Whether you are thinking about retirement or just starting to earn, knowing how your pension works, how to build one and how to withdraw your pension are all important.
Your pension is an important investment and you should know your options so you can begin planning your future.
When you are 66 years old, the government will provide you with a state pension, a monthly payment which comes from taxes to allow those who have retired to afford the necessities.
You will receive a letter from the government when you reach the suitable age with information on withdrawing your pension as regular payments.
The age at which you can withdraw your state pension is gradually increasing.
The state pension is determined from the amount of National Insurance contributions you have made throughout your working life. You will need at least 10 qualifying years on your National Insurance record to receive your state pension. You will be able to receive a state pension without National Insurance contributions if you have been on any type of benefits including, universal credits and a carer's allowance.
The Government aims to increase the state pension allowance to remain in line with the cost of living and inflation each year.
If you are employed and earning over a set amount you will be paying National Insurance tax which will build up and you will receive your state pension if you have been doing this for a minimum of 10 years. This does not have to be 10 years in a row, just 10 years throughout your working life.
You will be auto-enrolled by your workplace into a pension scheme where a percentage of your salary will be added to the pension pot. This will usually be 8% in total with 3% coming from your employer and the rest from your salary. You should receive a letter from the pension provider chosen by your workplace when they have set this up, you will be given details of the specific scheme in full.
You can choose to opt out of the workplace pension if you wish however this is a great way to start a pension pot without it affecting your take home salary too much. The money that goes into your pension is also tax-free.
Setting up a personal pension scheme could be beneficial if you are not in a job that automatically enrols you on one, you want to start saving for your pension early or you want to have extra money for your retirement.
The state pension will only be enough to afford the basic necessities once you retire so it would be beneficial to choose another option as well. When you make payments into your pension pot you are investing into your future and ensuring you will be able to have a good life in retirement.
It is never too early to begin your pension pot!
As per reporting by the ONS (The Office for National Statistics) for the second quarter in a row, the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of the UK has declined, meaning that for Q3 & Q4, GDP in the UK shrank by 0.5%.
This was the mildest start to a recession since the 1970s, with the last five in the UK seeing the economy shrink by more than 1%, and in further promising news, forecasters believe this will only be a short-term recession.
The BoE (Bank of England) has set interest rates at 5.25% (the highest rate in 16 years) to combat inflation, which has indeed shrunk from the 11.1% high in October 2022 to 4% as of February 2024. And whilst this is promising news, it does mean that the cost of borrowing is high. Furthermore, the inflation rate is still double the BoE's targeted 2%, so interest rates are unlikely to fall until the summer of 2024 at the very earliest.
Increasing the rates forces people to stop spending as freely as the interest on borrowing for products such as mortgages, credit cards, and personal loans is higher.
By raising the rates, disposable income is lower, and it encourages people to save instead of spend which impacts services such as retail and despite Christmas, December retail sales fell by 3.2%. ONS figures show that all major sectors - services (by 0.2%), production (1%) and construction (1.3%) contracted in the final three months of 2023.
The promising news is that it's thought to be a short-term recession and despite this recession at the back end of 2023, the economy did grow by 0.1% in 2023, while not inspiring, does mean that there is a platform for growth in 2024.
Interest rates will likely come down this year, which should help ease the burden of the ongoing cost of living crisis. And lead to a stronger end of year for the UK. As these interest rates come down, and if inflation remains low, this should have a corresponding impact on growth for the UK as it will free up capital for investment.
Politically it could have a large impact on current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who pledged last year to halve inflation and grow the economy. Whilst the inflation rates coming down will be a sign of promise, the recession will come as a large blow to Mr Sunak & the Conservatives with an election looming.
When buying a house, you will have to take out a mortgage loan from a bank or building society of your choice such as Lloyds, Barclays, Nationwide, NatWest Bank and more. It is overwhelming to wade through all the jargon and information so this is a short guide on the different types of mortgages that you could take on.
You will have to pay back your mortgage loan plus interest to the bank or building society by the end of your term which you decide on, this could be 2 years, 5 years or more.
A new mortgage model will soon become available in the UK called the Dutch-Style Mortgage which could make it more affordable for people to take out mortgage loans.
Taking out a mortgage loan is the biggest financial commitment you can make so it is important to have all the information and to shop around for the best deal for what you need. You can use sites to compare different deals making it simple such as Compare the Market.
