Budget 2014 - watch with us!

[SarahMumsnet]

So... George Osborne will be standing up to deliver this year's Budget at 12.30pm, with announcements expected on property tax, stamp duty and the personal tax allowance. Here's what you were hoping (and dreading) would come up; time to find out whether George has been reading

We'll be watching the Budget over here and posting about the key announcements for those who are at work unable to view the live stream; come join us, and tell us how you think he's doing ...

No, Gideon made that move because he's going for a vote winner a year before an election. Just like labour used to do, but with a different target audience.

Oh, and out of interest who is this phantom "they" who deserve it? The companies which will be hit the hardest by this aren't the huge insurance giants who are probably the ones you are thinking of as the big, eeevvviiilll companies who confuse people and overcharge them. They have diversified product ranges, they'll probably be absolutely fine. The ones who will struggle are the smaller specialists, the ones who are at the forefront of driving down prices in the market because they are relatively small and agile and not weighed down by a larger cost base.

but tbh, when you come out with "they deserve it" as an argument against an entire industry it doesn't really make you sound terribly astute. More like a daily mail reader.

L&G
Clerical Medical
Scottish Widows
Standard Life
Prudential
ie the ones who have shafted me on products over the last 30 years

Maybe if you've been shafted by that many companies you need a better adviser!

The budget is a joke again. I would love to put my daughter into nursery full time and get a job my my earns would go straight out on nursery fees and the £2000 wouldn't help even if I got a job. I think it would of been better if the provide free nursery places for everyone who earns less than £80 thousand per couple. Anyone earning over that should be able to afford childcare by themselves, but this government only wants to help the rich not the poor.

The Media are all reporting that this is a good budget for Pensioners, but speaking as one of this much maligned group I have to beg to differ. Folks who are already pensioners will have been forced to buy an Annuity at existing poor rates and cannot ask for their money back or take advantage of the new arrangements. My own annuity is so miniscule that it is actually less per Month than my state pension is per week and I do not pay income tax at all as my total income is below the threshold. I do not drink beer, nor do I play Bingo so no joy for me there either.

As to the 'up to £2,000 per child' childcare allowance, where are my DD's supposed to find £8,000 or £16,000 to pay into their accounts? Also all 3 of my DGC are now at school, there are No after-school clubs available so I will continue to collect them from school and feed and entertain them until their parents return from work - all on an unpaid basis of course.

I have been trying to think up a scheme where Grannies could swap DGC and thereby qualify to be paid to look after them but love my own too much to leave them to anyone else's tender mercies.

So, to sum up - nothing in this budget for lower paid parents or pensioners, plenty for people with well paid jobs, nannies/child minders and the odd £15,000 to invest tax free. Tories? you've got to love them. They are for the better off and they 'do what it says on the tin'.

The government don't tell anyone else how to spend their money so why should the labour party single out older people as an exception? My mother who is 88 this year says the worst thing about being old is everyone thinking they can talk about you and tell you what to do.

I'm in my 50's and I'll be saving a lot more in my pension pot now. If I maintain good health I'll probably draw lots of it out and use it to set up another business when I retire from ordinary work and then sell on the business later to finance later retirement. Of course now they no longer have a captive audience the annuity companies will probably offer more tempting rates to the risk averse. Sounds like win/win to me.

the special thing about a pension fund is that for every £80 you put in, the taxpayer put in £20. Or possibly for every £60 the taxpayer put in £40.

Part of the deal was that the taxpayer would be saved (some of) the expense of looking after you in your declining years.

But PigletJohn if you draw it out in one lump sum, you will pay more at 20% (or 40%) than if you draw it out over a longer term.

And the flat rate pension will mean that there is no difference to the amount you will receive from the state in your declining years.

that was in response to "The government don't tell anyone else how to spend their money"

The deal has been changed.

If you draw out small sums and are not a tax payer then it may well be tax free.
What I cannot find out is under current law you can take 25% totally tax free even if you are a 45% tax payer as long as you buy an annuity with the rest and I was planning that at age 55. Under the new rules from April 2015 will you still even if you take 100% of it out as cash get that 25% tax free element? I fear not. Therefore if you take all the money and it is a big sum say £400k then most of that will bke taxed immediately at 45% i.e. the state gets £180k and you get the balance.

If you have only a small sum in there - typical one is £10k it might be taxed at 20% only or possibly nothing at all if you have no other income (eg a woman at home with a pension from when she used to work who does not yet have a state pension and whose husband works).

The flat rate £140 a week per person state pension is only paid if you have 35 years of NI contributions though so there will still be people on pension credit and housing benefit in older age.

Jane, if you are still around, yes you will still be able to take 25% tax free under the new regime.

Thank you. That's very helpful, everyone has been.
So when I get to 55 I will decide if I want to take 100% out (75% of it taxed at 40% or 45%) or just the 25% tax free and keep the rest in to be drawn out later if I ever get into financial difficulties or need it.

There is no easy answer to this. I take it all out and lose almost 45% of 75% of it or buy an annuity which is taxed at 40 or 45% when I draw it as i will have other income. (And I do appreciate that most people have about £30k in their pension pot which will yield them about £1k a year income and I am very lucky to have the "problems" I have).