Printed on paper produced using wood fibre and manufactured at a mill that has been awarded the ISO14001 and EMAS certificates for environmental management. Jacqueline Lee-Lis LLB (Hons), APFS 2 Brassey Hill Limpsfield Oxted Surrey RH8 0ES e: jackie@leelis.co.uk office@leelis.co.uk w: www.leelis.co.uk Jacqueline Lee-Lis is an adviser with Julian Harris Financial Consultants, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, FCA No. 153566. Registered office: Julian Harris House, Musgrove, Ashford, Kent, TN23 7UN “Time and again, governments have stepped back from reform when faced with the cost. Too much emphasis is put on the cost of change and not enough consideration is given to the human and financial cost of no or incremental change.” Those words are from the report, Adult Social Care Reform: the cost of inaction issued by the House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee in early May. The timing was somewhat ironic as three days before – on the Friday before the early May bank holiday – the government had published the terms of reference for an independent commission into adult social care in England, to be chaired by Baroness Louise Casey. The commission had been announced in early January, six months after the Chancellor abandoned a plan for a long-term-care funding cap in England which had been due to start in October 2025. The cancellation drew little attention, as the media spotlight was on the Winter Fuel Allowance cut, announced at the same time. In practice there had been some expectation that the capped funding plan would not go ahead. Its commencement had already been deferred several times since being legislated for in 2014. A DISTANT PROSPECT The terms of reference for the new care commission were surprisingly brief, but buried in them was the statement that the first phase, due to report in 2026, “…should produce tangible, pragmatic recommendations that can be implemented in a phased way over a decade.” In other words – not spelt out – a scheme that had been set to start later this year is to be replaced by a new structure that will not be fully operational until 2036 – at least two general elections away. Until the Casey commission’s plan begins, England will be left with a long-termcare funding system which many earlier investigations (including a royal commission at the turn of the century) has said needs reform. The current rules broadly mean that anyone in England with capital of over £23,250 (unchanged since 2010/11) must meet their own long-term-care costs in full. There is currently no insurance policy available to protect against such future costs. If potential care home fees concern you, the best approach today is to ensure your retirement planning makes some allowance for their possibility. The same principle applies for all constituents of the UK, each of which have their own similar funding rules. 8 LATER LIFE Funding for long-term care A solution for funding social care in England remains many years away. 8 Half a century ago… In April a 50th anniversary passed, largely unnoticed. April 1975 was the last time that the basic rate of tax was increased (from 33% to 35%). Ever since the only direction for the basic rate has been down. That’s not quite as positive as you might think as it has prompted successive Chancellors to raise revenue in different, less obvious ways. The most recent example is the freezing of tax bands and allowances to create an evergrowing band of higher-rate taxpayers. Interest and tax If you’re used to HMRC automatically sorting out any tax due on your bank/building society interest via your PAYE code, be warned. For the 2023/24 tax year, HMRC received around 130 million automatic reports of interest, but could only match 80% of them to taxpayers, a job that was not finished until March 2025. The taxpayer is responsible for paying the correct tax and HMRC is now reminding those who have not received a coding adjustment, they need to report any taxable 2023/24 interest ASAP. B The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate tax advice. After the Spending Review... The Chancellor presented her Spending Review on 11 June covering day-to-day spending over the next three tax years and investment through to 2029/30. Having now defined her spending and investment goals, with the NHS and defence top of the list, these will be hard to shift. Place those expenditure aspirations against her "nonnegotiable" fiscal rules and speculation is rife on the likelihood of tax rises when the Chancellor presents her next set piece – the autumn Budget. NEWS ROUND UP Credit: ANDREI ASKIRKAi/Shutterstock.com Credit: PeopleImages.com – Yuri A/Shutterstock.com
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