Martin Willis

@GottfriedNFL @nfluk_tickets I’m interested in this too. Particularly to get a feel for Madrid on sale tomorrow.

@nfluk_tickets Do you know what's included? Is there a site like this one for Dublin? tottenhamhotspurstadium.com/whats-on/2025/…

Prices for Dublin Croke Park premium tickets: Premium Central €495 (blocks 533, 530) Premium Sidelines €485 (blocks 501 - 503, 509 - 511, 526 - 529, 534 - 536) Premium End Zone €475 (blocks 512 - 525) Sale dates still unknown as far as I know.

@HawthorneSJJ I would not be surprised if there was some form of compulsion. Can’t see how tax breaks fit with the budget. Also a chance they just go with the compact and disclosure requirements that highlight projected returns and see how that goes initially, before switching to compulsion.

The Chancellor to announce pensions overhaul with a 'go for growth' agenda. in her 14 Nov Mansion House speech. (Source: Sunday Times). Will it be a carrot (tax relief) or stick (compulsion)? Will she use her ongoing Pension Reviews to achieve this end?

@RachelGilmourLD To be fair at least your train turned up, mine was just cancelled completely. Welcome to half term on public transport.

Standing all the way to London on a packed GWR train with many others in the same situation-for the "bargain" price of £146 return. It's unacceptable that we pay premium prices for such poor service. #Writetoyourmp #Demandarefund #Stopdirectorsbonuses

@vhb1978 @Earth2075 I had a taxi driver go absolutely nuts at me for driving in one of these (outside of the operational hours) once.

@Earth2075 They're the same folks who couldn't cope with this sign too:

Why do people slam on every time they see a camera like this?! 😩🫣

@David_J_Robbins @PensionsMonkey My understanding is it’s about 380 having left and 250 phased withdrawal.

@martinswillis @PensionsMonkey Thanks. Would be interesting to know how many have closed TPS to new hires (only an option since 2021); they'll still be counted as participating employers until staff churn/opting out sees active membership fall to zero.

If true, this will land particularly hard on private schools (again). They generally offer similar DB pensions to the public sector. They'll have to meet the extra cost while public sector employers get compensated for it thetimes.com/uk/politics/ar…

@David_J_Robbins @PensionsMonkey In my experience is mainly the employer contribution rate increase. There are many more private schools that have closed TPS to new hires or have engaged in costs sharing initiatives (where increased costs of TPS are covered in part through salary adjustments).

Good point. It looks as though the number of private school employers in TPS has fallen by a third since 2019. (Not sure if this is purely a reaction to higher contributions or also includes consolidation/etc.) If NI change is the final straw for some others, it could affect contributions flowing into this unfunded scheme.

@PensionsMonkey Absolutely. There are quite a few participants in public sector schemes not funded directly by treasury and they’ll be hit hard by this.

@David_J_Robbins I agree, and likewise am cynical as to whether the funding will cover all of the difference, especially given pay awards will mean greater contributions are needed. Also I read that 5bn as being contributions to ps schemes, not all participating employers are funded by treasury.

I don't doubt that The Times is substantially correct about public sector employers being reimbursed for employer NI on employer pension contributions: I've been banging on about how the headline £15bn (for 2022/23) includes £5bn from public sector employers sending more of their budgets back to the Exchequer, and there is a precedent for compensating them when SCAPE rate changes increased pension costs. But "The Times has been told" is a frustratingly vague description of the sources. Departmental spending plans have not yet been set beyond 2024/25: 2025/26 departmental budgets will be set in the Budget (along with the "envelope" for later years), with departmental budgets for later years announced in the Spring. So, except to the extent that the change comes in before April (the previous Government changed NI rates mid-year), reimbursing public sector employers means awarding bigger budgets than the unknown figures they would otherwise have received. You can't really prove that they have been compensated - though it makes sense that they will have been in the context of a Budget that is partly about raising taxes in order to spend more overall than the Conservatives had pencilled in. See also @ChrisGiles_ 's posts about how private sector employers passing on NI costs through pay affects the wage growth numbers that public sector pay review bodies see.

@jamiesmart Have you tried Threads? As much as I’m not a fan of the Facebook/Instagram platforms it feels like a lot of people have moved over recently. It might be a viable alternative (and I hope in the future this platform rediscoveres its identity).

