Budget changes: did I miss an announcement?

AnotherJoe

It seems very unlikely to me that anything will happen retrospectively. If there is to be a pensions ISA it will have to be brought in alongside existing schemes because it would be impossible to sort out the tax when its been contributed under multiple different regimes and any retrospective change would risk being dragged through the courts all the way to the top (and quite possibly thrown out with much egg on face).

It also seems highly improbably that pensions providers would be in any shape to offer such a pensions ISA within a few weeks since it will take them some time to change their existing IT systems. On that basis I'd think April 2017 would be the absolute earliest date such a system could be brought in.

GibbsRule_No3

Since the trouble caused by them by not allowing two years grace for women born in 1954 to get their state pension, hopefully they will allow us two years this time, to arrange to take the lump sum pension.

WobblyDog

michaels wrote: »

Does anyone else find it annoying that potentially we only get 2 weeks to completely re plan and then rejig our finances between the budget and the start of the next financial year

My employer requires staff to commit themselves to a particular level of salary-sacrifice pension contributions a week before the budget, which is binding for 12 months (except in limited cases). I suspect this is to avoid the hassle of complicated re-calculations caused by changes in the budget.

[Deleted User]

I'm guessing that we'll all be talking about "what might have been". :grouphug:

Oh, the benefit of hindsight! If only my time machine was working .... :dance::dance::dance:

westv

WobblyDog wrote: »

My employer requires staff to commit themselves to a particular level of salary-sacrifice pension contributions a week before the budget, which is binding for 12 months (except in limited cases). I suspect this is to avoid the hassle of complicated re-calculations caused by changes in the budget.

My company normally gives a month to decide.

chucknorris

It looks like I will have to retire soon then, it just won't be worth paying 60% tax on most of my (part time) salary in addition to about 10% national insurance, as well as travelling expenses and professional fees. It is a real shame, as I like my job as a university lecturer, but I'm not prepared to work for only about 30% of my gross pay.

Snakey

WobblyDog wrote: »

My employer requires staff to commit themselves to a particular level of salary-sacrifice pension contributions a week before the budget, which is binding for 12 months (except in limited cases). I suspect this is to avoid the hassle of complicated re-calculations caused by changes in the budget.

Our firm has a non-contributory scheme and apparently I am one of only half a dozen employees (out of about 150) who pay anything in themselves at all.

I get on well with the lady who does our payroll and she's agreed to quietly change mine before the March run goes through, should it be necessary.

I'm not expecting changes to take effect from Budget day - at least, not changes to the way contributions are made (there'd be nothing stopping them freezing the PCLS at today's value or something like that, I suppose).

I find it really hard to believe that with a week and a half to go the guy is still genuinely undecided. Which means either the latest rumours are more likely to be true, or that it's all a big wind-up so that when he restricts the annual allowance to £15k people breathe a sigh of relief that it's "only" something they would otherwise be rioting in the streets about.

Isn't April going to be dull? We'll spend the last two weeks of March flapping around discussing our Plan B's, and then... that'll be it.

RickyB2000

chucknorris wrote: »

It looks like I will have to retire soon then, it just won't be worth paying 60% tax on most of my (part time) salary in addition to about 10% national insurance, as well as travelling expenses and professional fees. It is a real shame, as I like my job as a university lecturer, but I'm not prepared to work for only about 30% of my gross pay.

60% on most of your income? Plus 10% (so 70%). How does that work? Whatever I type in to a salary calculator, the amount of tax (including NI) on all income is always under 50%. There may be parts of your salary that get hit at 60% (like the bit over £100k), but it is small amount of the total salary earned, so translates to only a small increase in overall tax paid (still below 50%). Feels a bit extreme to throw in a job you like for a few percent extra tax overall.

chiefie

If it's a PISA it can't happen for another year, there are no pRoducts out there yet. With the budget deficit going worse I think he will go for the easy option of reducing higher rate tax relief (increasing lower rate) to 25-28%. He can then tinker it down further along the line. I will reduce my pension contributions and increase the oh's.

EdSwippet

Snakey wrote: »

... I find it really hard to believe that with a week and a half to go the guy is still genuinely undecided.

Quite.

Either Osborne has already decided and the denials from Treasury are outright and bare faced lies -- in which case, what else are they lying about? -- or he really has not -- in which case the entire future of pensions and retirement for generations in the UK rests on Osborne's whim.

It is hard to say which of these is the most horrifying.