You can use a mortgage calculator to determine how much you can afford to borrow without accumulating debt and getting yourself into a bad situation. This will take into account your salary and how much you have for your deposit. It is important to take into account other factors such as your existing debt, you’re spending and how much the deposit will be, so don’t get caught out.
Saving money for the future or for emergencies is becoming increasingly difficult with prices rising and more people living pay check to pay check.
With 65% of people believing that they wouldn’t be able to last just three months without having to borrow money. The financial anxiety across the UK has made it difficult for people to seek advice and support with more people feeling a sense of loss when it comes to saving.
Learning the average savings UK can help you set realistic goals for your age group and perhaps show you that you're not the only one struggling to save.
Research found that over 5.2 million people have to pick up a second job in order to afford the cost of living.
Around 61% of adults save money either every or most months.
As well as saving for a rainy day, most of us want to know how we compare. So how much savings does the average person have in the UK by age? It's common to compare your financial progress with others in your age group. For those in their 20s, savings may be modest as they build their careers. By 30, many aim to have more significant savings, while people in their 40s and 50s often see a larger increase in their savings balances. How do you compare to the average savings for your age? Scroll down to find out.
As of January 2024, a survey from Finder has revealed that the average UK adult has £11,185 in savings. Despite this about 46% of people have £1000 or less in savings and 25% have £200 or less.
With 16% of adults having no savings at all this means around 8.7 million people have very little or no money to fall back on in case of emergencies.
The Financial conduct authority (FCA) state that this is mostly the younger population of 18-24 years olds have less than £1000.
According to Money and Pensions Service (MaPs), around 11.5 million people have less than £100 in their savings account.
As well as saving for the next big trip, purchase or other short-term goals, you should be thinking about planning for retirement too. You can find effective ways to save for retirement and how much you should already have saved here.
As of January 2024, Finder revealed the average savings by age
| Age | Average Savings |
| Under 25 | £3,636 |
| 25-34 | £3,748 |
| 35-44 | £5,714 |
| 45-54 | £9,402 |
| 55-73 | £18,245 |
| Above 74 | £36,940 |
Generation X has 19% of people with no savings at all, making them the highest number of people across all generations who have no savings at all. This shows the younger generations struggling to save or unsure where to start. Those aged 74+ have 10 times more in savings than 18-24 year olds.
The average amount saved increases with age for multiple reasons: a higher salary, different motivations and urgency to save, or different lifestyle expenses. As responsibilities pile up, there might be a higher pressure to save for a rainy day, for retirement, a pension, and to look after family. And let's not forget the super important effect of compound interest - the magic sauce that makes your money grow over time.
HOW MUCH MORE PAIN IS THERE TO COME?
Investment Company Managers on Interest Rates, Inflation and Bond Markets
Expert Comment from Chris Clothier, Co-Manager of Capital Gearing Trust, Samantha Fitzpatrick, Fund Manager of Murray International Trust and Andrew Bell, Chief Executive Officer of Witan Investment Trust
With UK inflation coming in above expectations at 8.7%, the likelihood of an interest rate hike from the Bank of England has increased. The Association of Investment Companies (AIC) has gathered comments from investment company managers on the outlook for UK consumers and borrowers, and where they see investment opportunities in the current environment.
Could we be near the peak for interest rates?
Chris Clothier, Co-Manager of Capital Gearing Trust, said: “The market is forecasting a peak rate of just under 6% for Q1 2024. Leading indicators are beginning to show the labour market cooling, and the impact of interest rate rises is starting to be felt on mortgage rates as mortgage holders come to the end of their fixed terms. We expect that this will eventually depress demand which, combined with energy and food inflation moderating, will eventually control inflation.”
Samantha Fitzpatrick, Fund Manager of Murray International Trust, said: “Many central banks, including the Bank of England, have continued with planned interest rate hikes amid volatile markets in an attempt to tame inflation. We are only now seeing the huge knock-on effect on mortgage rates as previous deals are rolling off in significant numbers. This, above all else, may curtail future interest rate hikes here in the UK.”
