Summer budget 2015.
 

We pretty much know what Osborne has got lined up for high earners in defined contribution pensions. But no one really knows how he will apply the methodology behind reducing tax relief to the public sector.
Could tomorrow's budget see the beginning of the end for senior public sector pensions, and/or have a chilling effect on those who aspire to seniority?

Public sector pay increases set at 1% for next four years. Battle of Britain bunker to be restored.

Annual pension allowance tiered down to £10k for those earning over £150,000 might not impact on many, but it should be focusing the minds of those in their 40s well on their way to breaching the Lifetime Allowance and about to leave.

Green Paper to consider treating pensions more like an ISA, which is highly welcome and should make the personal pension wrapper even more attractive. It'll be interesting to see how they treat unfunded AFPS though.

Concept of ops then.

Get a second job and pay yourself a huge divi, if you fancy a decent sized family then don't hang about (you've two years), practice telling your kids how the new living wage means they needn't (mustn't!) go to uni, and sell that buy to let. The 40% threshold to £43,000 works out at only about a 1.5% increased benefit, so quietly shelve that secondary duty too.

The increase in personal allowance and proposed Green Paper means it's even more vital to making sure that saving and establishing income in retirement is done with a view to equally splitting it between both partners.

If Osborne wants to make a pension like an ISA, in other words, loading it with tax paid income and then drawing income free of tax, it'll make it interesting for an unfunded scheme like AFPS. Unless the state exempts the likes of AFPS from any changes, it'll mean pay cuts for servicemen and women when (if) the scheme starts in (presumably) 2017/18. Potentially, another one to keep your eye on if it coincides with an option point.

2% of GDP on Defence' for the rest of this Parliament, or did I hear that correctly?

Yes - expect P-8 order shortly.

Was there not also something like "demonstrable benefits" ?? sorry was on the A17 listing on the radio so may have been "distracted"................

These then, the questions just published which revolve around fusing retirement planning and the common or garden type ISA into, presumably, a RISA.

https://www.gov.uk/government/upload...tion__web_.pdf

Question five refers, and I imagine that the Forces Pension Society will be eliciting feedback.

• Government to spend 2% of GDP on defence every year, meeting Nato target

• Spending on defence to rise in real terms - 0.5% above inflation - every year during the Parliament

• New £1.5bn Joint Security Fund for investment in military and intelligence agencies

• Recipients of the Victoria Cross and George Cross will see annual pension annuities rise from £2,129 to £10,000, paid for by bank fines. Government to fund memorial to victims of terrorism overseas

The Fund sounds like a pot that everyone will dip into - but mainly the spooks............

It's not really a new fund; its's the rebadged Global Conflict Prevention Pool/Fund (with a few small bits added).

The Budgets for the security services is, as I've pointed out before, a rounding error of the MOD's vote.

The chancellor committed to spending money from the bank tax to ensure the rennovation and restoration of RAF Uxbridges WW2 bunker which is excellent news.

By keeping salary increases suppressed for a further four years, the pension savings he'll be making should allow him some largesse. :ok:

Permission not to hold my breath Sir!

Just curious, but when a VC or GC is awarded, are the pensions put into immediate payment?

Hmm, I don't suppose the fact it's Boris Johnson's patch has anything to do with it :hmm:

He made that point (BoJO had lobbied about it apparently) and had a dig at Boris' anti-Heathrow expansion position

I notice that public sector pay rises are restricted to 1% for the next four years, the military having already gone through several years of pay restrictions. It's a bloody funny way to show your gratitude to our Armed Forces, who are extremely useful to our country, whilst awarding MPs (who I always believed were also "public servants") a more than 10% pay rise. But then, I suppose when you have no sense of moral decency, it won't matter a jot to you.

Smudge

Nice news on the VC/GC awards. About bloody time too!

The rest, as an offshore resident probably doesn't affect me, but I have some sympathy for those who have seen the endless changes in Armed Forces pensions since I left in 95.

Indeed. It will allow him to fund the MPs' potential 27% pay rise over the course of the Parliament.

Everybody knows about the 10% immediate rise. If that doesn't stick in your throat, then the little briefed fact that after this 10% wallet busting rise there will be annual rises tied to annual earnings rather than inflation as most of the masses in the UK will have to contend with - if lucky. Based on OBR forecasts for wage growth out to 2019, that would see pay go from the curren 67K to ~ 84/5K in 5 years. I know they have to take it, they have no choice .... Oh the problems of being a victim eh!

Now having said all that, I actual don't have a problem with MPs earning that for running the country, but the way they are going about it is frankly shocking and a lesson for all the officer training courses in how not to do leadership.