If you can’t afford your mortgage: What the FCA’s lender guidance means for borrowers March 10, 2023 Successive interest rate rises are increasing mortgage costs for millions of borrowers, according to both regulators, lenders and advisers. One of the main City watchdog shas estimated an extra 356,000 mortgage borrowers could face payment difficulties by the end of June 2024, in addition to those who are already behind. The Financial Conduct Authority has issued final [...]
Londoners most at risk of being among the 350,000 UK borrowers who will struggle to repay their mortgage, regulator warns March 10, 2023 An extra 356,000 mortgage borrowers could face payment difficulties by the end of June 2024, in addition to those who are already behind, according to the City regulator. This has been reduced from a previous estimate made last September that an additional 570,000 mortgage borrowers could become financially stretched by the end of June 2024, [...]
Use your Isa allowance to invest against the Chancellor’s ‘Budget raid’ on savings March 8, 2023 What are your options if you plan to use your Isa to buy stocks and shares. We explore the different assets and explain why it’s more important than ever to use your Isa allowance this tax year. More taxpayers than ever are falling into the higher rate tax bracket of 40 per cent. According to [...]
State pension: Government extends National Insurance top-up contribution deadline March 7, 2023 The government has confirmed the deadline for filling gaps in state pension National Insurance (NI) contribution records will be extended from 5 April 2023 to 31 July this year The April deadline applied to back payments from 2006, but concerns had been raised people were struggling to get through to jammed HMRC phonelines. The update [...]
Who wants to be a millionaire? Isa do! The fund and trust-based savings accounts that have made a mint since 1999 March 3, 2023 Savers who have ferreted away their annual tax-free individual savings account (Isa) allowance since the scheme was launched in 1999 would have seen some serious returns. While Isa millionaires, are few and far between there are some funds that have helped savers grow their Isa pots to over six figures. According to savings platform AJ [...]
Government criticism of FCA’s consumer duty slammed by former watchdog official February 27, 2023 The City minister’s damning comments on planned consumer protection rules are a case of the government criticising the Financial Conduct Authority “for doing exactly what [it] has told it to do”, a former top regulator has said. City minister Andrew Griffith was reported to be scathing of the FCA’s planned consumer duty, which is set [...]
Five New Ways We’re Doing Hybrid Work February 27, 2023 We’ve come a long way since March 2020. Most workers will easily recall the day they were told to pack up their laptops and work from home for the foreseeable future. The Covid-19 pandemic revealed many companies were not prepared for remote working, and led to a whirlwind of uncertainty. The workforce adapted quickly. In [...]
Unpaid overtime forcing public sector workers to quit February 25, 2023 Public sector workers are becoming “burnt out” and quitting their jobs after putting in millions of hours of unpaid overtime last year, according to a report. The TUC urged everyone to work their proper hours as part of its annual campaign against excessive unpaid overtime. The union organisation estimated that employers claimed £26bn of free [...]
Pensions better than property? And, how a nudge might make you wealthier in later life February 24, 2023 The property boom of the last few decades has given rise to the idea of a home not just as a castle, but as bonafide crock of gold which can be used as an alternative to a pension. Pension provider Standard Life has carried out research that shows how different generations are answering the age-old [...]
Isa explainer: should you go for cash or stocks & shares? February 23, 2023 Savers have just over four weeks to make the most of this year’s tax-free savings allowance. We look at the different types of ISA available and how to find the one that’s right for you. Individual Savings Accounts, or Isas, were introduced by the government to encourage more people to save and allow savers to [...]