Beat your demons: Barclays lets account holders block their worst spending habits December 11, 2018 Barclays has become the first high street bank to allow customers to “turn off” certain types of spending in a bid to give those with addiction better control over their money. Customers can now block payments to retailers including gambling websites, betting shops and pubs using a button in the bank's mobile app. Barclays developed [...]
Multiple ‘dashboards’ to give savers access to pensions data, first planned for next year December 3, 2018 The government has confirmed it will introduce multiple so-called pension dashboards, with the first hoped to come into effect next year, giving savers the ability to access access their pension information for several schemes at once on their smartphone. Publishing a consultation on the measure this morning, however, the government could not confirm state pensions would be included. But pensions [...]
Watchdog warns Experian-Clearscore merger would stifle competition November 28, 2018 Experian’s merger with credit score rival Clearscore could harm competition in the credit checking sector, a watchdog warned today. The proposed tie-up would “stifle product development”, hurting people trying to make sense of their finances, according to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). “Our investigation has shown that this is a fast-paced and evolving market, [...]
Johnston Press sale under scrutiny as pensions put at risk November 20, 2018 The new owner of publishing group Johnston Press is facing scrutiny from MPs and the pensions watchdog over its handling of a rescue deal that puts pensions at risk. Work and pensions committee chair Frank Field yesterday wrote to the Pensions Regulator to express concerns about Johnston Press’ pension scheme, which is being assessed by the [...]
Profits crash again as ‘frail’ McCarthy & Stone outlines plan to cut costs November 13, 2018 Profits collapsed at retirement housebuilder McCarthy & Stone today as it posted its full year results. Profit before tax fell 37 per cent year on year to £58.1m, down from £92.1m in 2017, as the housebuilder blamed a rise in building costs, rising operating costs, as well as extra marketing to promote its latest homes. [...]
Watch out for Brexit scammers, says UK financial regulator November 8, 2018 Scammers might seek to take advantage of uncertainty around Brexit to trick unsuspecting Brits, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) warned today. The regulatory said consumers should beware of unexpected calls, emails and text messages, and told consumers never to hand over their debit card pins. The warning came as part of a notice advising consumers [...]
The government is finally turning its attention to the housing crisis, but what’s missing? November 8, 2018 There's no question that the housing market is in need of drastic reform. So it was welcome news last week when the chancellor announced that the government was turning its attention to reforming the supply side of the market through a £500m Housing Infrastructure Fund and British Business Bank guarantees for SME house builders. In broader terms, there seems to [...]
Returns from peer-to-peer lending look attractive, but is it a sensible sector to invest for retirement? November 1, 2018 Peer-to-peer lending (P2P) has long been deemed by many professionals in the conventional investment industry as too risky for retail investors. And yet, this technology driven form of lending has surged in popularity over the past decade, which is largely a result of the sector offering a decent return where other asset classes have struggled. [...]
Lloyds Banking Group could face £150m pensions hit after court ruling October 26, 2018 Lloyds Banking Group could have to pay out up to £150m after the High Court ruled today that it should equalise payments for male and female members of its pension scheme. Three female members of the pension scheme had complained they were being discriminated against as their pensions increased at a lower rate than that [...]
Seven top tips if you want to retire early October 24, 2018 Picture this: a life of lie-ins and long holidays – all when you’re still spritely enough to enjoy the free time. For many of us, the prospect of retiring early will seem like a pipe dream. It’s true that there is no magic formula – whether you can afford early retirement is usually a question [...]