STATE PENSION 

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Message from Peter Morris  President BAPA

 

Big Increase In State Pension Planned ???

The Government has announced plans for a "triple lock" method of calculating the annual rise, which it claimed would lead to bigger increases and higher living standards for the elderly.

 

 

State pension: Q&A

Telegraph.co.uk - Emma Simon - ‎1 hour ago‎
News that the Coalition Government plans to simplify the state pension to £140 for all leaves some answered questions. By Emma Simon News that the Coalition ...

State pension age could increase to 68 a decade earlier

Telegraph.co.uk - Myra Butterworth - ‎2 hours ago‎
The state pension age will have to be increased to 68 more than a decade earlier than planned to pay for the simplification of the pension system, ...

State pension: The overhaul and you

BBC News - Kevin Peachey - ‎2 hours ago‎
When the state pension was introduced in 1909, the maximum payment was five shillings (25p) a week ...

Big Increase In State Pension Planned

Sky News - Graham Fitzgerald - ‎4 hours ago‎
The state pension is to rise to around £140 a week per person - an increase of more than 40% - under government plans that will benefit women in particular. ...

Radical changes to state pension proposed

Financial Times - Nicholas Timmins - ‎4 hours ago‎
Plans for a radical change to the UK state pension that would merge the basic state pension with the state second ...

Huge boost for stay-at-home mothers

Daily Mail - ‎6 hours ago‎
The state pension system is to be given the biggest shake-up since its inception more than 50 years ago. Ministers are planning a simplified payment which ...

Better State pension will be paid for by biggest-ever nationalisation of savings

Telegraph.co.uk (blog) - Ian Cowie - ‎7 hours ago‎
It is understood that the coalition government intends to implement Labour's proposals to cease ...

£140 a week for all pensioners

Telegraph.co.uk - Nick Collins - ‎8 hours ago‎
A fixed state pension of £140 is to be proposed by ministers, raising the possibility of an end to means testing. By Nick Collins Iain Duncan Smith (above) ...

'Decent' state pension rise planned

The Press Association - ‎12 hours ago‎
The state pension could be increased to about £140 a week under Government plans to ensure everybody has a "decent" income in retirement. ...

State pensions: ministers plan to pay £140 a week and end means testing

The Guardian - ‎13 hours ago‎
Ministers are planning a radical transformation of state pensions, which will see the system simplified and the amount available to pensioners increased. ...

All-in-one £140 pension 'fairer'

The Sun - Graeme Wilson - ‎13 hours ago‎
A FAIRER pension system with less red tape and the SAME payment for all is planned by the Government, ...

'Gold-plated' pension regime may be unsustainable

Irish Times - ‎15 hours ago‎
THE CUTS in pay borne by public service employees in last December's budget were the first reductions imposed since 1933, an uninterrupted period stretching ...

Public service pension bill up by 65% in five years

Irish Times - Harry McGee - ‎15 hours ago‎
THE COST to the State of public service pensions has increased by 65 per cent in the past five years, according to Department of Finance figures. ...

Pension Reforms: Government To Scrap Means Testing And Introduce £140 Per Week ...

eGov monitor - ‎1 hour ago‎
The coalition government would scrap the means tested pensions system and introduce a £140 per week universal pensions system for all pensioners. ...

Women will reap benefit of pension reform

FT Adviser - Donia O'Loughlin - ‎2 hours ago‎
Government plans to introduce a basic state pension of £140 per week will benefit women, the National Association of Pension Funds has claimed. ...

Government to launch consultation on state pension reforms

Employee Benefits - ‎2 hours ago‎
The government has announced it will launch a consultation on reforming the basic state pension. A spokesperson for the Department for Work and Pensions ...

Treasury urged to scrap Pension Input Period

Money Marketing - Tom Selby - ‎2 hours ago‎
The Treasury is facing calls to scrap the Pension Input Period following its decision to cut the annual allowance from £255000 to £50000. ...

Q&A: A state citizens' pension

This is Money - ‎2 hours ago‎
Coalition ministers are planning a 'citizen's pension' to reform the current state pension system. Whart is it, and will we all really get more? ...

Equity release sector welcomes State pension plan

Mortgage Introducer - ‎2 hours ago‎
The Society of Equity Release Advisers has welcomed the Government's move to simplify the State pension system. Commenting, chairman Simon Chalk said: "The ...

Labour questions affordability of universal state pension plans

Professional Pensions - Michael Bow - ‎3 hours ago‎
Coalition plans to introduce a universal state pension of £140 a week need serious investigation to assess whether they are fair and ...

Universal pension dubbed 'key piece of jigsaw'

moneyfacts.co.uk - ‎3 hours ago‎
The news that the Government is to look at how it can improve the basic state pension has been welcomed as the key piece of the jigsaw of pension reform. ...

