Should you have a stash of cash in case of emergency?
T he widespread power cut in Spain and Portugal last week left many retailers only able to take cash when their electronic payment systems went down. Is the lesson to start keeping more cash at home in case of a similar scenario, or could public panic over emergencies do more harm than good? Here are both sides of the debate.
John Glen, the Conservative MP for Salisbury and South Wiltshire
Five years ago, I was the City minister sitting in the Treasury during the Covid crisis.
Each day brought new demands and dilemmas of how best the state should help people, businesses and industries survive the pandemic.
This experience taught me that events sometimes force us to do things differently, with little notice and against our
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The Guardian
6 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Should young Australians be worried about Labor's superannuation tax changes?
As debate rages over the Labor government's tax changes for large superannuation accounts, some young workers have asked their financial advisers whether they will be caught by the reforms. Advisers have told Guardian Australia that some young workers have even questioned whether they should stop making additional contributions. Experts say it's unlikely that younger Australians will get caught by the changes, with older, high-income earners the most exposed to the reforms. Here's what young Australians need to know about the changes. Most workers are legally entitled to be paid a guaranteed 11.5% of their wages into their superannuation fund, or 12% from July this year. The government levies a tax of 15% on the earnings on super balances of workers yet to retire and of retirees with more than $2m. Labor has proposed to lift that 15% tax to 30%, but only for the earnings from the portion of the balances over $3m. Earnings on the first $3m in an account would still be taxed at 15%. The tax would be levied each year. You can read a broader breakdown here. Economists expect most young people currently working will not hit $3m balances, though higher-income earners will have a higher chance at getting there. By the 2050s, when millennials will be looking at retirement and gen Z and Alpha will dominate the workforce, one in 10 people will have $3m balances, Treasury and Grattan Institute modelling shows. That could rise to three or four in every 10 people in the 2060s according to Diana Mousina, an AMP economist. But she says it is unlikely that 'half of gen Z' will reach $3m in super balances, contrary to some media reporting of her analysis. Mousina's modelling shows a worker earning more than $90,000 a year who works for 40 years consecutively with a 3% pay rise every year would probably achieve a $3m balance. This means a worker in their 20s who reaches $90,000 or over soon, then maintains it for the rest of their working life, could one day be affected. Workers on lower incomes who made no extra contributions and took time off work, for example to have a child, would be unlikely to reach $3m, according to Harry Chemay, a superannuation and wealth management consultant. The Financial Services Council, meanwhile, expects about 500,000 people of 14.6 million currently employed would earn enough to see their top-range tax breaks reduced slightly under the new proposal. While the reform would increase tax rates on big balances, superannuation would still be an effective way for high-income earners to reduce the tax they pay. The average superannuation balance in mid-2022 was $164,000, so most Australians are nowhere near balances over $3m. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email The proposed 30% tax rate is still lower than the top income tax rate of 45%, meaning superannuation contributions would continue to offer a tax break for well-paid workers. Public debate over the tax illuminated how lightly superannuation is taxed, according to Jonathan Philpot, a wealth management partner at accounting firm HLB Mann Judd in Sydney. 'It actually highlights that super actually has much lower tax rates than virtually any other structure you can have in your retirement years,' he says. 'I wouldn't want people changing their super plans.' Experts believe it is likely the threshold for the new tax would be lifted above $3m at some point in the future, so some young people who hit the $3m figure may not end up paying extra. Mousina is among those who agree the $3m benchmark for the new extra rate will probably rise but she suggests the increase could be baked into the new laws for the tax, which need the Greens' support to pass. 'We should think about indexing it, rather than just having no legislation around when it's going to cap out,' she says. The lack of assurance on whether the tax threshold will be lifted above $3m has attracted some media outcry, despite expert consensus that the figure would have to rise. Debate has also focused on the proposal to tax a type of investment return called unrealised gains, which would see high earners pay tax on a rise in value of some assets on paper while leaving them unable to get that money back if the asset value falls in the future. Most super accounts would have limited exposure to unrealised gains, according to Chemay. Australians with self-managed super funds are more likely to struggle with this type of investment. However, self-managed super funds only make up about 1 million of the 20 million or so super savers – and just 15% of them are under the age of 45. For perspective, four million Australians have more than one super account. The government in 2018 estimated the resulting extra fees would leave the average worker about $50,000 worse off by the time they retired.