Andrew Bell, Chief Executive Officer of Witan Investment Trust, said: “In the US, a further nudge higher cannot be ruled out, but the data is likely to make the recent pause look more justified in a month’s time. In Europe and the UK, a further quarter-point rise or two is widely assumed, but it is impossible to be precise because of the lags before higher rates impinge on sentiment. After such a long period of a near-zero cost of borrowing, small steps would be wise. No central bank wants to crash the economy and have to cut rates aggressively next year just to crown the credibility lost from failing to anticipate the surge in inflation with blame for exaggerating its persistence.
“With inflation starting to converge with official targets, greater patience can be exercised than when the gap was widening. So we expect the peak in rates to resemble Table Mountain more than the Matterhorn. It is an unspoken reality that the government debt mountain will have to be eroded by inflation – not the destabilising rates of the past year but likely higher than official 2% targets.”
Is inflation calming down?
Andrew Bell, Chief Executive Officer of Witan Investment Trust, said: “Yes, most obviously in the US, which tightened first and most aggressively, together with a strengthening dollar in 2022. Energy prices there have fallen and rental inflation is also set to fall, lagging the declines in rent seen in newer contracts. In Europe and the UK, inflation is proving stickier but rates are still rising and the effect of past rises has yet to be fully felt. In the UK, particularly, the greater use of fixed rate mortgages has blunted, but only delayed, the effect of rapid rises over the past year. Having seen several disappointing inflation numbers in recent months, investors may be guilty of extrapolating the disappointment, ignoring the possibility that the numbers will start to match, or undershoot, forecasts.”
Samantha Fitzpatrick, Fund Manager of Murray International Trust, said: “Headline inflation is already falling sharply almost everywhere and should continue to decline over 2023 due to energy base effects. However, core inflation remains elevated, including here in the UK. It also needs to be remembered that even a lower positive number still means prices are rising, not falling, or even staying the same, so inflationary pressures will not disappear anytime soon.”
Chris Clothier, Co-Manager of Capital Gearing Trust, said: “We expect inflation to come down later this year, but at a slower pace than markets or the Bank had initially expected. A combination of supply and demand-side factors has served to keep inflation elevated. On one hand, supply-side factors such as tight labour markets and the prolonged impact of shocks from food and energy have kept input costs elevated. On the demand side, continued wage increases and longer fixed terms on mortgages have kept household spending elevated for longer. This experience of more protracted inflationary episodes is in line with historical experience: a study by Research Affiliates of OECD countries since 1970 showed that, once inflation has gone through a 6% peak on average it took seven years to fall back to 3%.”
Where are you seeing investment opportunities in the current circumstances?
Chris Clothier, Co-Manager of Capital Gearing Trust, said: “The bond market is replete with opportunities not seen for 15 years. We are attracted to UK Treasury Bills yielding more than 5%, short-dated investment grade corporate credit yielding between 6.0% and 7.5% and five-year UK index linked gilts offering real yields of 0.9%.”
Samantha Fitzpatrick, Fund Manager of Murray International Trust, said: “At Murray International Trust, the soaring cost of borrowing led to £60 million of debt being repaid at the end of May this year. Our approach to gearing remains unchanged, in that it should always be driven by opportunity – can we make money on the debt? We are fortunate to be able to pick and choose what debt we decide to have in these uncertain times.”
Andrew Bell, Chief Executive Officer of Witan Investment Trust, said: “Bond yields have risen from risible to visible and now offer a positive real yield based on long-term inflation forecasts. They can now just about fulfil their role as portfolio diversifiers and preservers of value but that is about it. In Western economies, long bond yields are lower than short-term yields, suggesting that the bond markets think rates will need to be cut in the next year. If central banks avoid overkill (and stop steering policy using the rear-view mirror) growth should pick up in 2024, which might slow progress on inflation and nudge long yields up but would benefit the parts of global equity markets that are pessimistically valued. Broadly, that means non-US equities in cyclically sensitive sectors and those benefiting from enduring growth themes, of which two particularly interesting ones are the decarbonisation energy transition and the spread of AI.”
Jayakumar Venkataraman, Managing Partner, Europe, Financial Services and Insurance at Infosys Consulting:
“For almost a decade, banks have been operating at low rates because of the Bank of England keeping rates significantly low, impacting their ability to drive substantial revenue growth.
“The difficulty today is that we have a whole generation that has become accustomed to low interest rates and high borrowing. With the sudden switch back to high rates, borrowers will need to get used to servicing their level of borrowing at these high rates or reduce their borrowings to a manageable level.
