The Chancellor Jeremy Hunt today delivered his Autumn Statement to Parliament, with the UK Government expecting inflation to drop to 2.8% by the end of 2024. 

We have taken the main points from the Autumn Statement and have outlined these below. 

Minimum Wages to Rise 

• The National Living Wage for over 23's will rise from £10.42 to £11.44 from April 2024 
• Those aged 21 to 22 will be eligible for the National Living Wage for the first time
• The National Minimum wage for under 18's will rise from £5.28 to £6.40 

Taxes

• National Insurance will be cut 2 percentage points from 12% to 10% from January 6th; saving those on an average salary of £35,000 over £450 per year. 
• Self Employed workers on the Class 4 National Insurance Rate will see this reduced from 9% to 8%
• The Class 2 National Insurance Rate for Self Employed workers will be abolished

Pensions

• The State Pension will rise from £203.85 per week to £221.20 per week (£11,502.40 per year), honouring the commitment to the triple lock
• A consultation on 'lifetime pensions', where people could choose to have one pension throughout their working life, rather than having a different one with each employer

Benefits

• Benefits will increase by 6.7% (the September rate of inflation), with the increase coming into affect in April 2024.

Upon reading the Autumn Statement, McCrea adviser Jonathan Campbell stated: 

''With a general election due in the relatively near future, it is perhaps unsurprising that the Autumn Statement offered cuts in taxation but it was interesting to note that the Chancellor chose to reduce National Insurance contributions which will directly impact everyone in the UK from January, instead of Income Tax where the Scottish Government can set its own rates.

With the increased cost of living, there was welcome news for pensioners with the confirmation that State Pension will increase by 8.5%, and also an increase in the National Living Wage to £11.44 per hour both from April.

The announcement of the proposed “Pension Pot for Life” has the potential to benefit individuals by giving them more control and choice, but has the potential to be a logistical nightmare for employers so we will have to wait and see how these proposals progress to law.''

For additional information on the Autumn Statement, you can find the BBC's summary of the statement here, and for the key points explained by Sky News, click here. 

How We Can Help

If you think that your current retirement plans, pensions, long-term investments or overall financial position will be impacted by the changes outlined in the statement, then please do get in touch with your advisor here, call us on 0141 572 1340 or email us at enquiries@mccreafs.co.uk. 

McCrea Financial Services is Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.