Government plans to outsource the collection of tax credit overpayments has raised alarm among campaigners. A pilot scheme will be launched, with private companies appointed to collect overpayments. These can often occur when a claimant’s income increases - when they move to a better paid job, for example. Claimants should report a change in their [...]
The Chancellor announced a cut in the tax relief it allows on people’s contributions to company or private pension schemes, in his Autumn Statement today. George Osborne said that the lifetime allowance, which is the maximum amount which can be saved in a pension fund and be eligible for tax relief, will be reduced from [...]
Chancellor George Osborne is extending the government’s austerity measures until 2018, a year longer than expected, after the Office for Budget Responsibility revised down its forecast for economic growth. Last year, the OBR was optimistic that the economy would grow by 0.8 per cent this year, but it now expects it to contract by 0.1 [...]
Prior to the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement on 5 December, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has warned that the squeeze on public spending may have to continue to 2017/18. Slower than expected economic recovery may mean that the Chancellor, George Osborne, will need to raise another £11 billion from further cuts or by increasing taxes. [...]
The housing market is expected to improve strongly in 2013-14, with a 20 per cent increase in transactions, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said yesterday. An upward trend is expected to start developing in 2012-13, when 1.5 per growth is expected, according to the OBR’s forecasts which accompanied the chancellor’s Autumn Statement. Recent figures [...]
The Independent Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has warned that the income of UK households is likely to fall 7.4 per cent in three years and Britons will be no better off in 2016 than they were in 2002. The comment followed analysis of the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement yesterday. The IFS expects household income, after [...]
Last year’s decision to tie public sector pensions to the consumer prices index (CPI) rather than the retail prices index (RPI) will result in pay-outs being reduced by over 17 per cent over 15 years, according to the TUC. In 2010 the government decided that pensions would rise in line with the CPI, which increases [...]
In a move that could cause sales of first-time buyer properties to rise sharply early next year, the current exemption on stamp duty will not be extended as hoped. In his Autumn Statement yesterday, the Chancellor said that this concession has proved ineffective in increasing the number of first time buyers entering the market, therefore [...]
Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne admitted this afternoon that the government will not meet its Budget forecasts for UK economic growth and borrowing. In his Autumn Statement, Mr Osborne reduced forecasts for UK growth to 0.9% this year, 0.7% next year and 2.1% in 2013. In March’s Budget the independent Office for Budget Responsibility [...]
The latest house price figures from Nationwide Building Society contradict yesterday’s news from the Land Registry that house prices have fallen over the past year. Nationwide today said that house prices are ‘surprisingly resilient’ with November’s figures showing a year-on-year increase of 1.6%. In contrast the latest Land Registry figures showed a 3.2 per cent [...]
The UK’s economy will take five and a half years to recover to pre-recession levels according to Martin Weale, a member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee. Speaking to the National Institute of Social and Economic Research, Mr Weale said that the recovery “unusually slow” and indicated that the Bank could enact more [...]
The Chancellor George Osborne is expected to announce a scheme to help first-time buyers in his autumn statement on November 29, according to a report in The Telegraph. The statement, which will set out plans to encourage growth in the UK’s economy, could include a mortgage indemnity guarantee scheme, which would see the government underwriting [...]
Gender directive could slash men’s annuity payouts
The EU Gender Directive, which came into force today, could see men losing up to £10,000 from their annuity payouts, according to research by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Under the new rules insurers are no longer allowed to take gender into account when setting annuity rates and premiums on insurance products. Men previously enjoyed higher annuity rates than [...]
Home rental costs down in November
The cost of renting a house in England and Wales fell by 0.4 per cent in November, its first dip since March, according to a survey by LSL Property Services. Average rent was £741m during the month, returning to the level seen in September. However, it was 3.4 per higher than in November last year. [...]
Lloyds TSB halts sale of packaged accounts in branches
Lloyds TSB will stop selling packaged account in its branches from 1 January 2013, until its sales procedures are brought into line with those operated by sister bank The Halifax. Lloyds TSB is one of the main providers of packaged accounts in Britain, with around one in three of its customers choosing to pay fees [...]
Housing market recovery to continue next year
Recent improvements in the housing market should continue into next year, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) Gross lending is estimated to have increased to £12.9 billion in November, helped by the Funding for Lending scheme which provides banks and building societies with lower-cost funding, which they are then supposed to pass on [...]
Newcastle Building Society exits interest-only mortgages
Newcastle Building Society has stopped offering interest-only mortgages to new borrowers, following the lead of the Royal Bank of Scotland, Nationwide, Co-operative bank and Coventry Building Society. The decision will not affect existing Newcastle customers and applications for interest-only mortgages received before 14 December will still be processed. Prior to the credit crunch, interest-only mortgages [...]
Less than half of Brits considered creditworthy
Fifty-seven per cent of UK adults are at risk of having an application for credit turned down by a mainstream lender according to a new report. The ‘Mind the Credit Gap‘ report commissioned by aqua credit cards suggests that even people with a good credit rating and earning more than £50,000 could have a credit [...]
Monthly incomes £22 lower in 2012
The average monthly income of UK households fell by £22 in real terms compared with last year, according to a survey carried out for the Bank of England (BoE) by NMG Consulting. People on lower incomes have seen their income eroded more than higher earners and households still have high levels of debt the BoE [...]
Savers dig deep to fund Christmas
New research from the Halifax suggests that savers are funding their Christmas spending with money set aside for other purposes. Thirty-seven per cent of 2,138 savers surveyed by the bank at the end of November had withdrawn savings in the last three months. The average amount withdrawn was £1,186, more than double the average savings [...]
Financial data at risk from unsafe passwords
According to a survey by the Payments Council the problem of having to remember a different password for several accounts means that many internet users are compromising the security of their financial data. Internet users have 22 password-protected accounts on average and many use the same log-in details for more than one account, even though [...]
Wonga launches Paylater loans on retailer website
Payday loan company Wonga has launched a new Paylater service on furniture firm Cotswold Company’s website. The service, which allows customers to “buy now, pay later” will be introduced on other retailers’ sites in the near future. Although the Paylater branding is similar to Wonga’s, the Wonga name only appears in the small print. A [...]
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