“During this period of adjustment, it is likely that customers may experience varying levels of financial discomfort and distress, meaning banks need to step up to the plate when it comes to leveraging the data and predictive capabilities of AI and ML to identify early signs of trouble. Banks must become proactive in reaching out to customers and supporting them through appropriate advisory and restructuring of their financial liabilities. Thereby providing empathetic customer experience, especially during these times of financial confusion.
“With the financial squeeze tightening for many consumers, banks need to ramp up investment when it comes to educating customers on how to manage their finances too. This includes informing customers on various borrowing options or alternatives that fit their personal situation. We can expect to see banks evolve from mere transactional hubs to centres of consultancy - advising on what options are available to restructure debt, and offering solutions better suited to individual cashflows and business needs.”
It’s not just employers who are feeling anxious. With unemployment rates forecast to rise to 6.5% by 2025, many employees will be worrying about job security, against a backdrop of the cost of living crisis and rising interest rates.
All of this does not make for a happy workplace. But over the years I’ve learned some important lessons about how employers can navigate choppy waters, conduct scenario planning, and cut costs without causing upset among their teams. Here are five key principles that business leaders should keep in mind.
Obsessing over minor savings in every area of your operation could mean that you ignore the bigger picture. You should take the same approach as a physicist — think about orders of magnitude and start with a high-level view rather than going granular straight away.
With this outlook, you can perform sanity checks on a regular basis and not get sucked into the trap of fine-tuning every number to the second decimal. Putting everything under a microscope is a waste of time if the big numbers still don’t add up. Remember what your ultimate goal is and make sure you take big strides towards it — not baby steps.
Developing knowledge around the principles of cash management within any organisation is a good idea whether times are hard or not. While business leaders are often skilled in understanding and manipulating profit and loss, they often don’t know the ins and outs of cash management and cash flow.
Making cuts across the board is never the right approach. Fat is always distributed unequally in businesses, so a surgical approach is required. Cut spending in some areas, while investing in others that will help you to grow more muscle. In an ideal world, you’ll cut out all of the things that don’t work, and further invest in all of the things that do.
Sophisticated business models with high levels of functionality and reams of features often aren’t suited to tough economic circumstances. Think about what it is that your customers really need at this time and focus on that part of your offering, and leave the bells and whistles for another day.
In my experience, building a simplified business model can be more difficult than building one with high levels of complexity; but remember to focus on the larger orders of magnitude as you will have very little margin of error when the recession starts to bite.
You won’t make major savings by switching to a cheaper brand of coffee, but you will undermine staff morale. Not just because staff will waste time complaining to each other about the standard of the new brand, but they’ll also go out in search of decent coffee — time that a happy employee would otherwise be spending productively.
It’s not just the coffee that you need to preserve; think carefully about cutting back on employee perks. If you need to make cutbacks, consider the biggest cost buckets first. No negotiation is taboo, even rent. Could you make savings by moving your team into a smaller office? I’ve seen facilities teams perform miracles in optimising office space.
Making sure everyone gets a pat on the back when the business has hit KPIs and significant milestones is essential for boosting morale. Take time to show everyone that their efforts are appreciated and give them an opportunity to let their hair down and share in the glory of their collective efforts.
When times are tough, it’s important to ensure you focus on achievable goals. Revenue growth might not be possible, but growing market share may very well be realistic. When the turnaround comes, you’ll have a team of happy, motivated people hungry for more success, putting you in a great position to reap the rewards.
In an economic downturn, technology can help with financial planning and forecasting, but there’s no crystal ball. Stakeholder management and communication are therefore key in these times. Be honest with your team and be absolutely clear about what you are trying to achieve.
Cost-cutting is often necessary in the face of recession, but businesses shouldn’t cut back on spending which will negatively impact staff or the offerings of the company. By taking a simplified approach, focusing on the things that really matter and ensuring staff morale is high, businesses can put themselves in the best position to weather the economic storm.
Trying to write a concise article about UK Fiscal Policy in the middle of October 2022 is a bit like reporting the final score of an aggressively close Rugby Match at halftime.
I delayed writing as long as I could, giving Chancellor (n+1) Jeremy Hunt time to lay out his “emergency statement” unravelling absolutely everything Liz Truss has put in motion since her elevation to the premiership. But, in the wake of increasing political instability, I fear how many statements might yet follow...
