Pensions

31 August 2016

When former Chancellor George Osborne announced plans to allow savers aged 55 and over unfettered access to their pension pot from April 2015, nobody was quite sure how people would react. Could they be tempted to splurge their retirement pot on flash cars? Or would they pause for thought and consider the implications a spending spree would have on...

18 August 2016

The pension freedoms have reshaped the UK’s retirement landscape and opened up a plethora of retirement planning opportunities and risks. The reforms, introduced in April 2015, have proved hugely popular, with savers accessing billions of pounds flexibly and annuity sales plummeting.

However, while the majority of those over the age of 55 in...

10 August 2016

Bank of England governor Mark Carney last week unveiled a series of “big bazooka” monetary policy stimuli designed to breathe life into the ailing UK economy.

In simple terms, the package of measures – a 25 basis point rate cut, injection of quantitative easing and access to cheap funding for banks – are designed to get people spending rather than...

28 June 2016

While the dust is unlikely to settle for months following Friday’s shock EU referendum result, you may be anxious about what all this uncertainty means for your retirement plans.

In these turbulent times, it is important not to make panic decisions based on speculation or rumour. The political and economic landscape may be febrile, but any attempt...

15 June 2016

The stakes could not be higher ahead of the EU referendum on 23rd June. It’s therefore unsurprising to see the claims and counter claims of both the Leave and Remain camps ramping up as the vote draws ever closer.

But how much can you actually believe from these fighting cabals of desperate politicians and campaigners? Let’s have a look at some of...

25 May 2016

George Osborne’s radical pension freedoms are set to be extended to millions of people who have already bought an annuity from April next year.

However, a combination of strict regulatory controls, high costs and uncertainty over who will actually buy annuities means the future of the market is anything but clear.

So what do you need to consider...

9 July 2015

Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne’s Summer Budget is a boon for political commentators, economists and historians alike, as all will have plenty to debate, given his emphasis on hard work, low tax, the Northern Powerhouse and One Nation Toryism. But more practically, there is a lot for savers and investors to digest too after the release...