All posts tagged: payments

How to watch the king’s speech like a pro

How to watch the king’s speech like a pro

Published by Sam Flores

LONDON — The opening of a new U.K. parliamentary session is steeped in decades of pageantry and tradition. But few have taken place in these circumstances. On Wednesday morning, King Charles III will enter parliament to deliver a speech setting out Keir Starmer’s legislative agenda for the second parliamentary session of his premiership. Over 35 bills will be listed, according to the government. But after last week’s disastrous local and devolved elections for Starmer’s Labour Party, the question on Westminster’s mind is how much of it will actually be delivered — and by whom. “The British people expect the Government to get on with the job of changing our country for the better,” a defiant Starmer said on Tuesday. He said the laws will “deliver on the promise of change for the British people” that ushered Labour into power less than two years ago — and cautioned colleagues weighing up a challenge to his leadership that they face a choice over whether to “press ahead with a plan to build a stronger, fairer country or …

DWP handing state pensioners £1,045 which is separate from regular payments

DWP handing state pensioners £1,045 which is separate from regular payments

Published by Sam Flores

The Department for Work and Pensions is adding £17.96 onto older state pensioners’ incomes – thanks to Pension Credit. Savings Credit is the secondary part of Pension Credit, alongside Guarantee Credit. Pension Credit tops up your weekly income to £238 if you’re single and your joint weekly income to £363.25 if you have a partner. You may get extra amounts if you have other responsibilities and costs. The top up and extra amounts are known as ‘Guarantee Credit’. You could get the ‘Savings Credit’ part of Pension Credit if both of the following apply: you reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016 and you saved some money for retirement, for example a personal or workplace pension. READ MORE Three groups of UK households being handed council tax refund – full list You’ll get up to £17.96 Savings Credit a week if you’re single. If you have a partner, you’ll get up to £20.10 a week. At the upper end, for couples, it is worth £1,045. You might still get some Savings Credit even if …

Labour minister admits winter fuel payments is still ‘biggest thing on the doorstep’ | Politics | News

Labour minister admits winter fuel payments is still ‘biggest thing on the doorstep’ | Politics | News

Published by Sam Flores

The winter fuel payments row is still the “biggest thing on the doorstep”, a Labour minister has admitted. Sir Keir Starmer faced fury for scrapping the allowance for most pensioners shortly after entering No 10. The backlash forced the PM to U-turn and restore the allowance to the majority of older people in June 2025. But almost a year on, the fiasco has still been dominating conversations on the doorsteps, Sir Chris Bryant said. The Labour minister told the BBC: “The biggest thing on the doorstep has undoubtedly been winter fuel… even in this campaign.” Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced in July 2024 that previously universal winter fuel payments of up to £300 a year would be restricted to only those on pension credit. The policy sparked condemnation from opposition parties, campaigners, unions and even some Labour MPs with warnings older people would be forced to choose between heating and eating. In a climbdown almost a year later, Ms Reeves announced that the parents would be restored to pensioners with an annual income of £35,000 or …

Hungary, EU split over how much of its €10B funding it should get – POLITICO

Hungary, EU split over how much of its €10B funding it should get – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

But despite the good intentions, Brussels and Budapest are at odds over how much money Hungary should get from the post-Covid fund allocation, according to the officials, who have knowledge of the negotiations and were granted anonymity to discuss the confidential talks. The Commission recommended requesting only the grants, while Hungary wants to claim the full amount. “We are very optimistic about releasing all the blocked funds,” said Kinga Kollár, an MEP from Magyar’s Tisza party. The allocation is split between €6.5 billion in grants, which would not need to be repaid, and €3.9 billion in loans, which need to be paid back at a favorable interest rate. Magyar’s incoming administration has until Aug. 31 to formally request the money, while the Commission has a deadline of Dec. 31 to make the payments. The Commission is arguing there isn’t enough time to release the full €10.4 billion, since payouts are contingent on Hungary meeting specific reform targets. Funds in the form of loans would also add to Budapest’s strained public finances, with debt already hovering around 75 percent …

Keir Starmer’s stack of unfinished business – POLITICO

Keir Starmer’s stack of unfinished business – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

What happens next will hinge on two reviews: one by ex-minister Alan Milburn into the rise of under-25s not in employment, education or training, and a separate review by Disability Minister Stephen Timms into Personal Independent Payments (PIP) for sick and disabled people regardless of whether they work. Government officials insist they are still committed to reforming both systems before the next general election due in 2029. Milburn’s review is due to report back at the end of this summer and Timms’ is due in the fall. That means welfare reform is unlikely to be given a fixed bill in the May 13 king’s speech, but will be on the agenda all the same. Tension will be felt between the Treasury, Department for Work and Pensions and Starmer’s MPs, who all have ideas about the best way to balance spending cuts against reform.  People protest ahead of the budget in Downing Street, London, on Nov. 25, 2025. | Kymberley Apiro/Getty Images Chancellor Rachel Reeves initially hoped for nearly £10 billion of savings from the welfare …

