UK State Pension

[alan__mcfc]

What we all need is our own legisltion so that your pension is free of tax, like that Starmer guy has. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/2588/contents/made

 

[pirate]

The Elephant in the room here is rent and the cost of housing in general, it costs a fortune and it shouldn't. We could free up cash for so many people if the government/s made this a priority but they wont because there's money to be made flogging basic essentials to people who can ill afford them.

if you want to make rent cheaper simply dont allow people to carry debt on domestic properties that are rented out
it has no cost to goverment (and therefore no effect on personal taxation

 

[city2]

Anything to do with the government is your gonna get shafted somewhere down the line, endowment mortgages being a famous one.

 

[Pontypool Blue]

You can have 25% tax free, yep no tax, zilch and people still complain.

Up until now - watch the next tax grab to reduce this! will probably sold as a necessity to fund social care

 

[dickie davies]

Up until now - watch the next tax grab to reduce this! will probably sold as a necessity to fund social care

They won't do it because 1000's like myself would retire early and it would leave a huge gap in the workforce

 

[Gray]

What we all need is our own legisltion so that your pension is free of tax, like that Starmer guy has. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/2588/contents/made

My State Pension went over the personal allowance two tax years back because I am in receipt of SERPS and Graduated amounts.

Now on a K code for my Company Pension, frankly it stinks.

They should go back to an increased personal allowance for all retired people.

 

[hampshireblue]

Up until now - watch the next tax grab to reduce this! will probably sold as a necessity to fund social care

They already have capped the Tax free lump sum (25% of LTA) at £268k. It has reduced from no limit to this over the last few years as the Life Time Allowance has reduced. If people were above the LTA when a reduction came into force, they were allowed to apply for Personal Protection to allow them to retain the higher lump sum allowance.

 

[BrianW]

There used to be a higher allowance for retired people. However it was far less than the present allowance for everyone, which enabled its withdrawal once that threshold was reached.

It was not universal though. If your income was above £X it didn't apply. You now need to be on 100k to lose your personal allowance, not an issue for 98% of pensioners.

 

[Gareth Barry Conlon]

Up until now - watch the next tax grab to reduce this! will probably sold as a necessity to fund social care

The reality is that the next tax grab is already necessary. The UK government is on the limit of what it can borrow from bond markets. Liz Truss got a hard lesson from the markets when she tried to cut taxes.

Labour inherited a government spending more than they were bring in, at the limit of what they could borrow and with a mass of financial problems unresolved.

Labour are in a very difficult position. Tax rises are not an easy option even if it wasn't an election pledge. We are already taxed to the eye balls and even Labour know that too much taxation stops growth.

What happened to David Cameron and nick clegg promising to get government finance in order? Fix the roof wile the Sun shines..... why did we let Boris Johnson totally fcuk us over?

 

[Stockton Heath Blue]

That will just lead to people not saving for a private pension, why the hell would you knowingly be giving NI contributions for 50 years and get fuck all back from it. I’d be squirreling money away somewhere to counter attack the means test.

Not as easy as you think it is. When social care do a financial review they go through all your income and expenses to an almost forensic level.

 

[hampshireblue]

I can speak from bitter experience having seen my other half give up work long before state pension age to care for both her parents thereby not only preventing her from earning but putting paid to any prospect of her improving her pension pot. The alternative was to place them in residential care, an option she refused to consider.

Sad to hear this. You can still put £2880 into a SIPP even if she's not working. HMG then top it up with another 25%. We have just done this in the last few minutes for my Mrs.

 

[hampshireblue]

I just dont get this, the benefit does diminish with increasing salary but it doesn't cost them money. Tapered annual allowance relief only kicks in at above £240k per yr. There is only one role that pays above £240k which is the Chief of the Defence Staff. The First Sea Lord gets just over £200k.

It could be to do with the Annual Allowance (AA) and how it's calculated in a DB scheme. I was talking to an ex colleague who is still working and she had a £5000 tax bill last year as the total contributions from her and her employer had gone through the AA.

 

[Stockton Heath Blue]

The elderly living with family is very difficult these days, particularly if the elderly person has dementia. In most families both of the married couple have to work. If one gives up work to be with the elderly person, because they need care, then that's one less tax payer.

I've been in this situation. In the end, something breaks and the family dynamic is destroyed, if you don't do anything about it. Eventually, we had to take the decision to place my wife's dad in a care home because his care needs became too much for his wife, and eventually us, to handle. The care home fees are eye-wateringly high and are being funded from the sale proceeds of their home, which won't last forever.

 

[Stockton Heath Blue]

They won't do it because 1000's like myself would retire early and it would leave a huge gap in the workforce

Yep, those that could retire at 55/60 but choose to carry on working would simply retire, drawdown their tax-free 25%, and use this to fund living costs rather than risk losing something they have funded for 30+ years.

 

[Scottyboi]

The elderly living with family is very difficult these days, particularly if the elderly person has dementia. In most families both of the married couple have to work. If one gives up work to be with the elderly person, because they need care, then that's one less tax payer.

I completely get that, was more thinking along the lines of people with no pension but in ok health. People might have no other choice but to have 3 generations under one roof due to finances.

Poor neighbour had a stroke a couple of years ago I've not seen him since, apparently his brother is going to be selling the house which will go towards my neighbours care bill. The social care crisis is a ticking time bomb.

What happened to the elderly in the 60s,70s,80s, how were they looked after or funded if they needed a care home?

 

[mosssideblue]

I completely get that, was more thinking along the lines of people with no pension but in ok health. People might have no other choice but to have 3 generations under one roof due to finances.

Poor neighbour had a stroke a couple of years ago I've not seen him since, apparently his brother is going to be selling the house which will go towards my neighbours care bill. The social care crisis is a ticking time bomb.

What happened to the elderly in the 60s,70s,80s, how were they looked after or funded if they needed a care home?

Slightly off topic but are care home costs justifiable or are they ripping vulnerable people off?

 

[hampshireblue]

Yep, those that could retire at 55/60 but choose to carry on working would simply retire, drawdown their tax-free 25%, and use this to fund living costs rather than risk losing something they have funded for 30+ years.

Correct. But unless it's absolutely needed it's best to take the Tax Free Cash(TFC) over a period of time. That way someone can drawdown, say £12500 (their personal allowance) and then say another £10000 TFC and that gives an income of £22500 tax free. A couple clearly could double this. The TFC amount is variable if needed. The benefit is this can be done for several years depending on the size of the pot, but it also leave more invested in the personal pension which hopefully if invested properly will continue to grow.

 

[Scottyboi]

Slightly off topic but are care home costs justifiable or are they ripping vulnerable people off?

Well the staff are being ripped off I know that much, the owners I have no idea of the running costs but I'm sure they aren't struggling.

 

[Kippaxpete]

Sad to hear this. You can still put £2880 into a SIPP even if she's not working. HMG then top it up with another 25%. We have just done this in the last few minutes for my Mrs.

Appreciate your concern fella but we're fortunate in that we've both now given up work, mortgage is long since cleared and, financially, we still do okay. My original point was primarily to highlight the potential for others less fortunate than us to fall on hard times if they've not been able to make provision in the event they take on full-time caring responsibilities. Your advice is absolutely sound though.

 

[GazM]

Slightly off topic but are care home costs justifiable or are they ripping vulnerable people off?

No idea but having checked this for my ageing parents they're eye-watering. I've always felt that we should be contributing more tax towards an end of life/aged care plan so that this is covered. If we don't need it so be it but we should all be adding to the pot for the common good.