The weekend of the 26 January is expected to be one of the largest bonus payout weeks of 2007 with one in three high earners set to receive a share of the 19 billion annual bonus pot, according to a survey by Barclays Wealth’s International Personal and Premier Banking division.
The survey states that two-thirds of the bonus recipients already know how they are going to spend their annual bonus. Of those surveyed, 43 percent of city workers say they will put their money in long-term financial investments.
“It is encouraging that our research shows that people are intending to be responsible with spending their bonus this year and that 5 percent will be getting professional advice on how to make the most out of their money,” says Jonathan Williams, a spokesperson for Barclay’s Wealth’s International Personal and Premier Banking business. “With increasing numbers of foreign nationals now living and working in the UK, they might be entitled to the tax status afforded to UK resident non-domiciled individuals, for example.”
UK- wide workers are expecting between 5,000 and 25,000 and over 10 percent expect to receive more. The average bonus for workers in the City of London is 25,085, which is a 26 percent rise from 2005.
The top five planned uses for bonuses are as follows:
1. UK property purchases (23 per cent)2. Other financial investments (19 per cent)3. Clearing debts (15 per cent)4. Holidays (12 per cent)5. Home Improvements (10 per cent)