an average of 7% annual return, would have over £1 million at age 65. If they do a 4% drawdown while the money continues to grow at 7%, the principal can produce £40K per year, where you just live off of the growth; so that you can pass the money to your heirs to improve their lot in life.

According to the Bank of England's inflation calculator, a good that cost £1 in 1993 now costs £1.97. Extrapolating that out to 2053 means that the £40K per year in retirement in today's pounds will be equivalent to £20,304 in 2053. That's not a ton of money, but if the person's house is paid off, and the UK government pension is still around, it's probably doable.

ci_newman said:
Have to remember that pension age is only when you qualify for state pension. The next generation to start retiring (Millenials since GenX are already at retirement age) will have the option to retire earlier on their private pensions which have had mandatory contributions for the last 10+ years or so. When millenials hit 58 they should have a sizeable private pension to draw on if they want to retire earlier.
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In the USA, I think that you can currently drawdown on your retirement accounts from the age of 56. I'm planning to be able to retire from around 60, if possible. I still have some small UK pensions that may provide a bit of spending money in retirement, but the main goal is to load up on US post-tax retirement savings that are (under current tax law) free from tax forever once you've paid the tax on the way in, including all of the growth, which will make up ~90%+ of the account value(s) at retirement. Under the current dual UK-US tax treaty, that money is completely free from tax from the UK as well, if my wife and I decide to settle in the UK in our retired years.
 
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Ahleckz said:
What I’d like to see:
Continued help on energy bills.
More help for the middle earners (those 20% payers who don’t get benefits)
Greater tax on the wealthy (over 150k)
Massive increase on tobacco duty
Increases in personal allowance

What I will see:
More money for the rich
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we already have one of the highest tobacco tax in the world, what are you looking to gain from this?
 
Ahleckz said:
What I’d like to see:
Continued help on energy bills.
More help for the middle earners (those 20% payers who don’t get benefits)
Greater tax on the wealthy (over 150k)
Massive increase on tobacco duty
Increases in personal allowance

What I will see:
More money for the rich
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The continued help on energy bills is coming with the freeze on cap at £2500 but I'd be very surprised to see any of the others being implemented, especially an increase in personal allowance sadly. Maintaining the personal allowance is a way to increases taxes in such a stealthy way that the majority of the population wont notice.
 
Sounds like 30hrs "free" childcare is being extended to 1 & 2 y/o's.

Sounds great for the parents, but unless the funding rate is high enough (which it isn't for 3&4 y/o, so I don't expect it will be for 1&2) then it'll probably lead to less income for the Nursery's as the funded hourly rate is less than what they would be charging now. So the crucial part is what that rate is set at.
 
Eurofighter said:
we already have one of the highest tobacco tax in the world, what are you looking to gain from this?
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I’ve tried finding a recent source but it’s difficult on my phone. However we aren’t in the top ten. It would bring more money in from the smokers, studies show (again, sorry for not linking but using my phone and it’s a pita) that it reduces smoking which would save the country money due to less medical costs.

Countries are taking steps to ban smoking and I think we could do more as well. I’d also have a minimum age for vapes and tax them massively but only because the amount of litter from them stresses me out.
 
ci_newman said:
The continued help on energy bills is coming with the freeze on cap at £2500 but I'd be very surprised to see any of the others being implemented, especially an increase in personal allowance sadly. Maintaining the personal allowance is a way to increases taxes in such a stealthy way that the majority of the population wont notice.
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They are still scrapping the £400 extra which I think has been a lifeline for so many. If it was just energy that had increased I’d understand the scrap but it’s everything. Yes, we are moving into spring (though there was snow on the ground here yesterday) but I still think more could be done. Perhaps more targeted help, but definitely more.
 
Ahleckz said:
They are still scrapping the £400 extra which I think has been a lifeline for so many. If it was just energy that had increased I’d understand the scrap but it’s everything. Yes, we are moving into spring (though there was snow on the ground here yesterday) but I still think more could be done. Perhaps more targeted help, but definitely more.
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They aren't scrapping the £400 are they, we've already had it.
 
Freakbro said:
Sounds like 30hrs "free" childcare is being extended to 1 & 2 y/o's.