All hail the arrival of pension sense – at last

This is Money (blog) - ‎4 hours ago‎
Finally, we will have a state pension system that is simple, set at decent level and won't penalise those who've saved hard for retirement. ...

Morning Line: a higher state pension is fairer for all

Citywire.co.uk - Lorna Bourke - ‎4 hours ago‎
Plans to raise the state retirement pension to a flat rate of £140 should result in a much fairer and simpler ...

Govt plans £140-a-week pension to abolish means testing

Citywire.co.uk - William Robins - ‎4 hours ago‎
The government is planning to introduce a £140-a-week state pension that will put an end to means testing. ...

State pension reforms could spur contracting-out "bonanza"

Money Marketing - Tom Selby - ‎4 hours ago‎
Government plans to reform the basic state pension could result in a two-year contracting-out “bonanza”, according to Hargreaves Lansdown. ...

Gov'ment consultation "key piece of pension jigsaw"

FT Adviser - Donia O'Loughlin - ‎5 hours ago‎
The government's consultation on a universal basic state pension is the key piece of the pension jigsaw, an industry expert claimed. ...

OAPs to get £140 a week in shake-up

Scotsman - ‎5 hours ago‎
MINISTERS are planning a radical overhaul of the state pension system which could see every pensioner receiving the same £140-a-week payment. ...

Govt plans to lift state pension to £140 per week

ifaonline.co.uk - Rachel Charman - ‎5 hours ago‎
The state pension could be lifted to a £140 per week payment with no means testing, according to new proposals. Currently, the basic state pension is £97.65 ...

Government to raise state pension and end means-testing

Money Marketing - Paul McMillan - ‎7 hours ago‎
The Government is to create a universal state pension of £140 a week, eliminating the current means-tested system. The plans, set to be announced in a green ...

Rising pension age short-changes women

Investors Chronicle - ‎7 hours ago‎
Celebrate our 150th anniversary with fantastic savings on a joint magazine and IC Advantage subscription. Last week, I wrote about how European legislation ...

Raising retirement age will only hurt the poor - NPC

Government should come clean over state pension 'triple guarantee' - NPC

THE LAST WORD  We can't afford this!

Finally a senior politician has had the guts to tell the truth about public sector pensions: they are unfair and unaffordable. The surprise is that it is .

Fears over private pensions as three-quarters of Britons retire on £2000 a year Daily Mail - ‎Jun 9, 2010
Three-quarters of Britons are retiring on incomes of just £2000 a year or less from their private pensions, research showed today. .


Budget 2010

Here are the key points of Chancellor George Osborne's first Budget, delivered on 22 June, 2010:

TAX

VAT: Rate will rise from 17.5% to 20% from January 4, 2011.

Personal income tax allowance: To be increased by £1,000 in April to £7,475 - worth £170 a year to basic rate taxpayers. It is expected that 880,000 of the lowest-paid will be taken out of income tax altogether.

FULL BUDGET DOCUMENTS

PDF download Budget June 2010[2.79MB]

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Download the reader here Documents hosted by Direct.gov.uk

Council tax: Could be frozen for one year from April 2011 in England, but extra funds will only be offered to councils which keep their own costs down. Worth about £35 per household.

Capital Gains Tax: To rise from 18% to 28% from midnight for higher rate taxpayers. The "entrepreneurs relief" rate of 10% on the first £2m of gains will be extended to the first £5m.

A 50p a month "landline tax" to fund the rollout of fast broadband will be scrapped - instead the government will support private investment, partly funded by the digital switchover under-spend within the TV licence fee.

The balance of spending cuts to tax rises would be 77% to 23%.

WATCH: Chancellor announces changes to capital gains

WATCH: House in uproar over VAT rise

WATCH: Government raises income tax threshold

CIGARETTES, ALCOHOL AND FUEL

No increases this time round. Labour's plan to increase the duty on cider by 10% above inflation will be scrapped from July.

BENEFITS

Child benefit: Frozen for the next three years.

Tax credits: Reduced for families earning over £40,000 next year. But low income families will get more Child Tax Credit - the amount per child will rise by £150 above the rate of inflation next year - at an annual cost of £2bn.

Housing benefit: New maximum limit of £400 a week for properties with more than three bedrooms, £250 a week for a one-bedroom flat, £290 for a two-bedroom property and £340 for a three-bed property, to save £1.8bn a year by the end of the Parliament.

Unemployed people will see their Housing Benefit cut by 10%, after 12 months of claiming Jobseekers Allowance from April 2013.