A sad side effect of Galaxybrain Elmo changing the Block function is that a handful more cool people have decided to leave Twitter. And full power to them. But it makes this once vibrant community even more empty, and it’s so sad to watch.

@engineering I’ve persevered with this platform throughout its long deterioration, as I believed the positive voices would ultimately outnumber the negative. But I think this is the end for me.

Soon we’ll be launching a change to how the block function works. If your posts are set to public, accounts you have blocked will be able to view them, but they will not be able to engage (like, reply, repost, etc.).

@HawthorneSJJ @mikemilleresq @PensionsDave Probably yes, but I can’t see it happening!

@martinswillis @mikemilleresq @PensionsDave Is it simpler to humble pie to just raise income tax or VAT? If things are bad fiscally) perhaps introduce a reduced rate of NICs on investment income in the hands of individuals? Then to soften the blow, say it is to boost the NHS, of which pensioners are the biggest users.

Is this not slightly of the industry’s own making?

@David_J_Robbins @OBR_UK Exactly this - hard to see how it doesn’t pass through

Here's what @OBR_UK said when Boris Johnson's Government increased employer NI. Doesn't look as though they'll endorse Labour ministers' view that it is not a tax on working people. Presume they'd give a similar assessment re: NI on employer pension contributions.

@mikemilleresq @HawthorneSJJ @PensionsDave Agree the targets are closing in on NI. I think there’s a degree of not being seen to target employees, so a rate increase or changing limits might be hard in respect of them. Maybe employer rates/limits could be an option. Someone’s going to take a hit though!

@martinswillis @HawthorneSJJ @PensionsDave As this continues to gain momentum, the obvious solution is to lift the UEL cap or increase the rate above it. This seems fair given the pressure of minimum wage and other elements on employers.

@Ben_S1990 I can’t speak for others but as someone who joined this year this is correct for me (and 2028 being in the UK).

Nothing to do with tonight but this tweet has annoyed me so much. The reason the ESTC has so many members is because of what Southgate achieved, nothing to do with Carsley beating Ireland and Finland. The disrespect for a man who achieved so much is a disgrace

It’s #WorldMentalHealthDay 🌍 Take that first step to getting help. Save and share this post and help us make sure there’s no mind left behind. You could also try 👇 @PAPYRUS_Charity Hopeline: 0800 068 4141 Text SHOUT 85258 @GiveUsAShout @samaritans @theCALMzone @TheMixUK

@jamiesmart We also have a very excited reader this evening thanks to @Wonder_Bookshop (he couldn’t believe the real Jamie Smart had signed it!)

Bunny Vs Monkey book ten AND the joke book already sneaking out into the real world, two days ahead of release 🤩

@bushontheradio To be fair these are good…

Here's another annoying bit of human behaviour...

@mikemilleresq @HawthorneSJJ @PensionsDave That’s a fair point, that did get absorbed and was probably bigger. I guess it felt different in that the NI rate increase across the board (as opposed to changing what NI applies to) felt more equal than targeting pension spend. It probably still impacted on pay reviews though.

@martinswillis @HawthorneSJJ @PensionsDave We quite often agree, but I feel employers went through a round of pricing in NI increases for the social care levy. Might be the least path of resistance.

@HawthorneSJJ @PensionsDave I do worry about the impact additional NI would have on employers heavily exposed to high contribution schemes (e.g. public sector) it would be typical if a pivot to protect public sector workers hammered their employers (ultimately it’s always the employees that take the hit)

@HawthorneSJJ @PensionsDave Personal view is you’re right. Gov wants investment in pensions to support UK productive asset investment so why undermine confidence. That said the NI suggestions floating around may turn out to be a self fulfilling prophecy…

@MartinJTilley @PensionsDave You’re right, it’s a nightmare whether you give notice or don’t. I suppose a middle ground is the kind of transitional protection we love so much, but it won’t generate the desired revenue and just complicates things even further.

@martinswillis @PensionsDave Consultation would be a positive step, except on release, the tabloids/media pick up on the scaremongering "that it is going to happen". A similar example was the DWP consultation on increased levies for SSASs. One of the proposals, a £10,000 levy was never going to happen.