The 2023 Spring budget: what will it offer prospective retirees?

Remember when a Chancellor's budget was full of surprises? The anticipation of just how much the income tax threshold would rise or fall was palpable. No one outside of a select group of senior cabinet ministers had even an inkling of what the Chancellor was going to say when they stood up in the House of Commons.

That has all changed. These days we pretty much know the headlines days beforehand. Despite reminders from the Speaker of the House that leaking details of the budget is not allowed, it is now standard practice. Of course, it doesn't officially happen. If you ask the Prime Minister or Chancellor how on earth it could happen, you'll get no answer.

The absence of any real surprises in the budget is a bit of a letdown. If we know what the Chancellor is going to say, what is the point in him saying it. It just adds some political theatre. Admittedly they may have one or two cards up their sleeve, and they may add some colour to the overall picture.

As a prospective retiree, I'm interested in what the Chancellor is doing for folk like me. Yes just like everyone else, I'm just interested in pounds, shillings, and pence. He seems to be trying to encourage folk like me to delay retirement. Will his strategy work?

Increases to the pension contribution thresholds are helpful to those able to contribute more to their pension funds, but that won't be many. Even the current £40k annual limit is beyond most of us, so raising it to a reported £60k will only help high earners with lots of disposable income. Out of the few who have at least £40k a year spare, how many would consider a £20k increase enough of an incentive to keep their nose to the grindstone?

After 40+ years of service, I won't be tempted to continue working. As soon as I feel the time is right, I'll hang up my name badge for good and disappear into the sunset with an enormous grin on my face. I'm not alone. Why would anyone in my position want to carry on working?

The whole point of a pension is to build up a pot big enough to provide what you need later in life. Once you've achieved that objective, most would call it a day. Having additional cash to spend may be OK for some, but if you've done your calculations correctly why would you need it?