Speaking to Wales247, Price offers three solutions to the issue of increasing State Pension rates, “the amount of state pension will have to reduce; there needs to be an increase in taxes or NI contributions to provide additional funds to pay the state pension; and the age at which you can collect your state pension needs to increase beyond the planned 68.”
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Surgeons advised to cut overtime due to potential effect on pensions 30 October 2019
The Financial Adviser has published an article relating to the advice provided to consultant surgeons to reduce the amount of overtime they work due to the potential detrimental affect it could have on their pensions.
61% of those who responded to a survey which collated information from 1,890 members of the Royal College of Surgeons of England confirmed that they had received advice that recommended that they do not work overtime or help with any plans to lower waiting list times. This was due to the impact that it could have on their pension pots because of the introduction of the tapered annual allowance back in 2016. The taper dictates that, for every £2 of adjusted income exceeding £150,000, £1 of annual allowance is lost. The results of the survey have raised concerns as the current NHS waiting list stands at 4.41 million, which is the largest it has ever been. The advice being given by legal and financial advisors can only serve to inflate those figures. 68% of the participants admitted to considering taking early retirement due to the implications surrounding the pension taxation rules. A consultation into new pension rules, intended to apply from April 2020, has been published by HMRC and is open until 1 November 2019. The new proposals mean that affected individuals could set their own accrual percentage rates, in increments of ten percent, meaning that they would have more flexibility to work more hours or treat more patients without exceeding their annual allowance and potentially facing tax charges.
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Calls for government to top up pension pots of women who care for children or the elderly 31 October 2019 The Social Market Foundation (SMF) has published a press release that shows that a think-tank has pledged support for the idea of the government investing public money into the personal pensions of women who take a period of leave from work, either to focus on childcare or to provide support for the elderly. The results stem from the notion that women are much more likely to take time off work to tend to others than a man would be. This leads to lower earnings, which has a direct impact on pension savings. Combine this with the fact that the life expectancy gap is widening between men and women, with the latter typically living for longer and it results in women receiving lower pensions than men. This is commonly referred to as the ‘gender pensions gap’. One recommendation for reducing this gap is for the government to add funds to the pensions of women who take time off work to care for children or the elderly. The Chief Economist at the SMF, Kathryn Petrie commented, “For all the strides we’ve made towards equality, social attitudes that push women to give up work to care for children and parents remain strong. As well as trying to give women and men more flexibility and choices, government policies should do more to help women with the financial implications of taking time out of work.”
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Guidance on moving pension holders between payrolls issued by HMRC 4 November 2019
The Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals
Payroll: need to know
cipp.org.uk
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