All change?
There seems to be a trend for changing minds in politics at the moment. Lots of things we thought were happening might not be. Maybe the adage is true; the only things which are certain in life are death and taxes. This month we’re talking about both with new research from Demos. Also in this month’s update, Professor Doland Hirsch considers benefits and pensions uprating, and we present new research on disabled people’s financial wellbeing.
Inheritance tax in the spotlight
With inheritances becoming increasingly important in people’s lives, Demos (supported by the Trust) is undertaking a long-term programme of work to explore what the UK’s ‘new age of inheritance’ means for the country. This week Demos have published ‘Winning the argument: how to unlock public support for inheritance tax’. They found even opponents of inheritance tax are worried that cutting it will hurt public finances.
The research, a mix of polling and focus groups, found there is support for keeping inheritance taxes across the spectrum of public opinion when voters are given the opportunity to deliberate and engage in more in-depth conversations about the policy.
Blog: Annual uprating has descended into a game of smoke and mirrors
Professor Donald Hirsch, the Trust’s policy advisor, argues that constantly tinkering with how benefits and pensions are uprated causes uncertainly and confusion. He makes the case for why we need a stable formula that is not constantly changed by politicians.
A third of disabled people are struggling financially
One-in-three disabled people are struggling to make ends meet (in comparison with one-in-ten non-disabled adults). New findings show some disabled people are much more likely to face financial hardship than others; this can be due to the type and nature of a person’s impairment, as well as factors such as age.
Researchers from a team at the University of Bristol’s Personal Finance Research Centre and the Research Institute for Disabled Consumers (supported by abrdn Financial Fairness Trust) investigated financial wellbeing among disabled people with a new focus on demographics and impairment type. They discovered age, income-level and types of impairment are key influencing factors on a disabled person’s financial well-being.
The team also found there is insufficient support available for people with disabilities and a need for greater focus on the different needs that disabled people have.
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