What the new government should do to pensions: Scrap the £1m lifetime allowance and nudge young people to save more October 27, 2016 Philip Hammond has a lot on his plate. As the Autumn Statement approaches, shielding the UK economy from Brexit’s slings and arrows will be higher up his agenda than fiddling with a pensions system which was tinkered with year after year under the last government. Some of the changes (many at the exit end of [...]
Time to remortgage? The rates on two-year fixed deals are very low, but watch out for additional fees October 27, 2016 Brexit has been kind to mortgage holders. As the Bank of England’s interest rate has come down, banks have been able to borrow more cheaply, allowing competition to increase and mortgage rates to fall. Borrowers have been quick to take advantage of the deals on offer; in August, the number of people remortgaging hit a [...]
Here’s how to make the most of investing in Apple, Amazon and major overseas players October 27, 2016 In a globalised world, equity investors need to think big if they want to buy the world’s best companies. “There is no UK equivalent to the likes of Amazon or Facebook. The UK’s own social networking pioneer, Friends Reunited, finally closed its web doors in February this year,” says Michelle McGrade, chief investment officer at [...]
The government’s pension freedoms were less popular last quarter as withdrawals fell October 26, 2016 Retirees have taken £7.6bn from their savings since reforms were introduced in April 2015, the Treasury revealed today – but the pace of withdrawals is falling. The amount withdrawn during the third quarter of 2016 dipped to £1.5bn, down from £1.8bn in the previous three months. One of George Osborne's flagship pension reforms announced just over 18 months [...]
Criminal activity in connection with loosening of pension restrictions was worse than expected October 25, 2016 The level of fraud following the freeing-up of pension reforms was a lot higher than previously thought according to data from City of London Police. George Osborne's flagship policy to give pensioners greater freedoms – including allowing them to take a lump sum out of their pension – provided criminals a new opportunity to con people out of their money. Read more: Government bins plans [...]
Many Britons have a considerable interest in taking out a Lifetime Isa October 24, 2016 Londoners are keen to enrol in a Lifetime Isa (Lisa), with almost three-quarters wanting to use them to save for the future according to the latest research. If they could, 72 per cent of residents under the age of 40 in the capital would open a Lisa, with over one-third (37 per cent) ready to open one straight away. Although [...]
Unite to begin balloting Gatwick staff on strike action over closure of pensions scheme October 20, 2016 Unite has announced it will begin balloting 1,800 members for strike action next Friday over the closure of Gatwick’s final salary pension scheme. Surface transport workers, firefighters and security officers are to be balloted, following a 96 per cent vote in favour of doing so in a recent consultative ballot. It will close on 16 [...]
Decide the rules and then leave them alone for at least 10 years, the government is told October 20, 2016 The boss of a leading financial adviser has made a direct appeal to the government to "simplify and stabilise the UK savings system". Andy Bell, the chief executive of AJ Bell, wrote to both chancellor Philip Hammond and pensions minister Richard Harrington to urge them to set up a new independent pensions tax commission whose recommendations would be set [...]
Experts react to dropping of Osborne’s flagship secondary annuity market October 19, 2016 Yesterday's announcement to scrap George Osborne's plans to create a secondary annuity market was unsurprising to many. According to some experts the writing was on the wall as soon as the process was delayed until April 2017. Nevertheless, there was a lot of noise from analysts and experts. Read more: Government bins plans for secondary [...]
Most Brits do not realise that they’ll be paying more and more into their pension scheme in years to come October 19, 2016 British workers are blissfully unaware of a number of key government initiatives on saving for retirement after wide-ranging report revealed the extent of the country's understanding on workplace pensions. With two-thirds of eligible UK workers now enrolled into a workplace scheme, according to a report prepared by Scottish Widows 68 per cent of people do not realise that their [...]