The Chancellor presented his first budget on Wednesday 15th March 2023 and announced some changes on energy bills and pensions.
Help with cost of living:
The Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) will remain at £2500 for a further three months from April to June. This is expected to save an average household around £160.
Pre-payment meters:
Prepayment meter charges will be in line with comparable direct debit charges from July 2023. This will end the metered “premium”, where pre-paid meter users pay more because energy firms pass on the costs of managing the meters. The measure is expected to save pre-paid meter users £45 a year.
Also, the 5p cut to fuel duty introduced in March 2022 will continue for a further 12 months and the duty is not going to increase in line with inflation.
Pensions:
The Chancellor says he will increase the annual limit on tax free contributions from £40,000 to £60,000 and abolish the lifetime cap, to encourage higher paid older workers, such as doctors to remain in the workplace.
