We are covering two of the big issues being debated daily at the moment and those are auto-enrolment and of course the General Election in May.
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Queen’s Speech confirms massive pensions overhaul
The Queen’s speech confirmed that pension reform will ‘give individuals the freedom and choice to access their pension as they see fit, with the biggest change to the way people are able to access their pension in almost a century’ (Chowdhury 2014). The speech discussed the overhaul of the pension system as well as legislation to introduce new CDC rules. Individuals will be able to withdraw money from their defined contributions pot after the age of 55 as and when they wish and only pay their marginal rate of tax. Withdrawals can be structured to reduce tax charges. Annuity’s need
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Pensions – What did Osborne say again?
Was it just me or did anyone else lose Osborne when he was carrying on about pensions and annuities. In fact, here were his exact words, they make a little more sense when you catch every word: ‘The tax rules around these pensions are a manifestation of a patronising view that pensioners can’t be trusted with their own pension pots. I reject that. People who have worked hard and saved hard all their lives, and done the right thing, should be trusted with their own finances. And that’s precisely what we will now do. Trust the people. Some changes will
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What do we think about the 2014 budget then?
Firstly, we had good news in the fact that the economy is recovering at a faster rate than was previously expected. Yes, it is still in recovery but there is room for optimism here it seems. The UK is growing at a faster rate than other economies including Germany, Japan and the US. Hooray! Of course if the economies surrounding the UK, particularly the Eurozone, are recovering at a slower pace then high commodity prices will make the UK’s outlook sensibly cautious at best. Then came the expected announcement that the £1 coin will be replaced in three years’ time
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