November Budget

[Navalron]

Been saying this for ages. Anyone continuing working 65 to state pension 67 is in for a nice surprise. At least the " depressed and anxious" will have more beer and fag money while they bang out a few more kids.

Couldn't agree more..... This budget was only for two reasons. To pay for the ever increasing benefit bill and to appease the Labour back benchers.
We as workers have been absolutely hammered.

Maybe if employers paid or were forced to pay decent wages then the welfare bill would drop. Most new starts in RM who have at least 1 child will be on universal credit as most are not earning enough on their contracts. If they do overtime, they lose universal credit or part off it. It's not worth working as you can get more on benefits if you know the system. The biggest amount goes on pensions and pension credits from the welfare bill. I don't get my state pension until I'm 67 which is another 10 years away but I've got my Royal Navy pension, royal mail pension and dwp pension. And as I know the system I claim certain benefits. Why not. I've been working 40 years straight since joining the navy at 17. So before anybody moans about people on benefits, it's unions like the cwu who cuddled up to the new owner and got shafted. The posties need a brand new union. Mr ward and co should be fired. And his sidekick can't speak without spit sliding out his mouth. Most offices probably have at least half their posties on in work benefits. And if they ever do uplift the new contracts, which they wont, the newbies will lose 67p in every pound they gain. So they wonder why with a bit of knowledge about the benefits system, you can claim roughly £2,300 per month tax free ( mostly) wtf would you run around like a donkey delivering SHITE.

[milly]

Been saying this for ages. Anyone continuing working 65 to state pension 67 is in for a nice surprise. At least the " depressed and anxious" will have more beer and fag money while they bang out a few more kids.

Couldn't agree more..... This budget was only for two reasons. To pay for the ever increasing benefit bill and to appease the Labour back benchers.
We as workers have been absolutely hammered.

Maybe if employers paid or were forced to pay decent wages then the welfare bill would drop. Most new starts in RM who have at least 1 child will be on universal credit as most are not earning enough on their contracts. If they do overtime, they lose universal credit or part off it. It's not worth working as you can get more on benefits if you know the system. The biggest amount goes on pensions and pension credits from the welfare bill. I don't get my state pension until I'm 67 which is another 10 years away but I've got my Royal Navy pension, royal mail pension and dwp pension. And as I know the system I claim certain benefits. Why not. I've been working 40 years straight since joining the navy at 17. So before anybody moans about people on benefits, it's unions like the cwu who cuddled up to the new owner and got shafted. The posties need a brand new union. Mr ward and co should be fired. And his sidekick can't speak without spit sliding out his mouth. Most offices probably have at least half their posties on in work benefits. And if they ever do uplift the new contracts, which they wont, the newbies will lose 67p in every pound they gain. So they wonder why with a bit of knowledge about the benefits system, you can claim roughly £2,300 per month tax free ( mostly) wtf would you run around like a donkey delivering SHITE.

Why would employers pay decent wages when the taxpayer subsidises part-time workers with universal credit?
There's a surplus of workers flooding into the UK every year keeping wages down.
It's great for a Large corporation's profits.
Any discontent for pointing this out, can be neutralised by calling people racist.

[Navalron]

Been saying this for ages. Anyone continuing working 65 to state pension 67 is in for a nice surprise. At least the " depressed and anxious" will have more beer and fag money while they bang out a few more kids.

Couldn't agree more..... This budget was only for two reasons. To pay for the ever increasing benefit bill and to appease the Labour back benchers.
We as workers have been absolutely hammered.

