Category: Financial planning

Rather than talk about all aspects of the budget yesterday, I thought I would focus on one particular area – the reduction in the lifetime allowance from £1.25million to £1million.  There has been a trend in recent years for the allowance to fall and the Chancellor has again chosen to reduce the burden on the

The Pensions Minister, Steve Webb, has launched a “full-frontal assault” on pension fund charges, proposing a cap on the management fees of certain new pension schemes. He points out that while management fees of small percentages sound low, they accumulate to become large sums of money over a lifetime. The point he makes about the

Are you relishing the arrival of your retirement, whenever it may be due? A recent survey from Aegon found that whilst people continued to have positive aspirations for retirement, there was nevertheless a widespread lack of confidence that retirement would actually deliver. With careful planning though, you can address all of your potential concerns and

1 – How long will my money have to last? We now tend to live longer. An average 65 year old in good health is expected to live for another 24 years and one in four people could now live to see their 95th birthday. Our retirement savings are going to have to last us for

At last! A full house, ladies and gentlemen. For the first time since we started this bulletin all the major world stock markets moved resolutely upwards in February. Some by a little, some by a lot and some – step forward the UK – finally breaking through a previous high from the last century. Whether

The new pension rules, coming into effect this April, will enable those over 55 to take as much money as they like out of their Defined Contribution (DC) schemes, at lower tax rates. In addressing the new system, Age UK has expressed concerns that some pensioners could use up their savings within ten years. The

Newspaper reporters who interview centenarians on their landmark birthday cannot seem to avoid the temptation to ask how they have lived so long. Because most people haven’t the faintest idea how they have reached 100, they tend to attribute their good health to something like a weekly tea dance. Medical professionals will say that the

Pimco is not a household name in Europe, but is one of the biggest investment managers in the world. In the past year, two high-profile members of the investment and executive team have left the firm. These departures have contributed to investors pulling money from Pimco’s funds.  Investors withdrew $23.5bn from Pimco’s flagship bond fund.

With recent reports from the Autumn Statement suggesting most of the UK economic indicators are moving in the right direction, it doesn’t mean we can suddenly afford to ignore our personal financial planning. So in the best traditions of New Year here are ten financial planning resolutions that will hopefully help make 2015 a prosperous

Traditionally, December is a ‘slow news’ month. Like August, the great and the good spend a large part of the month on holiday and world events supposedly move slowly, if at all. Not so in 2014 – There was the Autumn Statement in the UK, the tumbling world oil price, the gloom over the Eurozone,