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Episode details

Radio 4,09 May 2015,30 mins

Tax changes, Pension freedom, How safe is your vault?

Money Box

Available for over a year

On Money Box with Paul Lewis: How safe is your vault? The owners of 56 safety deposit boxes in London's Hatton Garden met this week to see what can be done to recover their stuff - or at least its value. The safe deposit security centre was raided over the Easter weekend. So what insurance do you need to have in place to protect your valuables? The Conservatives have won the General Election. Money Box looks at the known knowns of what tax changes we can expect in the post-election Budget, probably in June. Inheritance tax and tax allowances will be made more generous. And the Prime Minister has pledged they will take no more from us in income tax, VAT, or National Insurance. So where will the extra money needed to clear the deficit be raised from? A new mutual insurance company has opened for business. But to use it, you must have a connection with the armed forces. The target customers for the Military Mutual are people currently or recently in the services and their close relatives. Frequent changes of address and serving abroad are inevitable aspects of military life that can make it hard to get insurance from mainstream firms. The Military Mutual hopes to fill that gap. What are millions of over 55s doing with their new pension freedom a month after it began? How easy is it to get hold of your own cash? What barriers are being put in the way? And when people do get the money what are they using it for?

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