From mortgages and wages to pensions, the major UK budget talking points
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UK chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered her first budget on Wednesday, which included a headline-grabbing announcement that she would hike taxes by ￡40bn.
While sterling (GBPUSD=X) wobbled upon the news, people were most concerned about deciphering what the news meant for their finances. We've rounded up our coverage featuring some of the biggest talking points from Reeves's announcements to help you make sense of it all.
Wages
The national living wage is due to rise 6.7% to ￡12.21 per hour. For 18- to 20-year-olds it will rise 16.3% to ￡10, and for those aged 16 to 17 and apprentices it will be ￡7.55, up 18%. Read more about the minimum wage change here.
Changes to national insurance and the potential impact on wages is another announcement that got tongues wagging. Employees can expect to see their wages drop, according to Reeves. So how do things stand? The chancellor on Wednesday unveiled plans to increase employer national insurance contributions by ￡25bn. Read the full story here.
Watch: How the UK budget could impact first-time buyers, small businesses and economic growth
Pensions
Perhaps the two most-scrutinised pensions changes were the move to make pensions subject to inheritance tax and the rise in the state pension.
The state pension will increase by 4.1% from April in line with the triple lock. From from 2027, pensions will be considered part of people's estate for inheritance tax. You can read more about all the changes and their implications here.
Bonds
Investors also had plenty to think about after the budget announcements. UK government bonds extended their sell-off on Thursday as they digested the sharp increase in government borrowing and expectations of Bank of England (BoE) interest rate cuts, forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). Read the story in full here.
Read more: 7 post-budget steps to take to protect your finances
Property
The rate of capital gains tax on stocks and shares has risen from 10% to 18% for basic-rate taxpayers and from 20% to 24% for higher-rate taxpayer. This has both positive and less attractive implications for investors.
Elsewhere, the stamp duty surcharge on investment property rose from 3% to 5%. And inheritance tax as it relates to property is subject to a frozen threshold until 2030. You can read more about how the budget affects property here.
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