Pensions and the Budget

This year's budget was a fairly low key event with tax increases to alcohol, tobacco and car duties grabbing many of the headlines. However, there were several changes which have an impact on pensions. A cut of 2p in the basic rate of income tax from April was pre-announced in last year's budget. At the same time, the 10% starting rate of tax has been scrapped, and the ceiling for the standard 11% rate of National Insurance (NI) has risen by £3,900 more than the usual inflation-linked rise. These changes are more about simplifying the number of rates and bands than cutting tax bills, so...