Metro
14 minutes ago
- Metro
Here's why Keir Starmer thinks technology will actually make us 'more human'
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The UK must 'push past' the debate over whether AI will take people's jobs, Keir Starmer has said, as he argued the tech is making us more human. Businesses and industries across the country have been transformed by the technology, which can summarise vast documents and generate text or images in a matter of seconds. While workers and unions have expressed concerns over the impact of the sweeping change, the Prime Minister has embraced it. In a speech at London Tech Week this morning, Sir Keir recalled being 'really struck' by the impact AI is having on the war in Ukraine and pushing for it to be 'hardwired' into the recent Strategic Defence Review. He said: 'I've set the challenge to all of my teams: show me how they can use AI — not just in the output of government, not just in partnership with yourselves and others in the delivery of services — but also in the very way we do government.' As an example, he spoke about a social worker he met in Downing Street who told him AI is 'slashing her paperwork and her caseload'. Craig Munro breaks down Westminster chaos into easy to follow insight, walking you through what the latest policies mean to you. Sign up here. The PM said: 'She could use AI and tech to help with the parts that could be done more quickly. And from that, I've always said: AI and tech make us more human. 'It may sound like an odd thing to say, but it's true—and we need to say it. 'Because some people out there are sceptical. They worry about AI taking their jobs. But I know from audiences like this, this debate has been had many times. We need to push past it.' AI is expected to form a central part of the spending review on Wednesday, when Chancellor Rachel Reeves will outline plans for government budgets over the next few years. Departments will be encouraged to use the tech to slash costs and speed up work. More Trending But it has also played a role behind the scenes of the review. In January, Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones said a tool nicknamed 'HMT GPT' was being used to summarise spending bids from different departments. Following a speech on AI from the Prime Minister that same month, Unite the Union general secretary Sharon Graham called for 'proper protections from AI's pitfalls'. She said: 'The introduction of AI in the workplace must be something that happens with workers and not to workers. 'Government, employers, and unions all need to be working together to avoid the potential dangers of workplace AI.' Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: The 'Gate to Hell' has been open for 50 years but is finally burning out MORE: The real reason behind 'Stop Hiring Humans' ads appearing on the Tube MORE: Three men appear in court accused of arson attacks on properties linked to Keir Starmer
North Wales Chronicle
an hour ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Police leaders ramp up pressure on Government ahead of spending review
The police and crime commissioners for West Midlands and Hertfordshire joined a growing number of leaders pushing for more funding in the next three years. Chancellor Rachel Reeves is due to set out her spending plans on Wednesday, and is expected to give above-inflation increases in the policing budget. But Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has yet to reach a settlement with the Treasury as she will reportedly face cuts in other parts of her department. On Monday, West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Simon Foster called for the reinstatement of 700 officers the force has seen cut since 2010, while Hertfordshire's PCC Jonathan Ash-Edwards warned the force is facing a growing burden. Their comments followed warnings by the president of the Police Superintendents' Association Nick Smart, and Tiff Lynch, acting national chairman for the Police Federation of England and Wales. The pair wrote in an article for the Daily Telegraph that policing is in 'crisis', with young officers not paid enough to live on and more senior colleagues leaving because they are burned out. They said: 'It is not enough to talk about 'tough on crime'. There must be funding to match. 'What the police service needs is sustained investment in structures, people and new technology, so that chiefs can plan long term and deliver a service that is fit for purpose.' In December, the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) warned that forces in England and Wales were facing a £1.3 billion shortfall over the next two years. And last month, head of the Metropolitan Police Sir Mark Rowley joined with head of the NPCC Gavin Stephens and four other chief constables to call for more investment. They wrote in an article for the Times: 'A lack of investment will bake in the structural inefficiencies for another three years and will lose a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reform the service.' Mr Foster claimed West Midlands Police, one of the largest police forces in England and Wales, has been 'short-changed'. 'We still have nearly 700 fewer police officers than in 2010, despite rising demand and increasing complexity in the nature of crime,' he said. 'However, many other police force areas now have more police officers than they have ever had in their force histories. 'That is not fair and it is not just. The West Midlands has been short-changed for far too long. It's time for the Government to take this opportunity to put that right.' He called for changes to the formula used to calculate the funding given to each force, saying that it disadvantages urban forces. Hertfordshire's PCC Mr Ash-Edwards said: 'Policing faces significant demands and pressures and now needs a sustained funding boost to deliver on local and national crime fighting priorities. 'Hertfordshire is one of the lower funded police forces nationally, with the fifth lowest council tax precept. 'The last year has seen an unfunded pay award, the hike in National Insurance contributions not fully reimbursed as promised and new proposals to weaken sentences for many crimes which is likely to increase the burden on policing. 'It is essential that a different direction is set out in the spending review.'
