PENSIONSANDSAVINGS.COM

TAX IT, DON’T AXE IT – ALTERNATIVE POLICIES FOR PENSIONERS’ WINTER FUEL PAYMENT.     Three alternative policies to consider: Roll the payment into State Pension and tax it. Increase the £13 a year over 80’s Age Addition to £313 a year and recoup some in tax. Only take it away from higher rate tax pensioners, similar to Child Benefit restriction.   At least keep it for this year to give pensioners time to prepare: The shock announcement that pensioners’ Winter…

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Axing Winter Fuel Payments is worse than scrapping the triple lock – it’s a 3% cut in Basic State Pension – this should be rethought.  Pensioners were already losing the cost of living bonus, removing Winter Fuel Payments so suddenly, as energy bills may start rising again, is a double blow.  Relying on means-testing creates a cruel cliff-edge that leaves low income pensioners just above the threshold, thousands of pounds a year worse off. Worse than losing the triple lock…

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Number of pensioners liable for tax will double since 2010 from 4.5million to over 9million. Worrying figures suggest cost-of-living rises and frozen tax thresholds will drag millions more pensioners into tax net. As the new State Pension climbs above 90% of the personal tax threshold, more pensioners may be hit with tax penalties. Government must recognise distress this will cause to more pensioners and consider addressing this by proper liaison between DWP and HMRC to work out any tax, notify…

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Parliamentary Ombudsman asks Parliament to recommend remedy for WASPI women. He does not believe the DWP will accept his recommendations and challenges Parliament to urgently address the issue. Report calls for DWP to finally acknowledge and apologise for its manifest failings. And set up a scheme for recompense urgently, especially to help those clearly suffering hardship. The Parliamentary Ombudsman’s long-awaited report into Government handling of increases in women’s State Pension age is finally out. It is damning. It highlights clear…

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12 reasons why raising State Pension Age to 71 by 2040, suggested by today’s ILC Report, is unconscionable and favours well-pensioned higher income groups.  Anyone in their early-fifties and younger would be caught by this proposal – plunging more into poverty in later life. Only the top 10% of the UK population stay healthy to their early 70s. Cutting costs by making unwell workers wait longer, favours the well-pensioned higher paid. The State Pension is part of every worker’s social…

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NEW DB FUNDING CODE MOVES AWAY FROM RECKLESS CONSERVATISM. Big improvement on previous proposals which would have driven most schemes into supposedly low-risk bonds, while giving up on long-term investment returns. Regulations are published at last after six years but new Regulatory Guidance is still not ready – schemes need it urgently to prepare ahead of September 2024 start. The new code may help some scheme trustees back more productive finance but the delays have meant fewer schemes will do…

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Some good news for pensioners but plenty more needed to ensure pension assets do more to boost British growth. State Pension Triple-Lock: Very good news that the uncertainty for pensioners is over. The Chancellor has confirmed the full 8.5% ‘triple lock’ earnings uprating promise for next year’s State Pension. It would have been very wrong to remove pensioner protection again, after breaking that Manifesto Commitment two years ago. Millions of pensioners (especially women) rely on their State Pensions to make…

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Threatening to remove Winter Fuel Payments continues treating pensioners as political footballs and is no way to control public spending. Politicians should agree on a national cross-party review of future State Pensions and other support for older people.   Constant threats to cut parts of pensioner support and focus on more means-testing unsettles millions of pensioners with little or no income other than State Pension and benefits. Tinkering with parts of the system will not address cost control or inter-generational concerns.  …

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