Surviving the lifetime allowance: You could face 55pc tax on your pension savings unless you plan carefully April 23, 2015 The chancellor’s generosity couldn’t go on forever. Just days before his transformational reforms to pensions were enacted – the end of the compulsory purchase of annuities has at last given savers real power over their money when they reach 55 – George Osborne announced that the pensions lifetime allowance (LTA) would fall from £1.25m to [...]
Rich pensioners sitting on £16bn of untapped leisure spending April 21, 2015 Wealthy British pensioners added £37bn to the economy in leisure and hospitality spending last year, according to research from Barclays today. But they could spend an extra £16bn, if firms only realised the consumer group had such financial resources, the report into Britain’s aging population showed. The average Brit spends £2,486 on leisure and hospitality each [...]
Investec Comment: Pensions: The role of structured products April 19, 2015 THE government’s pension reforms have arrived – and attention has inevitably shifted from the technicalities of the new rules to what those at retirement will do with their new-found freedoms. The reforms have given people unprecedented control over their pensions: you no longer have to buy an annuity, you can keep your money invested and [...]
IFS slam Labour and Tory plans targetting pension tax relief as “damaging and counterproductive” April 12, 2015 Tory and Labour plans to cut pension relief for top earners have come under fire from the independent Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). Director of the IFS, Paul Johnson warned that even though both sets of policies apply to a relatively small number of people they nevertheless could prove to be "complex, damaging and counter-productive". [...]
Pensioners keen to take control of retirement plans, survey finds April 9, 2015 Fears that pensioners would fritter away their savings on luxury purchases have not been borne out since the rules surrounding pensions were changed at the beginning of this week. The reforms have granted savers new freedoms, allowing them to access their pension pots for the first time, and just one per cent of 50-75 year [...]
Banks to make buy-to-let mortgage rules simpler in bid to boost transparency April 7, 2015 Dozens of banks and building societies promised to make the small print on buy-to-let (BTL) mortgages simpler and clearer, in a bid to make the products as transparent and straightforward as more heavily regulated retail mortgages. The aim is to make borrowers’ obligations clearer, so that BTL customers understand how much they have to pay [...]
Don’t get burned by the buy-to-let boom: Funding retirement with rental income could turn into a disaster April 7, 2015 The new pensions freedoms are finally here and many savers will be considering taking a lump sum from their savings. Investing in a buy-to-let property to fund retirement may seem like a good idea, but pensions experts are warning of the risks. Eighteen years after the creation of the first buy-to-let mortgage, this form of [...]
Pension changes April 2015: Huge demand sees pension groups Aviva, Prudential and Pension Wise open for bank holiday business April 7, 2015 Pension firms have put extra measures in place to deal with the impact of the new pension rules, which came into play yesterday. The reforms mean savers aged 55 and over will no longer be forced to buy an annuity with their pension pot, and instead will be allowed to cash in as much of [...]
Pensions reform Q and A: What do the new rules mean? April 7, 2015 Monday 6 April saw huge changes to the way pensions work, giving greater power to savers over how they can use their pension money. Here's what you need to know. Q How will the new pension reforms impact on the UK’s savers? A The new freedoms mean savers can withdraw their entire pension [...]
With pensions freedoms now in effect, will Britain see a revolution in savings? April 6, 2015 Carlton Hood, customer director at Old Mutual Wealth, says Yes. The pension freedoms have done two things; they have put pensions in the public consciousness like never before, and given people the opportunity to take complete responsibility for how they use their own wealth. Eighty-one per cent of consumers have told us they are aware [...]