Maybe if employers paid or were forced to pay decent wages then the welfare bill would drop. Most new starts in RM who have at least 1 child will be on universal credit as most are not earning enough on their contracts. If they do overtime, they lose universal credit or part off it. It's not worth working as you can get more on benefits if you know the system. The biggest amount goes on pensions and pension credits from the welfare bill. I don't get my state pension until I'm 67 which is another 10 years away but I've got my Royal Navy pension, royal mail pension and dwp pension. And as I know the system I claim certain benefits. Why not. I've been working 40 years straight since joining the navy at 17. So before anybody moans about people on benefits, it's unions like the cwu who cuddled up to the new owner and got shafted. The posties need a brand new union. Mr ward and co should be fired. And his sidekick can't speak without spit sliding out his mouth. Most offices probably have at least half their posties on in work benefits. And if they ever do uplift the new contracts, which they wont, the newbies will lose 67p in every pound they gain. So they wonder why with a bit of knowledge about the benefits system, you can claim roughly £2,300 per month tax free ( mostly) wtf would you run around like a donkey delivering SHITE.

Why would employers pay decent wages when the taxpayer subsidises part-time workers with universal credit?
There's a surplus of workers flooding into the UK every year keeping wages down.
It's great for a Large corporation's profits.
Any discontent for pointing this out, can be neutralised by calling people racist.

Milly, I totally agree with you..... When the minimum wage goes up in April to £12.71 per hour the new contracts will only be about32p per hour above it with unpaid breaks, no delivery supplement ect. Even with the 2% uplift this will be the nearest Royal mail wages have ever been as close to being on par with minimum wage. Even when I started as a casual 30 odd years ago ,we got say premium and double time on a Sunday. Most of which was sitting in the drivers bothy. And we had 600 allowance or even an allowance for just driving vans. It was open docket. Especially in GLASGOW mail centres. Sad times.

[Wullie10]

You forget the NI increase firms have to pay. Maybe if they didn't pay so much they could offer higher wages ? Just saying ? Can't have it both ways. Firrns are taxed more so the government can offer universal credit because wages are low ?

[mjd24]

Millie, are you aware net migration has absolutely plummeted?

It has dropped by 80% since 2023.

[milly]

Millie, are you aware net migration has absolutely plummeted?

It has dropped by 80% since 2023.

From what baseline?
As far as I'm aware the UK population is still steadily increasing, unless of course you know different.

[yellowbelly]

Re net migration, from the Migration Observatory at Uni of Oxford, make up your own minds...

https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/r ... om-the-uk/

The sharp rise in net migration after Brexit was driven by an increase in non-EU citizens coming to the UK. This followed policy liberalisations made under the Conservative government. For example, it reintroduced a post-study work route – which likely made the UK more attractive to international students – opened new humanitarian visa routes for Ukrainians and Hong Kongers, and made care and senior care workers eligible for work visas. At the same time, immigration policy also interacted with other factors unrelated to immigration. UK universities recruited students overseas more actively as their financial situation deteriorated, and social care providers hired migrant workers to fill vacancies caused by low pay and poor working conditions in a sector with limited funding.

Net migration fell sharply in 2024, however, after the Conservative government introduced a suite of policies aimed at reducing immigration. These included visa restrictions on the family members of care workers and most international students. Widespread reports of exploitation in the social care sector also led to a Home Office move to scrutinise applications to sponsor migrant care workers more closely.

https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/r ... questions/

Why has net migration been high post-Brexit?

Net migration increased sharply post-Brexit, peaking at 764,000 in 2022. It fell by around 10% in 2023 to an estimated 685,000. This remained significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels of roughly 250,000.  

The increase from 2019 to 2023 resulted mostly from non-EU citizens coming on work and study visas (including their partners or children). Asylum seekers made up around 10% of overall net migration that year.  

Much of the increase results from recent immigration policy liberalisations. For example, the government liberalised rules for work visas and encouraged more international students to come to the UK. It also opened new humanitarian visa routes for Ukrainians and Hong Kongers. Immigration policy has interacted with other factors unrelated to immigration. For example, universities started to recruit students overseas more actively as their financial situation deteriorated. 

For more information on the drivers of net migration, see the Migration Observatory briefing, Net migration to the UK. 

