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The 2025 Spending Review is bold, ambitious, and heavily reliant on future economic growth. While headlines focus on NHS funding, defence boosts, and infrastructure investment, the more profound implications for everyday savers, especially cautious ones, are far more nuanced.

Here’s what it really means if you’re approaching retirement or looking to protect your savings.

1. Inflation May Remain Stickier Than Promised

Despite official messaging, government spending increases of this scale, primarily funded via borrowing, carry inflationary risk.

• More money chasing the same goods = continued upward pressure on prices

• Infrastructure and housing projects are capital-intensive, but have long lead times

• Energy costs, food prices, and global supply disruptions may not calm down quickly

Implication:
If you’re sitting on cash, savings accounts, or even pensions tied to fixed-income investments, your purchasing power is still under threat.

2. Trust in the Financial System Will Be Quietly Tested

To fund £190+ billion in increased spending without raising income tax or borrowing for day-to-day expenses, pressure builds silently elsewhere:

• ISA allowances or pension tax reliefs may be “reviewed”

• Stealth taxes (e.g., frozen thresholds, inheritance tax drift) are likely

• Expect continued low real yields, especially on “safe” products like bonds and savings accounts.

Implication:
Traditional “safe” strategies may feel familiar, but they’re not safe from erosion. Many retirees will realise their portfolios are shrinking in real terms, even if nominally flat.

3. Physical Gold Becomes Even More Relevant

Against this backdrop, gold continues to do the job it’s done for 5,000 years, hold value quietly, outside the system.

• Capital Gains Tax-free when held in UK legal tender coins

• Fully outside the banking system

• Immune to policy changes, pension reform, or ISA tinkering

• Can be passed down discreetly and tax-efficiently

And with central banks globally, including the UK, expanding gold reserves, it’s clear what institutions trust when things get uncertain.

Implication:
If you’re approaching retirement, gold offers:

• A hedge against political and financial mismanagement

• A stable asset to hold as currency policies shift

• A tool for legacy planning that doesn’t rely on government platforms or trust in future rulemakers

 4. Growth-Led Recovery = Higher Risk for Savers, Not Less

The review hinges on strong economic growth delivering future tax revenue. But growth doesn’t help if:

• The pound weakens

• Gilt yields rise (costing more to service debt)

• Policy confidence slips

If growth fails, the fallback is simple: spending cuts and new taxes.

Implication:
Cautious savers may end up footing the bill again. Gold is one of the few assets that cannot be means-tested, frozen, or inflated away.

Final Thought

The Spending Review gives the appearance of control, but the system remains fragile underneath it. If you're approaching retirement, or just tired of relying on promises, this is your moment to act:

Diversify beyond cash, bonds, and pensions
Use CGT-free gold coins to hold value privately
Build your retirement plan on something you can touch, not just trust