Category: Financial planning

It’s good to talk. But talking about money can be difficult, particularly as doing so has traditionally been taboo in this country. Despite many of us getting better at talking about other personal issues like relationships or our health, we still find money a tricky topic. In fact, research shows that only one in five

The phrase ‘the world looked a dangerous place’ has been used many times to describe the status of the markets. Never has that seemed more true than in August. In Northern Iran/Iraq the Islamic State continues to gather momentum and the world expressed outrage at the murder of US journalist, James Foley. Towards the end

So the 1st of July has been and gone with the most exciting event being Andy Murray’s failure to retain his Wimbledon crown, but something else happened on this day that might have gone unnoticed. As a result of the most radical budget for years, it was announced that from this date you could save

June was a good month for British and Chinese manufacturing, a disastrous month for General Motors (GM) and sadly, the England team who can now be found on the beaches of the Algarve. At least they escaped the anger directed at South Korea’s players, who were pelted with toffees on their return to Seoul! UK

Almost two out of three Britons have not made a Will and risk leaving a financial nightmare for family members when they die, warns the Law Society. Research coinciding with ‘Dying Awareness Week’, published in May 2014 from the Dying Matters Coalition, revealed that only 36 per cent of British adults say they have written

HMRC has revealed a dramatic jump in its revenues thanks to its recent measures aimed at clamping down on tax avoidance schemes. During the course of the tax year 2013/2014, HMRC claims that it has generated an extra £23.9 billion in tax; a staggering figure, especially considering it puts them £1 billion ahead of a

Tax avoidance is not illegal. Some commentators may regard it as immoral, but using an artificial scheme that is fully disclosed to HMRC, to reduce one’s tax bill, is not against the law. If the tax scheme fails to achieve the promised tax savings, the scheme users will have to pay the tax avoided plus

Britain’s over-55s are cashing in on the improving economy with rising incomes leading to more than £150 extra in their pockets a month compared to the same time last year, Aviva’s latest Real Retirement Report shows. Findings show savings pots have increased too, but the level of monthly expenditure has risen with the cost of

As the weather turns and we move toward the Summer months, it’s natural for all of us to look forward to forthcoming holidays and some time away somewhere nice! Foreign finance is a notoriously troublesome area, with poor exchange rates on overseas credit card transactions being just one of several fairly recent high profile examples

Estates liable for Inheritance Tax in the UK in 2010-2011 faced a bill of nearly £166,000 on average, according to new analysis of HMRC data by Prudential. The study, based on the latest publicly available regional data on tax receipts, shows that in the 2010-2011 tax year, inheritance tax was paid on around 15,600 estates