Sounds great for the parents, but unless the funding rate is high enough (which it isn't for 3&4 y/o, so I don't expect it will be for 1&2) then it'll probably lead to less income for the Nursery's as the funded hourly rate is less than what they would be charging now. So the crucial part is what that rate is set at.
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I think at the minute the minimum free hours for 3 year olds a nursery has to offer is 15, & for those that do offer the full 30 it's often fairly specific terms e.g you have to pay for the lunch hour, or 'extra activities', or the free hours are only core hours so if you do working hours pickup/drop-off you are still paying a bit.

in my case, with a 3yr old in nursery 3 days/week & preschool 1 day/week, it nets out to about £400/month. Vs 1yr ago, 3.5 days in nursery, was about £800.

I'd guess no change to the funding rate & just an extension of what exists already to cover 1/2yr olds.
 
Freakbro said:
Sounds like 30hrs "free" childcare is being extended to 1 & 2 y/o's.

Sounds great for the parents, but unless the funding rate is high enough (which it isn't for 3&4 y/o, so I don't expect it will be for 1&2) then it'll probably lead to less income for the Nursery's as the funded hourly rate is less than what they would be charging now. So the crucial part is what that rate is set at.
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Most nurseries charge a top up, no? For 'other stuff the government cost doesn't include' that brings it back up to their market rate?
 
Ahleckz said:
I’ve tried finding a recent source but it’s difficult on my phone. However we aren’t in the top ten. It would bring more money in from the smokers, studies show (again, sorry for not linking but using my phone and it’s a pita) that it reduces smoking which would save the country money due to less medical costs.

Countries are taking steps to ban smoking and I think we could do more as well. I’d also have a minimum age for vapes and tax them massively but only because the amount of litter from them stresses me out.
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in Britain a pack of 20 cigarettes costs £11 at least. they add over £5 and 16% tax or so. it just seems like it is taxing the poor to me who already are in poverty in this country.

I think they should promote lighter tobacco, its half as bad for you. I used to buy the white Amber Leaf but since they changed it so you can't buy small packets or 10 packs of cigs they stopped making it. so now i smoke stronger tobacco mostly.

dementia and Alzheimer's in older age will be much more costly than someone dying of cancer at 70.

There are much bigger problems than a few cigarette ends. why not promote or legislate biodegradable cigarette butts.
 
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Ahleckz said:
Continue it then, renew it. You know what I meant.
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Not for me, the cap is enough. Target extra support if needed not a blanket giveaway now they have had time to set that up. Also, I'd favour a lower cap rather than a bill rebate if they do it again because the lower cap lowered inflation which lowered the interest rate on linkers whereas the rebate was not counted in this way.
 
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Can someone explain why we are maintaining the fuel allowance? We are coming into the Spring/Summer months. My bill drops by up to 2/3rds in these months vs its peak in the winter.
 
Eurofighter said:
in Britain a pack of 20 cigarettes costs £11 at least. they add over £5 and 16% tax or so. it just seems like it is taxing the poor to me who already are in poverty in this country.

I think they should promote lighter tobacco, its half as bad for you. I used to buy the white Amber Leaf but since they changed it so you can't buy small packets or 10 packs of cigs they stopped making it. so now i smoke stronger tobacco mostly.

dementia and Alzheimer's in older age will be much more costly than someone dying of cancer at 70.

There are much bigger problems than a few cigarette ends. why not promote or legislate biodegradable cigarette butts.
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How can high taxes for smoking, be taxing the poor?
 
fez said:
Can someone explain why we are maintaining the fuel allowance? We are coming into the Spring/Summer months. My bill drops by up to 2/3rds in these months vs its peak in the winter.
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the £69/£400 is gone, for squeezed middle, so spring reduction won't be seen by many, on the SVR& £2.5K EPG

Eurofighter said:
There are much bigger problems than a few cigarette ends.
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ft nailed one of them today


The lack of success in stimulating economic growth since 2007 has been especially notable. If the UK’s gross domestic product per person had grown as rapidly in the 15 years after 2007 as it did in the 27 years since 1980, every person in the UK would be £10,600 or 31 per cent a year better off in real terms versus the £33,700 of GDP per head that the UK achieved in 2022, according to IMF data.
 
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