The Spring Budget 2017 delivered by Chancellor Philip Hammond has been described as a budget to:- “take forward our plan to prepare Britain for a brighter future”.
The economic predictions made in the Autumn Statement last year were similar to those given by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). It is predicted that inflation will rise by 2.4% this year, 2.3% in 2018 and 2% the year after that.
UK Growth is expected to be 2% this year (this figure has been revised upwards from the 1.4% forecast given in the Autumn Statement last year) and growth is expected to be 1.6% the year after.
The level of borrowing for 2016/17 is predicted to be £51.7 billion (This is £16.4 billion lower than was thought in the Autumn Statement last year) and public sector net borrowing is expected to fall from the 3.8% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) last year to 2.6% in 2017.
This year’s Spring Budget 2017 had a few new measures, but most of the announcements only come into effect next year.
It was confirmed by the Chancellor that from April this year:
there will be a rise in the national living wage to £7.50/hour
there will be a rise in the personal allowance to £11,500 and the threshold for paying higher rate tax rose to £45,000 (£43,000 in Scotland)
a new NS&I bond was introduced which pays savers a rate of 2.2% on deposits of up to £3,000.
A summary of the main features of the Spring Budget report 2017 is given below.
Mortgage Lenders now keener than ever to do business through brokers….. And that can only be good for borrowers….
For some years now more mortgage lending has been arranged through brokers than direct with banks and building societies. While there are some smaller mortgage lenders that only take business brokers, there are some mainstream banks and building societies that receive more than 85% of their lending through the mortgage broker channel. Many lenders have consistently offered mortgage products exclusive to brokers so whilst this is nothing new it demonstrates further the importance of brokers to lenders and therefore to borrowers alike. So if this is all old news what’s new?
In this month’s Money Management December 2016 blog… More people are saving more for retirement through workplace pensions. A quarter of properties sold in Q3 2016 were second homes or buy-to-lets. Research has found that cash ISAs are the most popular way to save, but savers could be missing out on higher interest rates. And, we round up the highlights of this year’s Autumn Statement.
Getting started with your retirement planning is not difficult. There are many things that people in their 20’s and 30’s feel they should be focusing their time and attention on, and retirement planning may not necessarily be one of them.
Getting Started With Your Retirement Planning Early
Retirement planning
Between choosing a career, securing a decent income, shouldering student debt, dealing with rented accommodation and trying to get a foot on the property ladder, getting started with your retirement planning is not very high on your agenda. A person could be forgiven for losing sight of something 30 or more years down the line.
However, getting started with your retirement planning is an immensely important facet of modern life. The decisions you make now will influence what kind of life you are able to live in your post-employment, twilight years.
The difference between having a retirement full of possibilities and one where financial concerns hang heavy comes down to the choices made today. So getting started with your retirement planning now is essential.
The economic predictions made in the Autumn Statement last year were similar to those given by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).
