November Budget

[sweepster70]

Been saying this for ages. Anyone continuing working 65 to state pension 67 is in for a nice surprise. At least the " depressed and anxious" will have more beer and fag money while they bang out a few more kids.

Couldn't agree more..... This budget was only for two reasons. To pay for the ever increasing benefit bill and to appease the Labour back benchers.
We as workers have been absolutely hammered.

Maybe if employers paid or were forced to pay decent wages then the welfare bill would drop. Most new starts in RM who have at least 1 child will be on universal credit as most are not earning enough on their contracts. If they do overtime, they lose universal credit or part off it. It's not worth working as you can get more on benefits if you know the system. The biggest amount goes on pensions and pension credits from the welfare bill. I don't get my state pension until I'm 67 which is another 10 years away but I've got my Royal Navy pension, royal mail pension and dwp pension. And as I know the system I claim certain benefits. Why not. I've been working 40 years straight since joining the navy at 17. So before anybody moans about people on benefits, it's unions like the cwu who cuddled up to the new owner and got shafted. The posties need a brand new union. Mr ward and co should be fired. And his sidekick can't speak without spit sliding out his mouth. Most offices probably have at least half their posties on in work benefits. And if they ever do uplift the new contracts, which they wont, the newbies will lose 67p in every pound they gain. So they wonder why with a bit of knowledge about the benefits system, you can claim roughly £2,300 per month tax free ( mostly) wtf would you run around like a donkey delivering SHITE.

If you remember, they also cuddled up to Simon Thompson and look how that turned out. The s**t show that we have now.

[RobertT]

If I've read this right.......
There is no point in investing in Avc's for some after 2029 as you will have to pay national insurance on anything over £2000. Then you will have to pay tax on anything over 25% of your lump sum. I also pay the additional 1% lump sum booster.
My CDC pension contributions alone are over £2000.
Would it be more tax efficient to put as much as possible into a personal pension, or put £12,000 a year into an ISA?

From 2029 there won't be any difference between AVC's and a personal pension, for any contributions paid over the annual £2k limit.

Whether one is better than the other when you access them, will come down to your circumstances.
For example:
You might be able to take more than 25% of your AVC tax free when it's used to fund the lump sum with your other RMCPP benefits, than you could if that money was in a personal pension.
Alternatively, you could access a personal pension earlier to enable retirement before you would normally take your AVC's.

ISA's don't benefit from any tax breaks when you're contributing, but you don't pay any tax when you withdraw, and are more flexible in terms of when you can access them.

In practice, as long as you don't pay more than 20% tax on the taxable 75% when withdrawing, overall a personal pension will be more beneficial from a tax point of view, than an ISA.

Opting out of the Booster would be a mistake because you'll miss out on RM's contribution, but you might have to ask yourself whether the in-house AVC's or a personal pension suit your plans best.
Bearing in mind, it's possible to transfer the AVC's out if you choose to.

[milly]

If I've read this right.......
There is no point in investing in Avc's for some after 2029 as you will have to pay national insurance on anything over £2000. Then you will have to pay tax on anything over 25% of your lump sum. I also pay the additional 1% lump sum booster.
My CDC pension contributions alone are over £2000.
Would it be more tax efficient to put as much as possible into a personal pension, or put £12,000 a year into an ISA?

From 2029 there won't be any difference between AVC's and a personal pension, for any contributions paid over the annual £2k limit.

Whether one is better than the other when you access them, will come down to your circumstances.
For example:
You might be able to take more than 25% of your AVC tax free when it's used to fund the lump sum with your other RMCPP benefits, than you could if that money was in a personal pension.
Alternatively, you could access a personal pension earlier to enable retirement before you would normally take your AVC's.

ISA's don't benefit from any tax breaks when you're contributing, but you don't pay any tax when you withdraw, and are more flexible in terms of when you can access them.

In practice, as long as you don't pay more than 20% tax on the taxable 75% when withdrawing, overall a personal pension will be more beneficial from a tax point of view, than an ISA.

