Is it right the biggest winners im budget

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So the biggest winners in the recent budget were a couple both earning £60,000. Gaining £5229.

Working parents on £20,000 gained by £594.

Pensioners forgotten.

Seems topsy-turvy.

Aibu to say the Tories really are for putting people down and the leveling up was lies.

I do think that the changes this time were fair. Pensioners are already well looked after by the tripe lock. Cutting NIC rather than taxes means that the benefit goes to working people who often seem to get a raw deal. The real benefit for the higher rate tax payer is the increase in the CB threshold - we are looking at a working population decline in the medium term if we don't make it more financially viable for people to have children so it makes sense to help the "squeezed middle" during the years they need to support a family as well as themselves.

I mean the payments they get for cost of living and fuel. It's not entirely free but they get free money

It ranges between £250 and £600 depending on your circumstances, and this is all tax-free. This amount includes a pensioner cost of living payment, which is between £150 and £300. This is an additional sum for winter 2023/2024 to help pensioners pay for heating bills as the cost of living crisis continues.

I’m not convinced by the argument that pensioners have lost out because they’re not getting the reduction in NICs because they don’t pay it. I’m no fan of this government and would rather the tax reduction funding had gone to support local government instead, but if there are going to be tax cuts it’s right that they’re aimed at taxes on income earned through work. And the CB threshold has long needed increasing.

How much do you pay in pension contributions? If it's a reasonable amount it will likely take you under the £80k threshold so you'd get something (not loads though).

out of curiosity how do you feel about that? My first thought at seeing them numbers is you definitely don’t need it? Am I wrong?

We earn similar amounts, and think that whilst we don't need it, single parents definitely do - it's such a crude instrument to use the higher earner's income and ignore their partner/spouse. The newer system coming in in 2026 will be better.

Mind you, we're not going to turn it down. We pay loads in pension contributions so we'll get £200 per annum under the new rules, which is worth having.

It was needed - When my wages first went over 50k I was worse off than when earning 50k - when you factor in student finance repayment, income tax, NIC, tapering off of UC childcare payments which makes no sense. In some circumstances for every extra £1 you would earn you need to pay over an addition £ in tax/similar.

50k does not equate to a big take home pay and people earning just over usually don't get the same support as those on low wages. If at every budget the benefit was bigger to those on lower wages than those on fairly normal wages then it would end up that people would be better off to earn less..

Mind you, we're not going to turn it down. We pay loads in pension contributions so we'll get £200 per annum under the new rules, which is worth having.

Yeah, I can understand that.

Hmm I earn 26k and don't receive any benefits. I don't feel poor. I think 50k is loads but then this is Mumsnet!

Well
my Pensioner MIL is def doing alright!

Never paid a penny into the system her entire life as always looked after by her husband, she was a shit mother to her son.

She receives: HB, state pension, pension credit, free council tax, cost of living payments, extra electric and gas payments and free prescriptions because she lives down the chemist.

I effin hate people who bleed the system dry like her, so pensioners are not all hard done by….she has thousands in the bloody bank.

My husband and I are high earners and pay 10s of thousands in tax every year

I will never vote Labour, ever and quite frankly not interested in Tory right now either.
they can all get stuffed!

REFORM UK for me, or may not bother voting tbh…
as I cannot wait until my kids have finished their education so we can get the hell out of this hell hole country and reside elsewhere.

Even told my children the same, as soon as they have their degrees to move abroad.

This country has become a cesspit of grabbers from the state! And useless councils who have no idea what they’re doing.

Yep - £200 per week will rise to £217 in April after working full time for 50 years and still working PT - think I'll tray myself to a new car and a world cruise!

Bitter, much? (No I’m not a pensioner)

Household savings by age UK financial wealth
Average Median
20 to 24 £2,600 £200
25 to 29 £3,800 -£100
30 to 34 £14,500 £1,000
35 to 39 £28,400 £2,800
40 to 44 £76,100 £5,000
45 to 49 £50,100 £5,300
50 to 54 £59,700 £5,100
55 to 59 £81,700 £10,600
60 to 64 £116,900 £22,500
65+ £113,600 £25,700
All persons £73,100 £8,000

The difference between the median and average shows just how unequal the UK is. That's wild.

What about when one earns 75k and the other 30k and don't get CB? That's not fair

I think with an income of 105k you'll be alright ffs

They get hundreds for fuel every year, bus passes, free tv license And all the pensioners I know have big houses and way more income than us

Bus passes are fine if you live on a bus route and are prepared to travel outside of peak times. They don't get free tv licenses unless theyre on pension credit. I don't know a single pensioner in a big house, most live in semis or terraced houses.
I don't know what it is about Mumsnet that really seems to hate pensioners, completely forgetting they'll be there one day 🙄

@T0ASTER not really. I don't own my own house. Still renting so no. It's not that simple

Regarding elderly people. My mum is confined to the living room and having to have carers. She is having to pay £500 a week for these carers

It needed re-examined as it unfairly hit single parents too. It hadn't gone up since it's introduction which means it was way behind and much less.

It's actually a pretty smart move and will probably generate more tax bizarrely as people less likely to cut hours or not go for promotions because the pay rise tipped them into the bracket and extra tax plus losing CB wasn't worth it to many including critical workers.

@T0ASTER

Obviously I’m not asking you to do this, but I’d be interested to know how your £26k salary is spent each month (housing, utililities, pensions, student loan, savings, etc.)

Personally, I think the biggest thing for finances - when you don’t have kids - is whether you live alone or with someone else to share the rent/mortgage and bills. Even on a fairly high wage all my working life, living alone compared to now is like a different life.

1 in 4 pensioners is a millionaire???

I don't think 1 in 4 pensioners are millionaires either 🧐.

Where does the £5k figure come from in the OP? Child benefit is only just over £1k per year, isn't it? I know there's NI too, but I thought that would be about £500.

@T0ASTER , do you have a link to back up the millionaire pensioners quote?