It will also be cut for people of working age who are in larger homes than their family size warrants but, from April 2011, disabled claimants who do not have a resident carer will be able to claim for an extra bedroom.

Health in pregnancy grant to be abolished from April 2011, the Sure Start maternity grant will be restricted to the first child.

Lone parents will be expected to look for work when their youngest child goes to school.

Excluding the state pension and pension credit, from 2011 benefits, tax credits and public service pensions will rise in line with the Consumer Price Index, rather than the, generally higher, Retail Price Index, saving over £6 billion a year by the end of the Parliament.

The government will introduce a medical assessment for Disability Living Allowance from 2013 for new and existing claimants.

The welfare shake-up will save £11bn by 2014/15.

PUBLIC SECTOR PAY

Public sector workers face a two-year pay freeze if they earn over £21,000. Those earning less £21,000 will get a flat pay-rise worth £250 in both years.

Armed services personnel in Afghanistan will see their operational allowance doubled to £4,800 - as announced by David Cameron two weeks ago.

WATCH: Public sector pay frozen

PENSIONS

The basic state pension will be linked to earnings from April 2011, with the pension guaranteed to rise in line with earnings, prices or 2.5%, whichever is the greater.

The government will accelerate the increase in state pension age to 66 - a "call for evidence" will be made later this week.

The government will also consult on phasing out the default retirement age - to ensure those who want to work past 65 are able to do so.

Former Labour Work and Pensions Secretary John Hutton to review public sector pensions, ahead of the autumn spending review.

BUSINESS

From April 2011, the threshold at which employers start to pay National Insurance will rise by the rate of inflation plus £21 per week.

Corporation Tax will be cut next year to 27%, and by 1% annually for the next three years, until it reaches 24%.

The small companies' tax rate will be cut to 20%.

Tax relief for the video games industry will be scrapped.

WATCH: Chancellor George Osborne cuts corporation tax

BANKS

A bank levy will be introduced, which will apply to the balance sheets of UK banks and building societies and the UK operations of foreign banks from January 2011. But smaller banks will not have to pay. It is expected to raise over £2bn a year.

WATCH: Chancellor announces bank levy in Budget

ENVIRONMENT

The government will "explore changes to the aviation tax system" such as switching from a per-passenger to a per-plane levy. It will consult on major changes.

Government looking at reforming the climate change levy "to provide more certainty and support to the carbon price". Proposals to be published in the autumn.

The Office for Budget Responsibility will assess the effect of oil price fluctuations on the public finances over the summer, before the government looks at options for a "fair fuel stabiliser" - which would see fuel duty fall when prices go up, and vice versa.

Case for rural fuel duty discount is under consideration.

REGIONS

White Paper to be published on tackling regional economic differences in Britain later in the summer, followed by a paper on rebalancing the economy of Northern Ireland.

The upgrade of the Tyne and Wear Metro, extension of the Manchester Metrolink, redevelopment of Birmingham New Street station and improvements to the rail lines to Sheffield and between Liverpool and Leeds will go ahead.

A Regional Growth Fund will be created to help fund regional capital projects over two years.

People setting up new businesses outside London, the South East and the east of England will be exempt from £5,000 of National Insurance payments for the first 10 workers.

UK ECONOMY

Growth forecast revised down from 2.6% to 2.3% in 2011.

The economy is predicted to grow by 1.2 % this year, 2.3% next year, 2.8% in 2012, 2.9% in 2013 and 2.7% in both 2014 and in 2015.

Debt to peak in 2013/14 at 70% of GDP.

Unemployment is forecast to peak this year at 8.1% and then fall for each of the next four years, to reach 6.1% in 2015.

Consumer price inflation is expected to reach 2.7% by the end of 2010 before "returning to target in the medium term". The inflation target remains at 2%, as measured by the Consumer Prices Index.

The UK is set to miss the previous government's "golden rule" - of borrowing only to invest over the economic cycle - in the current cycle by £485bn.

WATCH: Cuts and taxes will 'balance books' by 2016

BORROWING

Underlying current budget deficit should be "in balance" by 2015/16.

Public sector net borrowing will be £149bn this year, £116bn next year, £89bn in 2012-13 and £60bn in 2013-14.

By 2014-15 borrowing to reach £37bn, falling to £20bn in 2015-16.

SPENDING

Mr Osborne said the state now accounted for "almost half" of all national income which was "completely unsustainable".

Average real terms budget cuts of 25% over four years - except for health and international aid. Departmental cuts amount to £17bn by 2014-15.

But current expenditure to rise from £637bn in 2010-11 to £711bn in 2015-16 - partly due to rising debt interest payments.

No further reductions in capital spending totals but there will be "careful choices" about how the money was spent. Projects with "a significant economic return to the country" would be prioritised.

 

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