Helen Nugent

Pensions, house prices, PPI and debt

George Osborne’s pension reforms will backfire and end up costing the taxpayer billions of pounds more every year as people stop saving for their retirement, the official Treasury watchdog has warned. The Telegraph reports that the Office for Budget Responsibility said the removal of tax relief on pensions for higher earners – billed as a move to save money – will ultimately end up costing the Exchequer £5 billion a year. The watchdog warned that higher earners will move their money to tax efficient investments and may even drive up property prices as a result of the ill-thought through policy. Meanwhile, The Times reports that younger workers could be in line for a boost to their pensions at the expense of older employees under plans being considered by the Treasury. Tax breaks to encourage people to save for their old age will be reshaped to favour the millennial generation crippled by student debts and runaway house prices, it is understood.

Brexit

Whitehall officials believe the UK may need to make big payments to the EU to secure preferential trading terms after Brexit, according to BBC Newsnight.

During the EU referendum, Vote Leave claimed leaving the EU could save the UK £350 million a week in contributions. But an unnamed cabinet minister has told Newsnight that the UK may end up ‘paying quite a lot’ of that money to secure access to the single market. The Government said it would not give a ‘running commentary’ on negotiations. PPI

Banks are trying to claw back PPI compensation paid years ago to victims of the £25 billion mis-selling scandal, according to the Daily Mail.

Customers are receiving shock bills for thousands of pounds because banks wrongly calculated their payment protection insurance payouts. They are demanding customers hand back up to £15,000 as many as four years after the original payout was made.

Debt

Stepchange Debt Charity has today released results from a new survey showing that almost two thirds of people seeking its help with overdraft debts have regularly exceeded their limit and faced charges of £45 each time on average.

Commenting on the findings of the survey, Rachel Reeves MP for Leeds West and Member of the Treasury Select Committee, said: ‘Today’s survey from StepChange Debt Charity makes it crystal clear that those who are struggling with debt are having to use their overdrafts to keep up – and their situations are being made worse by having to pay an extra £225 on average for falling into unauthorised overdrafts. 

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