The question we want answered is – what does it all mean for the UK economy? How are we going to drive growth and restore financial credibility?
The current economic debacle facing the UK is much more than just a polycrises of domestic leadership misjudgements, failing services, anaemic growth, tumbling productivity, sub-optimal investment, surging mortgage rates and consumer price misery. There is also the global angle whereby high-interest rates, high debt levels, and persistent inflation may be a feature for a decade. We don’t yet know just how destructive and destabilising the consequences may yet be. (Clue – horrible!)
It’s not worth repeating the cataclysm of failure and policy mistakes since Truss was appointed Prime Minister by a small number of rich, aged, white conservative men in her party. But, give Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng some credit: their objectives were good – recognising the UK needed new, disruptive approaches and policies to drive growth and improve productivity.
Their goal was to smash the orthodoxy and transform the UK’s lethargic low-growth, low-wage and low-productivity economy into a hi-energy hi-growth economic powerhouse. (Conveniently they skipped over how Conservative Party has been in power for the last 12 years, during which time the value of the UK economy has fallen from 90% of Germany’s to 70%. Brexit? Let’s not even go there!)
Then it got messy. Recognising the UK is a lethargic stifled economy was hardly a Sherlock Holmes moment for anyone remotely familiar with economic reality. But Truss and Kwarteng thought they’d uniquely stumbled on some great economic insight – and naively decided only they were qualified to propose solutions. It was dangerously destructive arrogance. What they did next may have condemned the UK to penury for a generation.
Their strategy and policy announcements were beyond shambolic – untested, regressive, ill-advised and downright pig-ignorant of any economic or market reality. There was no strategy, no grand plan, just desperate hopes expressed as irrefutable facts. The UK’s financial reputation took millennia to establish. It took Kwasi Kwarteng less than 30 minutes to demolish it.
The really upsetting thing is – prior to 23 September 2022 (the date of Kwarteng mass-suiciding the UK economy) it would have been entirely possible to have presented a cogent, credible and workable plan to bail out the UK energy crisis and promote growth via a series of specific taxes, borrowing and policies.
The morning before Hunt presented his plan, Tesco Chairman John Allan, a highly respected British business leader, told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg the Conservatives have no growth plan, but: “We have seen the beginnings, I think, of a quite plausible growth plan from Labour. At the moment their ideas are on the table, and many are actionable and attractive.” His views are generally shared across the City of London – where previously support for Labour was considered a capital offence.
We all know how it played out for Truss and Kwarteng. They have left the UK as a global financial laughing stock. By focusing the eyes of the world on our financial crisis, umpteen doors and policy options that could have offered effective ways for the UK to navigate its way through the multiple crises now upon us are now closed. They have made finding a solution so much more difficult.
Jeremy Hunt “courageously” stepped into the breach, playing his new chancellor “can’t be sacked” card to unwind the illiteracy of Trussonomics, but he can’t wipe away the indelible stain it's left on the economic outlook for the nation. He clearly upset Truss - No 10 started actively briefing against him almost from the start. The only Truss “policy” to survive was the removal of the banker bonus cap… Why? Did his scriptwriter miss it?
Hunt, and many traditional, orthodox Tories, believe Truss and Kwarteng failed because they didn’t balance the budget, thus upsetting the markets. That’s a massive mistake. Take your pick of the many reasons markets lost confidence in them:
- Markets sold off because the mini-budget was chaotic and dangerously ill-informed.
- Markets sold off because it was patently unfair and regressive.
- Markets sold off not just because there were unfunded spending plans, but because the proposed tax cuts blithely assumed “trickle-down” economics would up UK growth by 2% per annum.
- Markets sold off because there was no clarity or vision of the policies to drive growth.
The new problem is Hunt has ditched Truss’s growth plans and presented a new mini-statement committing the UK to financial conservatism – effectively switching policy from Growth to Austerity. Hunt and the rest of his party have hunkered down, convinced the only way to restore the financial stability of the UK is to address the £70 bn hole in the accounts (they created) is tax hikes and spending cuts.
Austerity is never a route to growth.
One of my chums is fellow Scotsman Professor Mark Blyth, Rhodes Professor of International Economics at Brown University. His 2013 book, Austerity: The History of a Dangerous Idea, picks apart the notion of austerity will boost growth by slashing debt. “In general, the deployment of austerity as an economic policy has been as effective in bringing us peace, prosperity, and crucially, a sustained reduction of debt, as the Mongol Golden Horde was in furthering the development of Olympic dressage.”
