Time to explore your ISA options?
An Individual Savings Account (ISA) enables you to save in a simple, tax-efficient way, while generally giving you instant access to your money. This gives you short, medium and long-term saving options, and with the end of the current tax year not too far away, it’s important to make the most of your annual tax-free ISA allowance.
What does wealth look like to you?
Whether it’s stopping smoking, losing weight, eating more healthily or getting fitter, most of us have probably made at least one New Year’s resolution, but how many of us will actually go on to achieve it? We all have different financial goals and aspirations in life, yet these goals can often seem out of reach. In today’s complex financial environment, achieving your financial goals may not be that straightforward.
5 tips that add up to teaching your child about money matters.
Understanding how money works is an essential life skill. Unfortunately, for a lot of people, these lessons come later than they should, and often as the result of something going terribly wrong.
Nine out of ten employees continue to work even while being ill.
Feeling ill? Well, staying at home would seem to be the sensible course of action. However, for many, going to work while sick has become the norm. Employers are seeing more staff turning up to work while ill, according to a new survey[1].
Lending soars at Bank of Mum and Dad
The Bank of Mum and Dad has been branded as socially divisive and a symptom of Britain’s broken housing market as new figures reveal it is now one of the UK’s biggest mortgage lenders. Thousands of over-55s are generously gifting money as part of the Bank of Mum and Dad, using savings and even pensions to help their family onto the housing ladder, research has revealed[1].
Three quarters of UK employees say they won’t be able to retire by the age of 65.
Britain is growing old, and not just proverbially. As the population is set to increase, the proportion of the population aged 85 and over is projected to double over the next 25 years[1], and the number of those working for longer rises with it. Recent figures[2] reveal that nearly three quarters of UK employees say they won’t be able to retire by the age of 65.
Lending soars at Bank of Mum and Dad.
The Bank of Mum and Dad has been branded as socially divisive and a symptom of Britain’s broken housing market as new figures reveal it is now one of the UK’s biggest mortgage lenders. Thousands of over-55s are generously gifting money as part of the Bank of Mum and Dad, using savings and even pensions to help their family onto the housing ladder, research has revealed[1].
Financial fraud nets millions for organised crime scammers.
Fraudulent get-rich-quick schemes are netting millions for organised crime. But investment scams can be difficult to spot because they’re designed to look like genuine investments, with most scammers having a professional-looking website and documents.
Women say they will have £100,000 less in retirement than men.
For women, the salary gap they face during their careers eventually turns into a retirement savings gap. While our country has come a long way on gender equality, the pay gap remains a prominent issue. It’s felt in many aspects of women’s lives, most significantly in retirement savings.
Inflation-busting increase to weekly payments on the horizon.
In October this year, those receiving the State Pension are likely to find out that their weekly payments will increase by 4% from April 2020, subject to any last minute adjustments.
Barrier to employment and retention of older workers.
Older workers are an invaluable component of the UK workforce, given their extensive industry knowledge and expertise that all colleagues – particularly younger generations – can benefit from.
More baby boomers plan to stay in their own home
A growing number of ageing baby boomers are saying, ‘No, thanks’ to downsizing, choosing instead to remain in the same house in which they raised their family and created lifelong memories.
Reaching the big 50 can be a financial wake-up call.
Your 50s are a crunch time when saving for your retirement. If you’ve already set a retirement savings target but have been neglecting it, the reality is that now you can’t afford to delay your planning any further – and it’s time for a careful review.
Looking at the bigger picture for your wealth and security
Every plan starts with a goal, just like every journey starts with a destination. Planning your financial future is not only important for your security, but it also provides peace of mind. Financial planning should be viewed as a long-term approach to managing your finances.
Savers risk missing out on money from their final pension pot
Millions of savers risk missing out on money from their final pension pot if their provider doesn’t have their correct planned retirement date. The analysis[1] revealed that workplace pension savers in the UK could miss out on thousands of pounds in retirement because they haven’t updated their planned retirement date.
Make the most of your valuable allowances, reliefs and exemptions.
Once we enter January, the end of the 2019/20 tax year will be just over three months away on 5 April. As this date approaches, the window of opportunity reduces if you want to make the most of valuable allowances, reliefs and exemptions that could help reduce your tax bill and make sure your finances stay tax-efficient.
