Quiz: Car tax discs, pensions and wages

Info

Unless it is your birthday, 1 October probably won't be a date highlighted in your diary. Yet, it is the day when various changes that affect your finances come into force. So what do you know?

1.) Multiple Choice Question

You now no longer need to display a tax disc in your vehicle. When was the first one issued in the UK?

1. 1921
   
2. 1930
   
3. 1919
   

2.) Multiple Choice Question

Tax disc printing equipment was destroyed in World War Two. What was the temporary result?

1. Tax discs were suspended
   
2. Use of the perforated edge was suspended
   
3. The discs were in black and white only
   

3.) Multiple Choice Question

The national minimum wage has gone up. What is the new level per hour for those aged 21 and over?

1. �6.31
   
2. �6.50
   
3. �5.13
   

4.) Multiple Choice Question

There are new rules for those without a will. From now, if a spouse or civil partner dies without a will, their partner inherits...

1. The first �450,000
   
2. An equal share of the estate with parents
   
3. Everything
   

5.) Multiple Choice Question

In the housing market, lenders are limited to lending no more than 15% of residential mortgages at what level?

1. 4.5 times a borrower's income
   
2. 4 times a borrower's income
   
3. 5 times a borrower's income
   

6.) Multiple Choice Question

New auto-enrolment of pensions started exactly two years ago. Which of these workers would be automatically enrolled?

1. Someone earning under �5,772 before tax
   
2. Someone who opted out more than three years ago
   
3. A 21-year-old worker without a workplace pension
   

Answers

1. It is 1921, when the tax disc cost up to �6 - or �127 in today's money.
2. That fiddly perforated edge - a security feature - was introduced in 1938. It was suspended in 1942, probably owing to the bomb damage, then was used again from 1952.
3. It has risen by 19p to �6.50. The rate for 18 to 20-year-olds is �5.13. It is �3.79 for 16 and 17-year-olds and �2.73 for apprentices.
4. The spouse or civil partner gets everything. Previously, they received the first �450,000 then shared the rest with surviving parents and siblings.
5. It is 4.5 times, but numerous lenders have said they are within this limit. The policy is designed to be a backstop to prevent the market getting out of control.
6. A worker needs to opt out every three years if they do not wish to be enrolled. Details will be explained by employers. Workers must earn at least �5,772 and be aged 22 or over to be enrolled into a workplace pension.

Your Score

0 - 2 : Start budgeting

3 - 4 : Breaking even

5 - 6 : Head for figures