Tax-free savings

The band of savings income that is subject to the 0% starting rate will be kept at its current level of £5,000 for 2016/17.
The current annual subscription limits for ISAs, Junior ISAs and Child Trust Funds will be kept at their current level for 2016/17 (£15,240 for ISAs, and £4,080 for Junior ISAs and Child Trust Funds).

State Pension

The starting rate for a full new State Pension will be set at £155.65 per week, to take effect in April 2016. The basic State Pension will be increased by the ‘triple lock’ for 2016/17, meaning a full basic State Pension will rise to £119.30 a week, an increase of £3.35.

Pension Credit

The single rate of the Standard Minimum Guarantee will increase in line with earnings by £4.40 to £155.60 per week, and the couples rate will rise by £6.70 to £237.55 per week. The Savings Credit threshold will rise to £133.82 for a single pensioner and to £212.97 for a couple, which will reduce the single rate of the Savings Credit maximum by £1.75 to £13.07 and the couples rate by £2.68 to £14.75.

Pensions auto-enrolment

The Government will delay the next two scheduled increases in automatic enrolment minimum contribution rates by six months each, to align these changes with the start of the tax year.

Pension annuities: secondary market

The Government will legislate to remove existing barriers to creating a secondary market for annuities, allowing individuals to sell their annuity income stream. Further details will be set out in a consultation response this December.

Inheritance tax

Legislation will be introduced in Finance Bill 2016 to ensure a charge to inheritance tax will not arise when a pension scheme member designates funds for drawdown but does not draw all of the funds before death. This will be backdated to apply to deaths on or after 6 April 2011.

Tax-free childcare

The upper income limit per parent will be lowered from £150,000 to £100,000 and the minimum income level per parent will be increased from the equivalent of eight hours to 16 hours at the National Living Wage.

Free childcare for working parents

The 30 hours free childcare offer for working parents of three- and four-year olds has been extended to help families maintain childcare arrangements and support the transition back to work at the end of their parental leave or period of ill health. Eligibility has been extended to cases where a parent or their partner (if they have one) is in work and the other parent is disabled or a carer; or where a parent or their partner (if they have one) is taking time away from work on paid sickness or parental leave.