This piece first appeared in Saga Magazine in December 2007
The text here may not be identical to the published text

 

Scrooges give more!

and autographs, Northern Rock, centenarians, gas safety checks, 10 years of inflation, pension rises.

Scrooges give more!
When you are out and about this Christmas will you be tempted to put some change in the charity tins being rattled in the shopping centre? Or give a two pound coin to those sweet children singing carols at the station? I don’t want to sound like Scrooge but you should resist the temptation. Instead write down the name of the charity and send the money as a Gift Aid donation. That way the charity can claim an extra 28p for every pound you give.

The extra represents the basic rate tax you have already paid on the £1 which is rattling about in your pocket or purse. (Note for non-mathematicians. You earn £1.28. Basic rate tax is 22% which on £1.28 is 28p leaving you with £1). Some churches and schools already provide envelopes for your gift so that you can write down your name and address and they can claim the Gift Aid bonus. But the Christmas collectors never seem to bother. So do their job for them. Send the money direct to the charity, say you are a taxpayer and want to Gift Aid the donation.

Non-taxpayers cannot do Gift Aid. That is because they have not paid any tax for the Government to refund. So if you pay no tax you might as well put the money in the tin. However if you are a higher rate taxpayer – and nearly four million of us now are – you can reclaim the higher rate tax you have paid on the donation when you fill in your self-assessment form. That means you should give 30% more than you want to spend. (Another note for non-mathematicians. You give £1.30. The charity claims 28% of that which is 37p so it gets £1.67. You reclaim the extra higher rate tax 40%-22% = 18% of £1.67 which is 30p. Leaving you just £1 out of pocket). So if you pay tax always give to charity through Gift Aid and make sure the Chancellor does his bit too. After all, it’s your money he’s giving back!

Ten year change

Over the last ten years house prices have trebled, council tax has almost doubled, general taxes paid are not far behind, insurance and petrol have risen by more than half, and the state pension has gone up by just under 40%. Of life’s essentials only water and food seem to have risen in price by less than that.

The research, done by Research Insight for the comparison website uSwitch, is based on figures from the Office for National Statistics and shows that the amount of money even working families have to spend on themselves – as opposed to the essentials of life – has fallen over that time. That is partly due to the rise in taxes which working families pay and the stunning increase in house prices. It is also because people are now spending a lot more on what is broadly called ‘communication’ – mobile phones which were rare in 1997, broadband computer connections, and satellite or cable TV.

Although a lot of these data is about working households – often with two people working – research by alliancetrust shows once more that those over 75 are facing the highest rate of inflation and that those aged 65-74 faced the biggest increase in prices in September.

Money safer
The crisis at Northern Rock has left everyone’s money safer. The extraordinary sight of older people queuing round the block to get their cash out of the troubled bank led the Government to strengthen the compensation scheme for money deposited in any bank. From x October the first £35,000 is now fully protected. Before the change someone with £35,000 in a bank would only have got back £31,700. But in future all deposits up to £35,000 would be refunded in full by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme in the very unlikely event of a bank going bust. The Government has promised a review of the whole compensation system and may raise this limit in the future.

But there is already an even better guarantee for anyone who puts their money in Northern Rock itself. The Government has now said that all money deposited there – even new money invested now – and any interest it earns is fully protected up to any amount. That makes Northern Rock as safe as National Savings. And it offers better rates. Anyone over 50 can earn – as I write – 6.3% before tax with its online silver savings account and the maximum you can put in is £2 million. With a rate like that and a Government guarantee it has to be the best deal on the High Street.

Pension rises
The basic state pension will rise by £3.40 a week from April 7th taking it to £90.70 a week. The pension for a married woman paid on her husband’s contributions will go up by £2.05 a week to £54.35. These rises are in line with the retail prices index for September which rose by 3.9%. If your pension is more or less than these amounts it should rise by that percentage.

No-one should have to live on the state pension by itself. The Government also announced a rise in Pension Credit. The minimum income for a single person over 60 – the guarantee credit – will rise by £5 a week to £124.05 and for a couple where at least one is over that age it will rise by £7.65 to £189.35. This increase is 4.2%, in line with earnings forecasts at the time of the 2007 Budget. The chancellor also promised a further rise in April 2009 to at least £130 for a single person. Normally pension credit rises in line with the earnings index published for July. But this year that would have given a lower increase of just £4.15. From April anyone with a weekly income of less than £174 (single) or £255 (couple) should apply for pension credit. Savings over £6000 can reduce the amount paid.

   

2007

2008

Increase

% change

Basic state pension*

Own contributions

£87.30

£90.70

£3.40

3.9%

 

Wife on husband’s contributions

£52.30

£54.35

£2.05

3.9%

Pension Credit guarantee credit

Single

£119.05

£124.05

£5

4.2%

 

Couple

£181.70

£189.35

£7.65

4.2%

Centenarians
It’s enough to make an actuary’s blood run cold. The number of people aged 100 or more has risen to 10,000 – and it is growing by almost 6% a year. A century ago the number of centenarians was around 100. The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics estimates that the number will reach 100,000 in the late 2030s, a quarter of a million by 2051 and around half a million by 2070. By then a hundred really will be the new ninety! The good thing for us is that if we take out a pension or an annuity the insurance company will have to pay us for a lot longer. The bad news is will they go bust doing it?

Gas safety checks
In September’s Money News I said that anyone over pension age could get a free gas safety check from their energy supplier. When I wrote that it was true. But by the time it was published the rule had changed. Free gas safety checks are now available to people over pension age only if they also get pension credit, council tax benefit, or housing benefit. Apologies for any problems caused. Most of the other free services are available to people of pension age without this other condition. www.energywatch.org.uk

Sign up for returns
Many people collect autographs from their pop or football idols. And the value of autographs or signed memorabilia have grown in value substantially over the last ten years. Fraser’s Autographs – part of Stanley Gibbons – reckons the price of good quality autographs has risen as fast as house prices over the decade. For example, a page from an autograph album signed by all four Beatles is now on sale for £5950. Fraser’s says such items have grown 225% and would have been worth £1830 in 1997. Of course what dealers sell stock for is not what they pay for it. But there is no doubt that good signatures of famous people especially with an association items such as a programme or photograph are now worth money.

Founder Paul Fraser has been selling autographs since the 1970s. "It is people with global fame that fetch the highest prices. Neil Armstrong is now the most expensive autograph of anyone alive. Tiger Woods is second to Armstrong. But Geoffrey Boycott is far less. He’s not known in the USA."

The quality of the item is also important. A signature in felt tip on a scrap of paper is worth far less than an ink signature on a high quality photograph. But as with all collecting Paul Fraser says value is the second thing you should think of

"Autographs aver very visual. You can enjoy them, frame them, put them on a wall. Many collectors have a theme – all Formula One winners or every medallist at a particular Olympics. I think the hobby has a long way to go and prices with it. But remember it comes down to quality. The best items will always be desirable to other collectors."

So if you have an old autograph book or mementoes signed by stars now may be the time to dust them off and raise some cash.

Fraser’s Autographs will value items. Call 020 7557 4407 or email info@stanleygibbons.co.uk or www.frasersautographs.com

December 2007

 


All material on these pages is © Paul Lewis 2007