Charlene Young is AJ Bell’s Senior Pensions and Savings Expert. She joined AJ Bell in 2014 from a wealth management firm where she worked with private clients and small businesses as a financial planner.
Charlene has over 15 years’ experience in financial services, holding Chartered Financial Planner status and Chartered membership of the Personal Finance Society (PFS). She's also an associate member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) and has a degree in Economics and Finance from the University of Bristol.
She's a core member of our team who create content and information to help you invest - from how to map out your financial goals and which accounts can help you on your investing journey, to making sense of the more intricate parts of the tax and pension rules.
Pensions are Charlene's thing, and her goal is to make them less daunting and complicated for everyone. She does this by writing articles for our website and investor newsletters, as well as recording podcasts, videos and webinars for our website, apps and social media channels. She’s been instrumental in the delivery of AJ Bell’s 'Learn' area – a hub of educational content for those newer to investing.
You’ll also see Charlene representing AJ Bell at our investor events and providing comments for national press and adviser publications. She’s a director of AJ Bell’s pension trustee companies.
17 December 2024
Five ways to get your pension savings on track this yearPensions aren’t always at the top of our priorities after a busy Christmas, but these five quick and simple checks can get your pots in shape for the coming year.
1. See if you can save moreIt’s easy to simply say people should pay in more, but if you can afford to put a little extra towards your retirement, pensions offer great tax perks in...
27 November 2024
Three tips to get the most from your pension potPensions come with generous tax perks to help you save for retirement, but people sometimes make mistakes that could lose them extra money in their pot.
1) Keep track of your pensionsPension admin can easily slip down a growing to-do list but checking in on your pension (or pensions) could end up saving you hundreds, if not thousands, of pounds in...
8 November 2024
How two-decade freeze on IHT thresholds could cost your family over £230,000A two-decade long freeze on the inheritance tax (IHT) allowance could cost families almost a quarter of a million pounds by the end of the end of the Chancellor’s tax threshold freeze, analysis from AJ Bell shows.
The main IHT exemption, the ‘nil rate band’, has been frozen at £325,000 since 2009. Amounting to £650,000 for a married couple, assets...
30 October 2024
Money purchase annual allowanceOnce you start to flexibly access your pension, including your SIPP, you’ll trigger the money purchase annual allowance (MPAA), which is set at £10,000. Learn more about the MPAA.
22 October 2024
Budget preview: what to expect on capital gains tax, inheritance tax and dividend taxThere is the potential for major changes to be made to the tax system at the Budget on 30 October, many of which could impact personal finances. We consider three areas that could be in the firing line.
Capital gains tax (CGT)Having ruled out increases to some other taxes, capital gains tax (CGT) might appear like an obvious place for the...
22 October 2024
How to beat capital gains taxLabour’s first Budget since the General Election is nearing, and having ruled out increases to some other taxes, capital gains tax is one of the menu options likely to appear most appetising to the chancellor.
Reports suggest new Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Treasury team may have settled on increasing the rate of capital gains tax to 24% or 28%...
7 October 2024
How compound interest worksCompound interest has a powerful influence on investing but can be an easy principle to overlook. Understand more about the power of compounding here.
27 September 2024
International investingInternational investing can help diversify your investment portfolio and distribute risk between markets. Discover more about global investing here.
26 September 2024
What is a pension?Join us as we run through what a pension is, how a pension works, the different types of pensions, and how you can use them to save for your retirement.
25 September 2024
Families urged to track down £1.4 billion in forgotten child accountsThe Government has urged people aged 18-22 to come forward and claim their share of £1.4 billion stashed in matured Child Trust Funds. Government data released last week showed that around £10 billion is sat in Child Trust Fund accounts, with £1.4 billion in unclaimed accounts and £7.5 billion in accounts still held by under 18s.
When someone...
