11 December 2008
Members of Parliament and charities have got behind a campaign
to call for tax cuts on pensioners' savings. An estimated nine
million of Britain's eleven million pensioners rely on some form of
income from savings or investments to support their pensions.
A campaign launched by the Daily Telegraph will urge Gordon
Brown to prevent over 65s from being penalised by calling on the
Treasury to suspend all taxes on the interest pensioners earn on
their savings and the cash dividends they are paid from share
investments they have built up for retirement.
Saving rates have tumbled in the past few months as the Bank of
England has slashed interest rates, leaving some pensioners who
have been saving for a comfortable retirement struggling to cope
financially. The average savings rate has dropped by 1.5 percentage
points in three months.