[milly]

Re net migration, from the Migration Observatory at Uni of Oxford, make up your own minds...

https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/r ... om-the-uk/

The sharp rise in net migration after Brexit was driven by an increase in non-EU citizens coming to the UK. This followed policy liberalisations made under the Conservative government. For example, it reintroduced a post-study work route – which likely made the UK more attractive to international students – opened new humanitarian visa routes for Ukrainians and Hong Kongers, and made care and senior care workers eligible for work visas. At the same time, immigration policy also interacted with other factors unrelated to immigration. UK universities recruited students overseas more actively as their financial situation deteriorated, and social care providers hired migrant workers to fill vacancies caused by low pay and poor working conditions in a sector with limited funding.

Net migration fell sharply in 2024, however, after the Conservative government introduced a suite of policies aimed at reducing immigration. These included visa restrictions on the family members of care workers and most international students. Widespread reports of exploitation in the social care sector also led to a Home Office move to scrutinise applications to sponsor migrant care workers more closely.

https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/r ... questions/

Why has net migration been high post-Brexit?

Net migration increased sharply post-Brexit, peaking at 764,000 in 2022. It fell by around 10% in 2023 to an estimated 685,000. This remained significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels of roughly 250,000.  

The increase from 2019 to 2023 resulted mostly from non-EU citizens coming on work and study visas (including their partners or children). Asylum seekers made up around 10% of overall net migration that year.  

Much of the increase results from recent immigration policy liberalisations. For example, the government liberalised rules for work visas and encouraged more international students to come to the UK. It also opened new humanitarian visa routes for Ukrainians and Hong Kongers. Immigration policy has interacted with other factors unrelated to immigration. For example, universities started to recruit students overseas more actively as their financial situation deteriorated. 

For more information on the drivers of net migration, see the Migration Observatory briefing, Net migration to the UK. 

The UK population is still increasing steadily, Fact!
By all means try and muddy the waters with this spin, it still doesn't change what's happening.

[yellowbelly]

Re net migration, from the Migration Observatory at Uni of Oxford, make up your own minds...

https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/r ... om-the-uk/

The sharp rise in net migration after Brexit was driven by an increase in non-EU citizens coming to the UK. This followed policy liberalisations made under the Conservative government. For example, it reintroduced a post-study work route – which likely made the UK more attractive to international students – opened new humanitarian visa routes for Ukrainians and Hong Kongers, and made care and senior care workers eligible for work visas. At the same time, immigration policy also interacted with other factors unrelated to immigration. UK universities recruited students overseas more actively as their financial situation deteriorated, and social care providers hired migrant workers to fill vacancies caused by low pay and poor working conditions in a sector with limited funding.

Net migration fell sharply in 2024, however, after the Conservative government introduced a suite of policies aimed at reducing immigration. These included visa restrictions on the family members of care workers and most international students. Widespread reports of exploitation in the social care sector also led to a Home Office move to scrutinise applications to sponsor migrant care workers more closely.

https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/r ... questions/

Why has net migration been high post-Brexit?

Net migration increased sharply post-Brexit, peaking at 764,000 in 2022. It fell by around 10% in 2023 to an estimated 685,000. This remained significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels of roughly 250,000.  

The increase from 2019 to 2023 resulted mostly from non-EU citizens coming on work and study visas (including their partners or children). Asylum seekers made up around 10% of overall net migration that year.  

Much of the increase results from recent immigration policy liberalisations. For example, the government liberalised rules for work visas and encouraged more international students to come to the UK. It also opened new humanitarian visa routes for Ukrainians and Hong Kongers. Immigration policy has interacted with other factors unrelated to immigration. For example, universities started to recruit students overseas more actively as their financial situation deteriorated. 

For more information on the drivers of net migration, see the Migration Observatory briefing, Net migration to the UK. 

The UK population is still increasing steadily, Fact!
By all means try and muddy the waters with this spin, it still doesn't change what's happening.

