Budget 2012 explained: Live webchat with Mark Dampier, Head of Research at Hargreaves Lansdown, Wednesday 21 March 12.30-2pm

[AntoniaMumsnet]

It's Budget day on Wednesday. What will happen to the 50p tax rate? Will we see a mansion tax? What about child benefit?

It could be a red letter day for your family finances. We are delighted to welcome Mark Dampier to Mumsnet for a live budget webchat. Mark is head of research at Hargreaves Lansdown, the independent financial adviser, and an all-round financial guru. He will be translating the Chancellor's statements as he makes them, and finding time to answer your comments.

Mark will be busy keeping an eye on Osborne, so please don't post questions about your own family finances here (we've got plans for a special Q&A about this later, see below). Do join us here at 12.30, when the fun begins.

Coming up: We've set up a Q&A with a panel of experts to take questions on your family finances after the Chancellor sits down.

Next week, Mumsnet favourite Alvin Hall will be in on Thursday 29 March for a live webchat on savings and investments.

It's all about the Money at Mumsnet HQ.....

'"From 2012-13, a couple where at least one partner is entitled to Carer?s Allowance may qualify for WTC, including the childcare element, where at least one partner works at least 16 hours per week"

That is great and does help us a lot.

However I do wish more people realisied that if they are a Carer and their child gets Middle Rate DLA, then under Universal Credit they will lose the full carer exemption tehy currently receive and have to work the same hours as a single parents, if not they face workfare* or loss of benefits.

Of course single parents have (technically, In know reality isn't as simple) childcare theyc an access but hey, what's a technicality between mates?

*Under workfare you will have to find your own childcare even if there isn't any, and if your child is over 12 (but disabled) you may well not qualify to have that paid for you.

Sorry to butt in there, I AM grateful for today's exemption as DH is part time self employed, but I want anyone who is in the affected bracket to realise now and not when it is too late

delay to cut in 45% to next year will mean massive loss of revenue as cos and people delay dividends and income!

@Swed

I don't honestly think there will be a state pension for everyone by the time we all retire.

there will be but not until at least 70 in my view.

swed I have 5dc so not sure we will benefit! we get no other benefits no tax credits or anything and the child benefit was a real lifeline when paying for the dc's school trips, uniform etc now i'll have to increase my hours at work and get a cm to cover the costs not sure how we will be any better off....ho hum

Hula - no, they haven't reduced the threshold for the 40% rate, so everyone earning up to £100k benefits.

Sancti - that is good about about carer's allowance qualifying you for WTC.

So Child Benefit

Halve the amount for everyone.

Add the amount cut to child and working tax credits so it is in effect means tested anyway.

How hard is that? At least nobody will lose everything. And the tail off will be based on how many chidlren you have as well as income- as Tax Credits do reflect that.

Anything about local pay for civil servants?

I'm a baby boomer, too. Sick of seeing the Welfare State attacked, whether pensions, child benefit, NHS, whatever

A massive thank you to Mark for guiding us through the Budget; not so much for your expectation we'll all be working until we're 70!

A quick reminder that you can send your questions on how the Budget will affect your family finances to our Q&A here

And thanks again to Mark.

So basically the 'expert' has no answer on HRP?

Thanks Antonia - v impressed with you.

no, NL there never is an answer to HRP.

@NL, like everyone else he seems unaware of it...

" MarkDampier Wed 21-Mar-12 13:44:53

goingtoofast:

CB sounds far more complicated. My husband earns 51k so cb will be cut by 10%, it will need to be adjusted if he gets any overtime, adjusted again if he gets a bonus. What will happen to my state pension if he earns overs 60K?

dont think your state pension is affected."

Never ever.

The benefits that attract HRP will gradually vanish into new names and descriptors (eg Carer's Supplement or Universal credit) and the HRP will vanish quietly

I am a SAHM to 4DC, I cannot afford to work just now until more of them are at school and unlike most people I know we do not have grandparents to provide free childcare.

DP earns over 60K (not much more and is on a pay freeze this year). He's worked bloody hard and funded 2 degrees to get where he is.

We will lose 3K a year tax free a year but DP doesn't have to tell me what he earns we aren't even married!

DP is PAYE so no tax return, so now they will have to put in place a system whereby they will send him a letter, he will fill it in then send it back (to where) for someone to assess and then deduct his next years tax accordingly?

So they are going to set up a new Child Benefit department and at what cost?

A fairer system would be a universal rate of CB for a maximum of 2 children only.

HRP has already vanished since April 2010...

" If you were getting Child Benefit for a child under 16 before 6 April 2010, you automatically qualified for a scheme called Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) which helped to protect your basic State Pension. This has now been replaced by the weekly National Insurance credits for parents and carers and Earnings Factor credit."

That would negatively impact on larger families near the poverty line though who have been amde redundant or been hit in other ways, sweetkitty.

Though I would support it if it was brought in nine months from now. Adequate warning etc. But lots of families already being hit hugely through no fault of their own during this recession era, when they enver even considered how this entire economy and job market could crash.

well that's me well and truly stuffed for HRP.

dh is a HRT payer.

I can't work due to dd1 - severe disability and stupid school run (oooh, wait, I could get her on school transport at a cost of £20k+ per year, so that I can go out and get a (still part time due to therapies, appts and report wrting) job so I can hav NI contributions back. that sounds cost effective ), don't claim DLA so no Carer's (which will all be phased out anyway).

yep, great.

so HRP up the spout, and pension and other general welfare access rights (nhs is dependent on NI contributions, isn't it?) along with it. marvellous.

Yes Antonia you were great.

I understand that about larger families on the poverty line but surely this could be addressed via tax credits.

Ok, so just seen child benefit will be cut for those earning 60 and less for those earning 50. How are they going to address the fact that a family can then earn £99k and still claim? Surely it should be on household income? Set at say 70 phasing out to noting at 80k for an example.

Ok, I'm not actually now affected but it is still bloody unfair how they are doing it

Mama they are not going to address it they are ingnoring it and the fact that sahm and d will not get NI credits when they lose CB.

Yep, it could be, absolutely- although there are changes under Universal Credit that would put the very most vulnerable ( carers, disabled or sick ) at increased risk of losing all means tested benefits for no fault of their own so there are downsides to that too.

Basically, the changes to the welfare state have left us with systems that do not operate in any kind of tandem.

fucking bunch of nimby assholes (the gov I mean, not us lot)