Good morning and welcome to your Morning Briefing for Monday 28 October 2024. To get this in your inbox every morning click here.
Chancellor set to unveil £20bn NI increase
Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to increase the National Insurance (NI) rate for employers in her first Budget on 30 October.
This, reports suggest, is in part to boost funding for public services such as the NHS.
There is also an expectation that Reeves will use the Budget to lower the threshold for when employers start paying the tax. The two measures are estimated to raise around £20bn.
Pensions tax lock is Reeves’ only sensible choice
The first 100 days of Labour’s government have been marked by a slew of challenging headlines, from the controversy around freebies to the means testing of winter fuel payments, writes AJ Bell co-founder Andy Bell.
As speculation swirls ahead of this week’s Budget, Bell said chancellor Rachel Reeves is under pressure to demonstrate stability and a long-term vision.
Against this backdrop, discussions about reforms to pension tax relief and tax-free cash have intensified, he added.
‘We have never talked so much’ about a Budget in advance
‘We have never talked so much’ about a Budget before it takes place, Walker Crips business development manager Alan Kinnaird has told Money Marketing.
Kinnaird was referring to Rachel Reeves’ first ever Budget on 30 October as chancellor.
The only time he could remember a similar amount of discussion before a Budget was when then-chancellor Gordon Brown stunned the City and Westminster by handing control of interest rates to an independent Bank of England in May 1997.
Quote Of The Day
It’s always an idea to keep in touch with the companies managing your finances, but life does sometimes get in the way
– Investment Association head of innovation & operations John Allan on Talk Money Week 2024 (4-8 November), which aims to make it easier for people to have conversations about money.
Stat Attack
Research from national advice firm Continuum shows an increasing number of Brits expect to work during retirement to supplement their income.
40%
said they expect to work during retirement to supplement their income.
32%
said they are sure they will not need to continue to work.
58%
of 35- to 44-year-olds and 57% of those between the age of 44 and 54 said they expect to need to keep working, in comparison to just 25% of those over 55.
62%
with three or more children expect to need to supplement their retirement income.
81%
of Brits said maintaining their current lifestyle in retirement is important to them.
Source: Continuum
In Other News
The Financial Conduct Authority has fined Wise CEO and senior manager of Wise Assets UK Kristo Käärmann £350,000 for breaching a senior manager conduct rule.
In February 2021, Käärmann paid a fine to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) of £365,651.
He was fined for deliberately failing to notify HMRC of a capital gains tax liability after he sold shares worth £10m in 2017.
In September 2021, HMRC subsequently added Käärmann to their public tax defaulters list.
Between February 2021 and September 2021, these matters, including the circumstances surrounding them, were relevant to the FCA’s assessment of Käärmann’s fitness and propriety.
Käärmann failed to appropriately consider the significance of the tax issues and notify the FCA, despite being aware of them for over seven months.
The FCA issued the fine after determining that Käärmann was in breach of Senior Management Conduct Rule 4, which states: “You must disclose appropriately any information of which the FCA would reasonably expect notice.”
From Elsewhere
China launches new lending tool before year-end loan expiry (Reuters)
Japan plunged into political turmoil after voters punish ruling LDP (Financial Times)
London jobs are settling below pre-Covid levels, Indeed says (Bloomberg)
Did You See?
All advice firms should have a “technology champion”, Mint Wealth Management founder Andy Kirby has claimed.
Speaking at Money Marketing Interactive in Leeds (24 October), Kirby said that as tech advances, it is vital to have a “dedicated person who is across the subject”.
“With the challenges that most firms now have, many have a Consumer Duty champion, but I also think you need a technology champion within your business,” he said.
“I think that’s a good thing to look at. Somebody who can really get it, understand it, really get behind it and make sure it’s adopted.”
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