Opting out of the Booster would be a mistake because you'll miss out on RM's contribution, but you might have to ask yourself whether the in-house AVC's or a personal pension suit your plans best.
Bearing in mind, it's possible to transfer the AVC's out if you choose to.

You're best making use of any little perks you receive from what's going to be left of salary sacrifice and any Royal Mail contributions but I think if you're under 50 you're probably better using Stocks and Shares ISA's for retirement, as long as you aren't tempted to cash it in.
Pensions are exposed to the whims of a government that is desperate for cash, I think anyone under 50 would be taking a huge gamble putting large amounts of money in them.

[RobertT]

And there's absolutely nothing stopping any government of any political persuasion, from changing ISA rules either!

[milly]

And there's absolutely nothing stopping any government of any political persuasion, from changing ISA rules either!

They can do anything they wish, but currently their is no age limit on taking an ISA, unlike a pension.
You used to be able to access your pension at 50, then 55 and now 57, who's to say they won't equalise it with the state pension at some point.

[RobertT]

Nothing at all!
And it's currently due to increase to 58 from the mid 2040's and may well happen sooner.

Who's to say they won't put an age limit on ISA's, or lower the contribution limit.
Who's to say they won't tax your main property when selling.
Who's to say they won't slap GCT on gold coins.

The list is endless.....

[milly]

Nothing at all!
And it's currently due to increase to 58 from the mid 2040's and may well happen sooner.

Who's to say they won't put an age limit on ISA's, or lower the contribution limit.
Who's to say they won't tax your main property when selling.
Who's to say they won't slap GCT on gold coins.

The list is endless.....

I was just pointing out that they already have form with regard to increasing the pension age where as Stocks and Shares ISA's have been left alone.
The government is going all out for financial repression.

[RobertT]

I was just pointing out that they already have form with regard to increasing the pension age where as Stocks and Shares ISA's have been left alone.
The government is going all out for financial repression.

No, you were continuing your campaign to change the subject and politicise everything.

[milly]

I was just pointing out that they already have form with regard to increasing the pension age where as Stocks and Shares ISA's have been left alone.
The government is going all out for financial repression.

No, you were continuing your campaign to change the subject and politicise everything.

Nope, just pointing out the dangers of tieing money up for decades when the government is desperate for cash.
If you think otherwise then that's your perogative.

[sweepster70]

Sorry…. Hope I didn’t start something?
Thank you for your advice, it’s always welcomed.

[Wullie10]

People will argue all day long but the point is after slogging your ass off in wind rain snow sun , posties should have a retirement where they can have a few nice holidays, take grandkids to the cinema and meal after. Not sat at home turning off lights and heating to save money.
To award people with holidays , cinema and meals and warm houses ( free tv licence?) for contributing nothing is morally wrong. As I retire now and see that I'll be OK. Hardly rich at all thanks to a additional private pension and AVCs and general saving . Quite a few posties who never bothered because pensions are "" boring and a long way off " are in for a hell of a shock , and ultimately running around delivering parcels into their late 60s

[milly]

People will argue all day long but the point is after slogging your ass off in wind rain snow sun , posties should have a retirement where they can have a few nice holidays, take grandkids to the cinema and meal after. Not sat at home turning off lights and heating to save money.
To award people with holidays , cinema and meals and warm houses ( free tv licence?) for contributing nothing is morally wrong. As I retire now and see that I'll be OK. Hardly rich at all thanks to a additional private pension and AVCs and general saving . Quite a few posties who never bothered because pensions are "" boring and a long time off " are in for a hell of a shock , and ultimately running around delivering parcels into their late 60s

Low interest rates and high inflation (financial repression) will decimate the finances of the working population.
I hope this comment wasn't too political for some people on here.

[Wullie10]

But inflation is on its way down they say . Ask anyone who actually does a weekly supermarket shop.

[milly]

But inflation is on its way down they say . Ask anyone who actually does a weekly supermarket shop.

Yes, the gaslighting is off the charts.

[Hitcher]

But inflation is on its way down they say . Ask anyone who actually does a weekly supermarket shop.

Lower inflation doesn’t mean your weekly shop is cheaper; it just means the price increases have slowed.