The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) says many savers may have too much cash and face the risk of wealth erosion. As the regulator for personal financial products, the FCA is rightly concerned about financial scams and savers who are encouraged to choose inappropriate high-risk investments. Both are serious issues: The FCA says that 3,378 consumers [...]
Increases to National Insurance Contributions (NICs) from next April have made employee pension contributions less attractive. That headline is not one you might expect to see from a financial adviser, but there is some solid logic behind it. Consider Jane who works in Leeds, earns £40,000 a year and makes net contributions to her employer’s [...]
HMRC says many teenagers are missing out on Child Trust Fund cash. The first Child Trust Funds (CTFs) matured just over a year ago, at the start of September 2020. CTFs will continue to mature until January 2029 as their owners reach the magic age of 18. At present, about 55,000 CTFs mature every month. [...]
Double-digit tax increases to fund the latest social care reforms will have a ripple effect on taxpayers. When the Chancellor announces tax rises that are measured in double-digit billions, normally you can assume he is presenting a Budget. That was not the case in September, when Rishi Sunak set out measures that will bring a [...]
In September, the government revealed its long-awaited plans to reform England’s funding of social care, but many home care residents won’t reap the benefits. On becoming Prime Minister, Boris Johnson announced that he had “…a clear plan we have prepared” to deal with the funding of social care in England. The statement was met with [...]
New research has highlighted a growing retirement income gap between men and women, which has been exacerbated by the pandemic. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) life expectancy calculator, at age 55: Men have a life expectancy of 84 years, with a 1 in 4 chance of surviving to 92. Women have a [...]
The government has published draft legislation to raise the minimum age for drawing pension benefits from 55 to 57. At present, the normal minimum pension age (NMPA) at which you can draw benefits from a pension scheme is 55. That age ceiling took effect in April 2010 and was subject to a limited range of [...]
The UK’s unusual tax year end date is coming under scrutiny in tandem with potential changes to the tax year basis for the self-employed. The start of the tax year in the UK is 6 April. It is a date steeped in history – think quarter days and the introduction of the Gregorian calendar in [...]
New HMRC data shows that in 2019/20, £9.9 billion of capital gains tax (CGT) liabilities were created. In July last year, the Chancellor unexpectedly asked the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) to review “capital gains tax (CGT) and aspects of the taxation of chargeable gains in relation to individuals and smaller businesses”. The top tax [...]
The Bank of England has suggested that interest rates may rise sooner than expected. After its August meeting, the Bank of England (BoE) was never expected to announce any change in base rate from the 0.1% set in response to the pandemic. The BoE, like its counterparts in the US, Eurozone and Japan, wants to [...]
