Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s Autumn Statement contained little or nothing for millions of older people still struggling to cope with the ongoing cost of living crisis.
His mini budget with more than 100 measures appears to give with one hand, while stealthily taking away with the other, heaping more pressure on our oldest and most vulnerable.
His statement also introduces a potentially punitive scheme to remove benefits from often older and disabled people who have not quite reached retirement age and will still be required to work.
Threatening disabled people with the loss of benefits if they can’t justify their inability to work is quite horrendous.
Mr Hunt did keep his promise to maintain the Triple Lock, guaranteeing an 8.5 per cent increase in the state pension next April, which we welcome. But he failed to increase the tax thresholds, which means large numbers of older people will soon have to pay income tax for the first time, taking away the much- needed boost in their meagre income, and once again reducing their purchasing power.
Mr Hunt’s headline two per cent cut in National Insurance, from 12 per cent to ten per cent, which will account for the bulk of his spending on budget concessions, is of no use to pensioners who don’t pay it.
At the same time, he offered nothing extra to help our failing public services and struggling health and care sector, even though polls show people, even millionaires, would rather pay higher NI or taxes and see more investment in them.
In principle the NPC Pension and Income Working Party would agree with the pension pot being consolidated into one for life.
There is a lot of money taken from pension pots when those that have had more than one employer in their working life, want to consolidate their pension into one place. Much will depend on what appears in the legislation.
As usual the devil is in the details, but it is clear he is putting money into business rather than into public services.
A lot of recent studies have shown we may be living longer but we are living in poorer health, exacerbated by delays and under provision of healthcare.
To get people back to work there needs to be investment in health services to support disabled people and those with ill health, stop the ageism in employment.
Older people out of work could be affected by this but not be able to get a job due to ageist attitudes.
Overall, there is little to celebrate in this Statement. It is worth noting that the Office of Budget Responsibility has said that UK living standards are forecast to be 3.5 per cent lower in 2024-25 than pre-pandemic. This would be the largest reduction in living standards since records began in the 1950s, but only half the fall we expected in March.
So it’s premature for the Chancellor to be celebrating a drop in inflation, which is still much higher than before.
Rodney Sadd
Crowland
Supporter of the NPC
