Five charts showing how we’re massively underestimating how much life costs, including children, house prices and pension costs July 7, 2015 You're probably really bad at estimating how much things cost – but don't worry, most of us are. As a nation we're drastically underestimating the cost of major life events such as having children, buying a house, or saving for retirement, according to a new poll by King's College and Ipsos Mori. "It’s concerning that [...]
July Budget 2015: From benefits caps and child tax credits cuts to pension and inheritance tax changes, here’s what to expect July 7, 2015 Tomorrow, George Osborne takes to the despatch box for his first truly Conservative Budget – indeed, the first majority Conservative Budget since 1996. The chancellor is notoriously good at trailing the contents of his Budgets before he stands up – so what do we know so far? Read more: Budget live – all the key announcements [...]
DWP makes fresh pension push with Theo Paphitis advertising campaign to get small business auto-enrolling workers July 6, 2015 The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) is relaunching its pensions advertising campaign starring Dragons’ Den entrepreneur Theo Paphitis in a new push to get small companies auto-enrolling staff in workplace pensions. The campaign will rework the previous creative used in 2012 when a £3.5m campaign first launched, as the government seeks to target businesses employing [...]
Summer Budget 2015: Is the government about to change how it taxes pensions? July 3, 2015 With the summer Budget now just days away, much of the finance sector has busied itself trying to second-guess what the chancellor will say when he takes to the despatch box. And one briefing paper, quietly published yesterday afternoon, might provide a clue: changes to pension taxation. Read more: How investment trusts can boost your [...]
My vision as City minister: I want UK finance to be the world’s most competitive June 30, 2015 During my two decades in the financial services industry, I always enjoyed the important annual events that bring the industry together. It was great to be back at The City UK’s conference yesterday, speaking this time in my new job as the government minister responsible for financial services policy. I’m proud of the [...]
Pensions: How investment trusts can boost your retirement savings June 30, 2015 Pensions savers need to focus on making as much money as possible over a long time frame – anywhere from 10 to 40 years. With the government and many companies pulling back from generous pension plans, the onus for retirement security is being placed on the individual. But to build a good pot, retirement [...]
Retired people are doing better and better from their private pensions June 29, 2015 Retired households received an average income of £9,500 from private pensions and annuities in 2013-2014, a real terms increase of nine per cent from 2012-2013, when the average was £8,800, new figures from the Office of National Statistics show. That's an increase of 26 per cent since the start of the financial crisis in 2007-2008, [...]
Pensions: Equivalent of three quarters of Londoners not saving for retirement June 24, 2015 More than six million Brits have not saved any money at all for their retirement years – that's the equivalent of around three quarters of the population of London. A similar number have no savings or investments whatsoever, a new report on pensions from Scottish Widows reveals. Saving for retirement has hit record levels however, [...]
Greece and its creditors’ disagreements: Pensions, VAT and budget deficit will be the sticking points June 23, 2015 The challenging negotiations between Greece and its international creditors may well be entering the final throes – but no one is kidding themselves that the saga is over just yet. Although the latest proposals appear to be paving the way forward, there are three main sticking points – pensions, VAT and government spend against receipts [...]
Act now to avoid the Tories’ pension tax grab June 18, 2015 The chancellor has announced an “emergency” Budget for 8 July. On the basis of the new government’s Queen’s Speech, which saw little by way of surprises, the expectation is that there will be nothing much in the Budget to concern investors. Public spending cuts will continue, the government has already committed not to increase the [...]