Can you ever afford to stop working? These three charts will horrify you. Retirement is going to cost a fortune and you’ll foot the bill yourself. Check our guide to see if you’re saving enough March 30, 2016 "I’ve got all the money I’ll ever need – if I die by 4 o’clock.” It’s an old gag, a pretty lame one, but that will quite literally be the situation facing many Britons in 30 years’ time. A good number of today’s workers look destined to spend their final years in poverty. Read more: People [...]
Budget 2016 predictions: When is it and the key points Chancellor George Osborne will cover in his speech? March 16, 2016 Last year we had three of them. So far we've made it through two months without one, but fear not campers – there's a new Budget in town. This is everything you need to know about this month's fiscal update from the government. When is the Budget 2016 and how to watch live Chancellor George Osborne is [...]
Early retirement suggested for women facing late pensions March 15, 2016 The work and pensions select committee has suggested offering women who were given short notice of the increase in the state pension age the option to retire earlier, with a slightly reduced pension. The suggestion has been made in a report out today on the introduction of a higher state pension age. Committee member John [...]
Budget 2016 predictions: A spread of tax raising measures are coming – from raising capital gains tax to tackling salary sacrifice schemes March 14, 2016 Next week’s Budget looms large as experts are anticipating wide-ranging changes, with chancellor George Osborne tweaking tax to raise revenue and balance the books. Pensions were widely anticipated to be an area of huge upheaval, but Osborne has now delayed plans to fiddle with the system. It’s more likely that lots of niche areas are targeted. [...]
UK pension changes: Savers could shun pension pots in favour of bricks and mortar if chancellor George Osborne cuts lifetime allowance in his Budget on 16 March March 14, 2016 Middle and high income earners could turn their backs on pensions in favour of investing in property should chancellor George Osborne make further changes to the lifetime allowance at the Budget later this week, research out today has found. The study by Zurich found that a quarter (25 per cent) of all Britons would funnel their savings [...]
UK pensions and Budget 2016: Higher earners benefit from chancellor George Osborne’s decision to delay any pensions reform but the majority miss out March 13, 2016 Higher earners have likely benefited from chancellor George Osborne's decision last week to push back any pension tax changes, but the majority of earners are now missing out, a report released today argues. According to the research by the Resolution Foundation, if Osborne had unveiled a flat rate of relief of 30 per cent at next [...]
EU referendum: With the referendum on UK membership of the EU set for 23 June 2016, and the potential for a so-called Brexit looms, this is how UK pensions law could be affected March 13, 2016 Crystal-ball gazing regarding a potential Brexit is notoriously tricky business and must be caveated with an appropriately large health warning. How a Brexit might look in reality is currently unclear, as the terms of such a departure are up for negotiation. If the UK opted to remain part of the single market, it is likely [...]
UK financial services risks a mis-buying scandal unless we urgently tackle the advice gap March 11, 2016 It's well known that Britain has a financial advice gap, but until now few ideas have been put forward to tackle it. The government’s Financial Advice Market Review is a golden opportunity to solve this issue and deliver real solutions that help consumers access financial advice when they need it most. The initial recommendations are [...]
Just Retirement and Partnership Assurance £1.6bn merger approved by UK regulators March 10, 2016 Pensions heavyweights Just Retirement and Partnership Assurance have received approval for their £1.6bn merger from financial regulators. Both the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority have given approval to the all-share merger, which was agreed in August last year. Plans to merge the annuities companies came in the wake of pension reforms announced in March 2014, after [...]
UK pensions: Public opinion on how pensions should be taxed is divided, but experts agree that better education on the topic could encourage people to save more March 9, 2016 Pension experts were pretty vocal about what possible changes chancellor George Osborne could have made to pensions at next week's Budget, but the public at large is more conflicted in its feelings, research published today has found. According to a study by professional services firm PwC, 42 per cent admit that they have no clue [...]