Category: Pensions
A Guide to Mastering Financial Fitness in Your 50s
Entering your 50 is not just another chapter in your life; it's a profound and exciting phase in your financial journey. By this time, life may have settled into a more predictable rhythm. Perhaps your children are financially independent, and your career is at a peak, providing a stable income.Thoughts of winding down or retiring might be dancing on the horizon. This is why it's a pivotal moment to take a comprehensive look at your financial situation and ensure you're on the right path to achieving your future goals. Here's our guide to help you focus on key areas and...
Autumn Budget 2024 Preparation
On 30 October, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves will deliver the Autumn Budget Statement 2024, accompanied by a comprehensive fiscal statement from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). This significant event comes as the new government, elected to boost economic stability and growth, takes its first important step in addressing the nation's financial health.
Minimise Inheritance Tax
Effective planning reduces Inheritance Tax (IHT), enabling your loved ones to benefit more from your wealth. Estates above £325,000 (2024/25 tax year) may be taxed at 40%. Strategies to manage this include using IHT allowances and more advanced options like forming a company with your heirs as shareholders.
State Pension Awareness
In April 2024, the state pension rose by 8.5% to £11,502.40 a year for post-2016 retirees. However, according to new research, one in seven (14%) retirees receive less money from the state pension than expected. This highlights the need for more information about the payments people can expect to receive from the government later in life.
Enhancing Pension Contributions For A Brighter Future
Contributing additional amounts to your pension stands to benefit you significantly in the long term. We explore in our blog different ways you can enhance your pension savings for a brighter future.
New Pension Tax Framework
The implications of these changes will largely depend on individual circumstances, such as the aggregate value of one's pension savings, any prior withdrawals from pension schemes and existing lifetime allowance protections.
ISAs: End of Tax Year Reminder
This time of year presents an opportune moment to examine both your personal and business finances to ensure they are structured to optimise your tax efficiency. Despite the ongoing freeze on many tax rates and thresholds, numerous strategies remain for organising your financial matters tax-efficiently. We've outlined some of the key areas in which you are able to make the most of tax-saving measures before the deadline arrives:
Spring budget 2024
Jeremy Hunt delivered his fourth statement as Chancellor of the Exchequer with a Budget focused on long-term growth and improving domestic prospects. The biggest issues that he looked at addressing included productivity, taxation and domestic market support.
Are you aware of the changes to the State Pension?
The State Pension is set to increase commencing on 6 April 2024 due to a mechanism known as the ‘Triple Lock’. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has announced an increase of 8.5%, which pensioners will welcome.
Normal Minimum Pension Age Update – what you need to know
A significant change is on the horizon that may affect when you can access your pension money. We’ll guide you through this change and its potential implications, so you can confidently prepare for retirement.
Taking a personalised approach
No matter what stage of life you’re in, it’s never too early or late to start planning for your retirement. By taking a personalised approach, you can develop a retirement plan that will work for you throughout your life.
Spring budget 2023
The Spring Budget 2023 was delivered by Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, on March 15. Among key changes announced were those made to pensions, aimed at making it easier for individuals to save for their retirement and encouraging retirees to return to work.
Retirement planning for every life stage.
No matter what stage of life you’re in, it’s never too early or late to start planning for your retirement. By taking a personalised approach, you can develop a retirement plan that will work for you throughout your life.
Don’t ‘Sleepwalk’ Into Retirement
As we enter our later years, it's more important than ever to have a solid retirement plan in place. Unfortunately, for many of us, that simply isn't the case. According to recent figures, one in six people over the age of 55 in the UK have no pension savings whatsoever[1].
Guide to Maximising Pension Savings
Many people are feeling the pressure on their finances at the moment due to the backdrop of rising inflation and the cost-of-living soaring. In these circumstances, it can be difficult to think about your long-term finances or even contemplate saving for the future. Even in the current climate there are ways to maximise the value of any pension savings you do have.
Getting Set for Retirement
Welcome to our Guide to Getting Set for Retirement. As you approach the last five years before your retirement, there will be a lot of things to consider. You’ll need to think about your finances, your health, your housing situation and your plans for the future to live comfortably in retirement. In recent years, the changes to pensions legislation have created greater freedom and choice over how pension assets can be used. However, with freedom and choice comes complexity.
Getting ready to retire?
Have you ever wondered what you need to consider as you approach retirement? Whatever your concept of what is a good pension pot, one certainty is that relying on the State Pension alone will not give you a good enough pension to live on comfortably through your retirement.
How Much Do I Need To Save To Retire?
The question, ‘Have I saved enough to retire?’ is a dicult one. It requires a lot of information about you, your family, your income needs in retirement, and an understanding of the various financial vehicles available for saving and investing before it can be answered definitively.
Change to The State Pension Triple Lock
The earnings benchmark of the State Pension triple lock will be temporarily set aside for next year. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) confirmed on 7 September that the State Pension triple lock rule will not be applied for the 2022/23 financial year over concerns of the potential costs involved.