Rarely has the buildup to a budget seemed so chaotic. Westminster has been full of stories about confidential briefings and screeching U-turns for weeks. Then came an unprecedented leak by the Office for Budget Responsibility, publishing the full budget online hours before the chancellor stood up at the dispatch box.
His parents are Baby Boomers who, he says, exhausted their funds five years ago - although they only told him when they were on the brink of homelessness. Because of health problems and age-related constraints that make work impossible, the user stepped in to support them and to manage their finances. He persuaded them to sell their large, debt-laden home (despite their request that he simply continue paying their mortgage). Now they live in a modest cottage near him so he can regularly assist them.
On July 3, Social Security sent an email stating that the new law eliminates federal income taxes on Social Security benefits for most beneficiaries, indicating that nearly 90% would no longer pay these taxes.