Gosh you do take umbrage easily, I distinctly said make up your own minds at the top of the post. It's information that you can use or abuse to your own ends. It's just factual information for gawd's sake.

[milly]

Re net migration, from the Migration Observatory at Uni of Oxford, make up your own minds...

https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/r ... om-the-uk/

The sharp rise in net migration after Brexit was driven by an increase in non-EU citizens coming to the UK. This followed policy liberalisations made under the Conservative government. For example, it reintroduced a post-study work route – which likely made the UK more attractive to international students – opened new humanitarian visa routes for Ukrainians and Hong Kongers, and made care and senior care workers eligible for work visas. At the same time, immigration policy also interacted with other factors unrelated to immigration. UK universities recruited students overseas more actively as their financial situation deteriorated, and social care providers hired migrant workers to fill vacancies caused by low pay and poor working conditions in a sector with limited funding.

Net migration fell sharply in 2024, however, after the Conservative government introduced a suite of policies aimed at reducing immigration. These included visa restrictions on the family members of care workers and most international students. Widespread reports of exploitation in the social care sector also led to a Home Office move to scrutinise applications to sponsor migrant care workers more closely.

https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/r ... questions/

Why has net migration been high post-Brexit?

Net migration increased sharply post-Brexit, peaking at 764,000 in 2022. It fell by around 10% in 2023 to an estimated 685,000. This remained significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels of roughly 250,000.  

The increase from 2019 to 2023 resulted mostly from non-EU citizens coming on work and study visas (including their partners or children). Asylum seekers made up around 10% of overall net migration that year.  

Much of the increase results from recent immigration policy liberalisations. For example, the government liberalised rules for work visas and encouraged more international students to come to the UK. It also opened new humanitarian visa routes for Ukrainians and Hong Kongers. Immigration policy has interacted with other factors unrelated to immigration. For example, universities started to recruit students overseas more actively as their financial situation deteriorated. 

For more information on the drivers of net migration, see the Migration Observatory briefing, Net migration to the UK. 

The UK population is still increasing steadily, Fact!
By all means try and muddy the waters with this spin, it still doesn't change what's happening.

Gosh you do take umbrage easily, I distinctly said make up your own minds at the top of the post. It's information that you can use or abuse to your own ends. It's just factual information for gawd's sake.

There's no minds to be made up, the UK population is steadily increasing, which isn't up for debate.

[yellowbelly]

Re net migration, from the Migration Observatory at Uni of Oxford, make up your own minds...

https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/r ... om-the-uk/

The sharp rise in net migration after Brexit was driven by an increase in non-EU citizens coming to the UK. This followed policy liberalisations made under the Conservative government. For example, it reintroduced a post-study work route – which likely made the UK more attractive to international students – opened new humanitarian visa routes for Ukrainians and Hong Kongers, and made care and senior care workers eligible for work visas. At the same time, immigration policy also interacted with other factors unrelated to immigration. UK universities recruited students overseas more actively as their financial situation deteriorated, and social care providers hired migrant workers to fill vacancies caused by low pay and poor working conditions in a sector with limited funding.

Net migration fell sharply in 2024, however, after the Conservative government introduced a suite of policies aimed at reducing immigration. These included visa restrictions on the family members of care workers and most international students. Widespread reports of exploitation in the social care sector also led to a Home Office move to scrutinise applications to sponsor migrant care workers more closely.

https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/r ... questions/

Why has net migration been high post-Brexit?

Net migration increased sharply post-Brexit, peaking at 764,000 in 2022. It fell by around 10% in 2023 to an estimated 685,000. This remained significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels of roughly 250,000.  

The increase from 2019 to 2023 resulted mostly from non-EU citizens coming on work and study visas (including their partners or children). Asylum seekers made up around 10% of overall net migration that year.  