State pension move could knock £77,000 off older people’s DWP payments

State pension move could knock £77,000 off older people’s DWP payments

Published by Sam Flores

State pensioners are being issued a £77,000 warning as one move could slash their Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) payments. State pensioners retire overseas during this tax year are being warned they could miss out on over £77,000 in state pension income over 20 years. According to new analysis by Rathbones, pensioners who move to countries including New Zealand, Canada and Australia will have state pension payments are frozen at the rate they first received them. There are no future increases. Olly Cheng, a financial planning divisional lead, at Rathbones, says: “We often speak to people hoping to retire overseas, many of whom don’t realise that this decision could significantly affect their state pension entitlement.” READ MORE Major European airline cancels 160 flights – but passengers will be ‘rebooked’ Replacing the income lost to a frozen state pension would require a substantial private financial buffer. A loss of £77,585 over 20 years is equivalent to around £3,880 a year, or £320 a month over 20 years, that retirees would need to generate from other …

EU Parliament vs. Germany in the battle of the budget – POLITICO

EU Parliament vs. Germany in the battle of the budget – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

“Never underestimate the Parliament,” its president, Roberta Metsola, warned in a press conference after the vote, insisting lawmakers will not simply “rubber-stamp” the budget proposed by the capitals. Parliament’s pro-EU parties — the conservative European People’s Party (EPP), the Socialists & Democrats, the centrist Renew group and the Greens — all backed the call for more money for the EU to grapple with challenges such as defense and competitiveness.  “We believe we cannot do more with less; that is a myth,” said Siegfried Mureșan, a budget negotiator for the EPP. “Obviously the majority of members can only vote in favor if our demands are incorporated into the budget to a satisfactory extent.” But these calls have fallen on deaf ears in fiscally conservative countries such as Germany and the Netherlands, which are pushing for a smaller budget.  “It is sad to see that the European Parliament wants to tackle the geopolitical and geoeconomic challenges of the 21st century with budget priorities deeply rooted in the last century,” said an EU diplomat who, like others quoted in …

EU sanctions more Russian banks to squeeze Putin’s war economy – POLITICO

EU sanctions more Russian banks to squeeze Putin’s war economy – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

The sanctions also include four banks from Kyrgyzstan, Laos and Azerbaijan, in a bid to crack down on sanction-busting strategies and efforts to pay for Russian oil and gas through the back door. EU businesses are also banned from dealing with Russian companies that handle or exchange cryptocurrencies. The list of sanctioned Russian banks now extends to 70 lenders. The sanctions make it much harder for foreign banks to handle international trade, especially as they will be prohibited from using SWIFT, a financial messaging system used to communicate payment instructions across the world. The EU is also curbing exports of a few high-tech goods to Kyrgyzstan, a Central Asian country with strong economic and political ties to Russia. Metal-working machines and radio equipment may no longer be shipped to Kyrgyzstan after customs data showed clear evidence of circumvention. It is the first time the EU is using the so-called anti-circumvention tool. The Kyrgyz government has vowed it will, in turn, ban some exports to Russia. The two sides will monitor trade in other sensitive goods …

Apple Pulled Cal AI for Deceptive Billing Design, Not External Payments

Apple Pulled Cal AI for Deceptive Billing Design, Not External Payments

Published by skeptic

Apple recently cracked down on Cal AI, an app owned by MyFitnessPal that tried to skirt Apple’s in-app purchase rules. Apple told TechCrunch that it briefly pulled the calorie-counting app last week for violating purchasing guidelines and using a deceptive billing design. When the app was pulled last week, there was speculation that it was removed for implementing web-based payments, something that is now allowed in the U.S. Apple said that’s not the whole story, though, and the app was violating other guidelines. Apple’s ongoing legal battle with Epic Games led a judge to force Apple to allow U.S. developers to include links to external payment systems in their apps, but apps that are not classified as reader apps also have to include an in-app purchase option. Apps like Netflix and Spotify that offer streaming content are considered reader apps, but Cal AI is not. As a non-reader app, Cal AI was allowed to direct users to a non-Apple purchase option for a subscription, which it did with a purchase flow using Stripe, but the …

Hungary’s Tisza party widens parliamentary majority as final votes are counted – POLITICO

Hungary’s Tisza party widens parliamentary majority as final votes are counted – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Orbán’s Fidesz party came in a distant second with only 52 seats in the parliament. “Here are the results of the 2026 parliamentary election: an unprecedented majority, an unprecedented mandate — and, at the same time, an unprecedented responsibility,” Magyar wrote in an X post on Saturday. He added that he could be officially sworn in as prime minister in mid-May. Magyar’s supermajority could facilitate the swift approval of democratic reforms necessary to unlock €17 billion of EU funds that were frozen over rule-of-law shortcomings under Orbán’s tenure. Under the current rules, the Hungarian government has to fulfill 27 EU-mandated conditions — officially known as “super milestones” — that will reform the country’s procurement rules, and increase judicial independence and academic freedom as a precondition to claim any funding. Over the weekend, Magyar and his future ministers held talks in Budapest with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s chief of staff, Bjoern Seibert, and several director-generals. The goal was to outline a roadmap to release the money and discuss a €90 billion loan to Ukraine that was …