Blyth goes on to show how Austerity doesn’t work, it increases inequality, and it can’t work in a competitive global economy where prices and currencies are volatile. He asks: “Is everybody supposed to run current account surpluses? If so, with whom—Martians? And if everybody does indeed try to run a savings surplus, what else can be the outcome but a permanent global depression?”
I spoke to Mark following Hunt’s statement and his disbelief was palatable: “The UK’s growth model, such as it was, was built around asset protection for the south and nationalism for the north. When you can’t even do the asset protection right anymore, what’s the point? And if you think further cuts to a welfare state that is already one of the worst in the OECD will bring back growth I would ask you to look at what happened the last time you tried this with Osborne for a bit of a reality check. Benefit Street and ’strivers vs skivers’ makes for good tabloid headlines but does nothing for GVA (Gross Value Added).”
Yet cutting debt and services provided by Big Government is default libertarian conservatism and will appeal to all 81326 party members who voted for Truss as Prime Minister of the UK. They may be happy.
The rest of us are not. 12 years is a long, long time in politics. Time for a change.
Based on expected prices, this will save people £1,000 per annum, she told MPs. This is because, in October, the energy price cap was expected to increase from £1,971 to £3,549.
Businesses are also receiving a six-month support package, which will include “equivalent support”. Further support will be provided to vulnerable industries after the six-month period.
"This is the moment to be bold. We are facing a global energy crisis and there are no cost-free options," the new PM told the Commons.
In contrast to what many pundits predicted, the result was close, with Truss winning by 81,326 votes to 60,399. She’s vowed to press ahead with promises of tax cuts, economic growth and dealing with the growing energy crisis.
"I will deliver a bold plan to cut taxes and grow our economy," Liz Truss said once the result was announced. "I will deliver on the energy crisis, dealing with people's energy bills, but also dealing with the long-term issues we have on energy supply."
With the cost-of-living crisis, industrial unrest, a recession and the war in Ukraine, Truss is faced with a lot of immediate pressure but remains confident and promises that she would win a great victory for her party in the next elections in 2024.
Truss succeeds Boris Johnson after his resignation in July. Both will meet Queen Elizabeth in Balmoral in Scotland on Tuesday so Truss can officially be asked to form a new government by the monarch.
The action, which was announced on Wednesday, will see those living on the Isle of Man pay some of the lowest electricity prices across the British Isles unless other governments follow suit.
People on the Isle of Man had been bracing for a 70% rise in tariffs, adding an additional £500 to the average annual household bill from the autumn.
However, under the government’s deal, the increase will instead be added to customers’ bills over an extended period of time from April.
In a comment, the Isle of Man’s Treasury minister, Alex Allinson, said: “The aim here is to flatten the curve on the cost of living increases and give households a degree of certainty and time to adjust to what may be a longer-term set of challenges.”
“Providing a loan with a 20-year repayment means that the costs of record electricity prices expected this winter can be factored into bills over a much longer period, cushioning consumers from what would be, for many, crippling price rises.”
The price freeze will be funded via a £26 million loan by the government to the island’s electricity provider, Manx Utilities. This loan will then be repaid over 20 years. However, the loan still requires formal approval by the Isle of Man’s legislature.
“The aim here is to flatten the curve on the cost of living increases and give households a degree of certainty and time to adjust to what may be a longer-term set of challenges,” Allinson explained.
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The CBI urged the government to freeze business rates for another year and to quickly implement targeted support to prevent otherwise viable businesses from collapsing.
Over the next three months, two-thirds of businesses will face a significant rise in their bills, with a third of those facing increases exceeding 30%.
The CBI also urged the government to offer businesses and the self-employed additional time to pay their tax bills and to provide easier access to loans.
"Firms aren't asking for a handout. But they do need autumn to be the moment that the government grips the energy cost crisis. Decisive action now will give firms headroom on cash flow and prevent a short-term crunch from becoming a longer-term crisis,” commented Matthew Fell, CBI chief policy director.
"With firms under pressure not to pass on rising costs, there is a risk that vital business investment is paused or halted entirely. That, in turn, could pose a real threat to the UK's economic recovery and Net Zero transition."
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