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There are tough times ahead, Chancellor hints

"Our health emergency is not yet over and our economic emergency has only just begun." This is how Rishi Sunak kicked off his Spending Review this afternoon.
Although the Chancellor did not announce any of the tax rises many are expecting after sky-high public spending to battle the pandemic, he delivered a bleak outlook on the economy. Unemployment will reach a peak of 7.5pc next spring, he warned, meaning 2.6 million people will be out of work.
This means that while lockdown restrictions will ease next week, the tough times are not over.
Older workers in particular, who are particularly vulnerable to job loss, should look at how the pandemic has affected their finances. Hundreds of thousands of pension savers have been forced to dip into their retirement pots during the Covid crisis. However, the vast majority of these people are unaware that making a withdrawal limits the amount they can pay in with tax relief by 90pc, from 40,000 to just 4,000.
There was some reprieve for pensioners, however. An expected change in the way inflation is used to calculate "final salary" pensions, which would have wiped 73,000 off the value of their pots, will not come into effect until 2030.
That's a long way off – but in the much shorter term, Telegraph subscribers have started to compete for a 10,000 prize in our Fantasy Fund Manager game. It started on Monday but it's not too late to join in and build your own portfolio of stocks and investment trusts from the FTSE 350. It's free to play for subscribers and whoever has turned 100,000 into the most money by Feb 19 2021 will win 10,000.
To play, click here. You can find out how last season's winners plan to play for the top prize this time around here – and to hear from them directly, join us tomorrow, Thursday 26 Nov, at 7pm.
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