Dating, DIY and Netflix: Brits stop spending on love and luxury due to cost of living crisis, Nationwide says Nationwide Building Society The value of households’ spending on subscription services, home improvements and dating fell annually in February, according to analysis by Britain’s biggest building society of its members’ outgoings. The volume of dating transactions fell by a third (33 per cent ) in February 2023 compared with the same month in 2022, also falling by 7 [...]
Lump sum or regular saving, investing for children and how to go green: Your Isa guide to making the most of this year’s tax-free allowance With just under three weeks left until the end of the tax year, savers may still be considering how to use their annual tax-free Isa allowance. You can use your allowance whether you are looking at setting up a regular savings plan, or investing a lump sum, or even considering putting some cash aside for [...]
UK house prices: Growth down while rents soar by their highest in seven years Rent and house price rises Private rent paid by tenants in the UK rose 4.7 per cent in the 12 months to February 2023, up from 4.4 per cent in the 12 months to January 2023, according to the Office for National Statistics which also reported that house prices increased 6.3 per cent in the same period. Annual private rent [...]
Inheritance tax take beats all records as property price hikes boost HMRC’s coffers by whopping £6.4bn March 21, 2023 The amount of inheritance tax (IHT) paid in February totalled £531m, bringing the total for the 2022/23 tax year to a record £6.4bn. With just one month to go the amount already surpassed the £6.1bn received by the Treasury throughout the entire 2021-22 financial year. The record-breaking inheritance tax take follows last week’s revision by [...]
Exclusive: Renters face being pushed out of London as landlords struggle to cope with ‘huge’ mortgage hikes, adviser warns March 20, 2023 Landlords in London and the south east are facing a 125 per cent increase in monthly mortgage payments, or £574 on average, according to research exclusively shared with City A.M. The Bank of England’s decision to raise interest rates 11 times over the last 15 months has seen mortgage costs spiral for mortgage borrowers. Earlier [...]
Pension pain: Savers who bought lifetime allowance ‘protection’ warned they may still find their tax-free lump sum capped March 17, 2023 Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s decision to scrap the pension lifetime allowance (LTA) in Wednesday’s Spring Budget, was heralded as an incentive for wealthier employees over 50 to stay in the workforce. But some pensions experts say for those who took out a form of LTA protection may still have to watch they do not go over [...]
Pensionbee: Retirement platform says 56 per cent rise in savers puts it on profit path despite £19.5m loss March 16, 2023 London-listed fintech firm Pensionbee doubled down on its target of profitability this year today despite its losses widening to £19.5m in the past year. Adjusted earnings-before-deductibles losses at the pensions fintech jumped 19 per cent to £19.5m for the full year, up from £16.4m in 2021, which it said reflected “continued investment in growth” over [...]
Budget ‘returnerships’: Will Jeremy Hunt’s plans to get over 50s back to work, work? March 15, 2023 Scrapping the lifetime allowance on pensions was just one of several measures announced in the Spring Budget aimed at getting the over 50s back to work, Many argue the move will only affect one per cent of the population, and was aimed at stopping an exodus of NHS doctors – who have often built up [...]
Budget: Chancellor abolishes lifetime pension allowance saying ‘no one should be pushed out of the workforce for tax reasons’ March 15, 2023 Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has abolished the pension lifetime allowance and increased the annual tax free pension allowance by 50 per cent to £60,000 a year. The measure was one of several unveiled in the Budget and aimed at encouraging an estimated 3.5m people of pre retirement age back into the workforce. Hunt said: “Turning 50 [...]
Prudential: Insurance giant vows to stay listed on London stock exchange after posting uptick in profits on pivot to Asia March 15, 2023 Prudential today confirmed it intends to remain listed in the City following speculation the 175-year-old insurer had plans to switch the the London Stock Exchange for New York. A spokesperson for the insurance giant today confirmed to City A.M. the firm has “no plans” to exit the London Stock Exchange. It comes after Prudential today [...]