Much of the increase results from recent immigration policy liberalisations. For example, the government liberalised rules for work visas and encouraged more international students to come to the UK. It also opened new humanitarian visa routes for Ukrainians and Hong Kongers. Immigration policy has interacted with other factors unrelated to immigration. For example, universities started to recruit students overseas more actively as their financial situation deteriorated. 

For more information on the drivers of net migration, see the Migration Observatory briefing, Net migration to the UK. 

The UK population is still increasing steadily, Fact!
By all means try and muddy the waters with this spin, it still doesn't change what's happening.

Gosh you do take umbrage easily, I distinctly said make up your own minds at the top of the post. It's information that you can use or abuse to your own ends. It's just factual information for gawd's sake.

There's no minds to be made up, the UK population is steadily increasing, which isn't up for debate.

You asked for a baseline, I provided it through the quotes. I specifically DID NOT question whether the fact that the population of the UK Is steadily increasing or not.

No wonder politics is in such a state if we can't question/talk sensibly/debate things. SHOUTING I'M RIGHT AND YOU'RE WRONG is a recipe for disaster.

[milly]

Re net migration, from the Migration Observatory at Uni of Oxford, make up your own minds...

https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/r ... om-the-uk/

The sharp rise in net migration after Brexit was driven by an increase in non-EU citizens coming to the UK. This followed policy liberalisations made under the Conservative government. For example, it reintroduced a post-study work route – which likely made the UK more attractive to international students – opened new humanitarian visa routes for Ukrainians and Hong Kongers, and made care and senior care workers eligible for work visas. At the same time, immigration policy also interacted with other factors unrelated to immigration. UK universities recruited students overseas more actively as their financial situation deteriorated, and social care providers hired migrant workers to fill vacancies caused by low pay and poor working conditions in a sector with limited funding.

Net migration fell sharply in 2024, however, after the Conservative government introduced a suite of policies aimed at reducing immigration. These included visa restrictions on the family members of care workers and most international students. Widespread reports of exploitation in the social care sector also led to a Home Office move to scrutinise applications to sponsor migrant care workers more closely.

https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/r ... questions/

Why has net migration been high post-Brexit?

Net migration increased sharply post-Brexit, peaking at 764,000 in 2022. It fell by around 10% in 2023 to an estimated 685,000. This remained significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels of roughly 250,000.  

The increase from 2019 to 2023 resulted mostly from non-EU citizens coming on work and study visas (including their partners or children). Asylum seekers made up around 10% of overall net migration that year.  

Much of the increase results from recent immigration policy liberalisations. For example, the government liberalised rules for work visas and encouraged more international students to come to the UK. It also opened new humanitarian visa routes for Ukrainians and Hong Kongers. Immigration policy has interacted with other factors unrelated to immigration. For example, universities started to recruit students overseas more actively as their financial situation deteriorated. 

For more information on the drivers of net migration, see the Migration Observatory briefing, Net migration to the UK. 

The UK population is still increasing steadily, Fact!
By all means try and muddy the waters with this spin, it still doesn't change what's happening.

Gosh you do take umbrage easily, I distinctly said make up your own minds at the top of the post. It's information that you can use or abuse to your own ends. It's just factual information for gawd's sake.

There's no minds to be made up, the UK population is steadily increasing, which isn't up for debate.

You asked for a baseline, I provided it through the quotes. I specifically DID NOT question whether the fact that the population of the UK Is steadily increasing or not.

No wonder politics is in such a state if we can't question/talk sensibly/debate things. SHOUTING I'M RIGHT AND YOU'RE WRONG is a recipe for disaster.

Net migration dropping temporarily by 80% is meaningless if the population is still increasing.

[Tman]

That's the sort of stat that certain sections of the media like to spout when the difficult immigration figures are published.
(And the inept and idiotic Starmer and co, of course}
Meaningless and misleading as the baseline or datum for the 80% isn't accurate.
The government or Home Office have freely admitted that they don't know how many are under the radar and uncountable, and working in the gig economy.

