Hello Bluesky - first post over here to talk about some geeky Fabian research… which shows how Rachel Reeves can raise £10bn at the budget Here’s the Guardian write up www.theguardian.com/money/articl... - ThreadSky

andrewharrop.bsky.social • 214 days ago

Hello Bluesky - first post over here to talk about some geeky Fabian research… which shows how Rachel Reeves can raise £10bn at the budget

Here’s the Guardian write up

https://www.theguardian.com/money/article/2024/aug/26/rachel-reeves-raise-10bn-peducing-pension-tax-relief-fabian-society

Comments

bill-murray.bsky.social•214 days ago

Why would you not just advocate NI on earnings after state pension age, rather than on pensions? Plenty of highly paid professionals with high earnings eg in the bbc who work well betond state pension age

andrewharrop.bsky.social•213 days ago

I think we should do both!

andrewharrop.bsky.social•214 days ago

The case for action is pretty clear.

1. Pension tax relief is greeting a lot more expensive (a big rise since George Osborne pulled back from reforms almost 10 years ago)

andrewharrop.bsky.social•214 days ago

We’ve come up with a menu of options, a sub-set of which could easily raise £10bn per year.

Here are some of them:

andrewharrop.bsky.social•214 days ago

The most topical and controversial is this one:

CANCEL the plan to withdraw the winter fuel payment from most pensioners

INSTEAD charge employee National Insurance on private pensions over £15k per year

This raises more money & is a lot more progressive than scrapping WFP

andrewharrop.bsky.social•214 days ago

Not sure Rachel will go for this(!) but the other four options above each make huge sense as Budget measures

Here’s the full report

https://fabians.org.uk/publication/expensive-and-unequal/

andrewharrop.bsky.social•214 days ago

2. And that tax relief remains massively targeted at high earners (even though people on low/middle pay are saving more than they were in pensions)

ht4ecosocialism.bsky.social•214 days ago

Sad about the made up BS fiscal rules, though, ain't it?

Here's some reading for you:

alexlaw.bsky.social•214 days ago

Surely the problem is changing the rules on pension relief benefits those with already substantial pensions, and harms those who should be building a pension and risk becoming a risk on the state?

andrewharrop.bsky.social•213 days ago

These proposals are designed to do the opposite - give more financial support to lower earners who don’t save as much, and less to the wealthy

alexlaw.bsky.social•213 days ago

But it doesn’t. The real wealth inequality is those aged 55+, and those who are <30 who your proposals hit the hardest

alexlaw.bsky.social•214 days ago

It also fails to model change in behaviour that any tax would bring, as well as not thinking of the important roll of PF as institutional investors

joesarling.bsky.social•214 days ago

Hello and welcome! 👋🏻

northamptonian.bsky.social•214 days ago

How’s that going to work for DB pensions? No mention of that in the Guardian article.

andrewharrop.bsky.social•213 days ago

In the report we say there may need to be a separate system for DB pensions

northamptonian.bsky.social•213 days ago

There will, and how they’re going to be treated so it’s equitable is beyond my little brain. Hence why, despite pension companies twenty years ago telling me to get clients to contribute because higher rate relief was going, higher rate relief is still there.

richardbaum.bsky.social•214 days ago

Does anyone know how this would work for DB pension schemes? I pay into my NHS one and have no idea what this would mean for me.

andrewharrop.bsky.social•213 days ago

We say public sector Defined Benefit schemes should be protected, potentially with different tax treatment or delayed reform

richardbaum.bsky.social•213 days ago

Thank you. But what, practically, could be on the cards? Lower take home pay? Lower eventual pension amount? I pay £800+pcm into the NHS scheme (employer obviously adds more) and am totally confused about how to prepare.

retrogem.bsky.social•213 days ago

But the sign of what we are as a society is how we look after the vulnerable. Hmmm.

cmg44.bsky.social•214 days ago

I hope she isn’t going for pensioners again!

kentindell.bsky.social•214 days ago

Fabians: “Well of course the top 10% pay half the income tax, that’s how income tax works.”

Also Fabians: “Shockingly, most of pension tax relief goes to the top 10%”

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