The Budget this week was notable for two things: Firstly, The Chancellor decided to delay settling the coronavirus bill to another day and, secondly, the true scale of the women’s underpaid state pension scandal was laid bare at £3billion.
The collossal short-changing of married women on their state pensions was uncovered by This is Money columnist Steve Webb and journalist Tanya Jefferies just over a year ago.
Their investigations, campaigning and tenacity has paid off and now women affected should get what they are owed – to the tune of an astonishing £3billion, according to Budget documents.
Tanya joins Georgie Frost, Lee Boyce and Simon Lambert to explain the issue on this week’s podcast, as the team also trawl through the Budget to explain what it means for people.
One day Britain might have to try to balance the books and pay the bill for the coronavirus rescue, but that day didn’t arrive with the Budget.
The Chancellor Rishi Sunak openly indulged in some stealth taxation by freezing personal allowances and income tax thresholds in the future and said corporation tax would rise, but kept the cash flowing to aid economic recovery.
Furlough was extended, there will be an encore at the stamp duty holiday party, the business investment of Eat Out to Help Out was launched, and a new 5% deposit mortgage scheme has been launched (without being called Help-to-anything, so that’s something at least).
The self-employed also got some more help, with new entrepreneurs getting assistance, but bizarrely those who previously earned more than £50,000 as sole traders and paid lots of tax are still left out in the cold.
The tax burden is set to rise but this was no austerity Budget and Britain’s debt and deficit are scarily big.
So will Rishi’s third Budget in a year be what Britain’s economy needs to achieve escape velocity as lockdown eases (and hopefully never comes back)?
Chancellor Rishi Sunak delivered his third Budget in a year but will it be enough for Britain to achieve escape velocity for a sustained recovery as lockdow eases?
THIS IS MONEY PODCAST
- The ‘escape velocity’ Budget and the £3bn state pension victory
- Should the stamp duty holiday become a permanent vacation?
- What happens next to the property market and house prices?
- The UK has dodged a double-dip recession, so what next?
- Will you confess your investing mistakes?
- Should the GameStop frenzy be stopped to protect investors?
- Should people cash in bitcoin profits or wait for the moon?
- Is this the answer to pension freedom without the pain?
- Are investors right to buy British for better times after lockdown?
- The astonishing year that was 2020… and Christmas taste test
- Is buy now, pay later bad news or savvy spending?
- Would a ‘wealth tax’ work in Britain?
- Is there still time for investors to go bargain hunting?
- Is Britain ready for electric cars? Driving, charging and buying…
- Will the vaccine rally and value investing revival continue?
- How bad will Lockdown 2 be for the UK economy?
- Is this the end of ‘free’ banking or can it survive?
- Has the V-shaped recovery turned into a double-dip?
- Should British investors worry about the US election?
- Is Boris’s 95% mortgage idea a bad move?
- Can we keep our lockdown savings habit?
- Will the Winter Economy Plan save jobs?
- How to make an offer in a seller’s market and avoid overpaying
- Could you fall victim to lockdown fraud? How to fight back
- What’s behind the UK property and US shares lockdown mini-booms?
- Do you know how your pension is invested?
- Online supermarket battle intensifies with M&S and Ocado tie-up
- Is the coronavirus recession better or worse than it looks?
- Can you make a profit and get your money to do some good?
- Are negative interest rates off the table and what next for gold?
- Has the pain in Spain killed off summer holidays this year?
- How to start investing and grow your wealth
- Will the Government tinker with capital gains tax?
- Will a stamp duty cut and Rishi’s rescue plan be enough?
- The self-employed excluded from the coronavirus rescue
- Has lockdown left you with more to save or struggling?
- Are banks triggering a mortgage credit crunch?
- The rise of the lockdown investor – and tips to get started
- Are electric bikes and scooters the future of getting about?
- Are we all going on a summer holiday?
- Could your savings rate turn negative?
- How many state pensions were underpaid? With Steve Webb
- Santander’s 123 chop and how do we pay for the crash?
- Is the Fomo rally the read deal, or will shares dive again?
- Is investing instead of saving worth the risk?
- How bad will recession be – and what will recovery look like?
- Staying social and bright ideas on the ‘good news episode’
- Is furloughing workers the best way to save jobs?
- Will the coronavirus lockdown sink house prices?
- Will helicopter money be the antidote to the coronavirus crisis?
- The Budget, the base rate cut and the stock market crash
- Does Nationwide’s savings lottery show there’s life in the cash Isa?
- Bull markets don’t die of old age, but do they die of coronavirus?
- How do you make comedy pay the bills? Shappi Khorsandi on Making the…
- As NS&I and Marcus cut rates, what’s the point of saving?
- Will the new Chancellor give pension tax relief the chop?
- Are you ready for an electric car? And how to buy at 40% off
- How to fund a life of adventure: Alastair Humphreys
- What does Brexit mean for your finances and rights?
- Are tax returns too taxing – and should you do one?
- Has Santander killed off current accounts with benefits?
- Making the Money Work: Olympic boxer Anthony Ogogo
- Does the watchdog have a plan to finally help savers?
- Making the Money Work: Solo Atlantic rower Kiko Matthews
- The biggest stories of 2019: From Woodford to the wealth gap
- Does the Boris bounce have legs?
- Are the rich really getting richer and poor poorer?
- It could be you! What would you spend a lottery win on?
- Who will win the election battle for the future of our finances?
- How does Labour plan to raise taxes and spend?
- Would you buy an electric car yet – and which are best?
- How much should you try to burglar-proof your home?
- Does loyalty pay? Nationwide, Tesco and where we are loyal
- Will investors benefit from Woodford being axed and what next?
- Does buying a property at auction really get you a good deal?
- Crunch time for Brexit, but should you protect or try to profit?
- How much do you need to save into a pension?
- Is a tough property market the best time to buy a home?
- Should investors and buy-to-letters pay more tax on profits?
- Savings rate cuts, buy-to-let vs right to buy and a bit of Brexit
- Do those born in the 80s really face a state pension age of 75?
- Can consumer power help the planet? Look after your back yard
- Is there a recession looming and what next for interest rates?
- Tricks ruthless scammers use to steal your pension revealed
- Is IR35 a tax trap for the self-employed or making people play fair?
- What Boris as Prime Minister means for your money