[yellowbelly]

Re net migration, from the Migration Observatory at Uni of Oxford, make up your own minds...

https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/r ... om-the-uk/

The sharp rise in net migration after Brexit was driven by an increase in non-EU citizens coming to the UK. This followed policy liberalisations made under the Conservative government. For example, it reintroduced a post-study work route – which likely made the UK more attractive to international students – opened new humanitarian visa routes for Ukrainians and Hong Kongers, and made care and senior care workers eligible for work visas. At the same time, immigration policy also interacted with other factors unrelated to immigration. UK universities recruited students overseas more actively as their financial situation deteriorated, and social care providers hired migrant workers to fill vacancies caused by low pay and poor working conditions in a sector with limited funding.

Net migration fell sharply in 2024, however, after the Conservative government introduced a suite of policies aimed at reducing immigration. These included visa restrictions on the family members of care workers and most international students. Widespread reports of exploitation in the social care sector also led to a Home Office move to scrutinise applications to sponsor migrant care workers more closely.

https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/r ... questions/

Why has net migration been high post-Brexit?

Net migration increased sharply post-Brexit, peaking at 764,000 in 2022. It fell by around 10% in 2023 to an estimated 685,000. This remained significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels of roughly 250,000.  

The increase from 2019 to 2023 resulted mostly from non-EU citizens coming on work and study visas (including their partners or children). Asylum seekers made up around 10% of overall net migration that year.  

Much of the increase results from recent immigration policy liberalisations. For example, the government liberalised rules for work visas and encouraged more international students to come to the UK. It also opened new humanitarian visa routes for Ukrainians and Hong Kongers. Immigration policy has interacted with other factors unrelated to immigration. For example, universities started to recruit students overseas more actively as their financial situation deteriorated. 

For more information on the drivers of net migration, see the Migration Observatory briefing, Net migration to the UK. 

The UK population is still increasing steadily, Fact!
By all means try and muddy the waters with this spin, it still doesn't change what's happening.

Gosh you do take umbrage easily, I distinctly said make up your own minds at the top of the post. It's information that you can use or abuse to your own ends. It's just factual information for gawd's sake.

There's no minds to be made up, the UK population is steadily increasing, which isn't up for debate.

You asked for a baseline, I provided it through the quotes. I specifically DID NOT question whether the fact that the population of the UK Is steadily increasing or not.

No wonder politics is in such a state if we can't question/talk sensibly/debate things. SHOUTING I'M RIGHT AND YOU'RE WRONG is a recipe for disaster.

Net migration dropping temporarily by 80% is meaningless if the population is still increasing.

I know, it's like people think it's a positive when the inflation rate goes down. The stats I provided actually backed your argument up - that net migration is still a 'plus' figure and therefore the population is still increasing, but you didn't want to see that, you accused me of trying to muddy the waters!

[sweepster70]

I incorrectly used the phrase "tax relief"
We currently pay pension/AVC contributions before tax an NI, from 2029 a limit of £2000 will be placed on that.
I currently pay over £2000 a year into my AVC alone.
My question is if anything over the £2000 limit is subject to tax and NI would it be better invested elsewhere?

Paying your RM pension contributions via salary sacrifice/PSE doesn't save you any income tax, it only saves you NIC's.

From 2029, any contributions over the £2,000 limit won't benefit from the 8p in the pound benefit that PSE provides.
But all pension contributions will continue to benefit from 20% tax relief(as long as you don't pay in more than you earn).

Therefore from 2029, the overall tax treatment of any payments into your RM pensions over £2,000, will be the same as with a personal pension.

If I've read this right.......
There is no point in investing in Avc's for some after 2029 as you will have to pay national insurance on anything over £2000. Then you will have to pay tax on anything over 25% of your lump sum. I also pay the additional 1% lump sum booster.
My CDC pension contributions alone are over £2000.
Would it be more tax efficient to put as much as possible into a personal pension, or put £12,000 a year into an ISA?