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.
28 August 2024
How to pay for your child to go to private schoolThere are over 2,500 independent schools in the UK, educating over 620,000 pupils. With inflation-busting increases to costs in the last few years, and the VAT exemption for private schools ending from January 2025, parents who are thinking about private school need to get started on their plans to fund it.
Average fees for a non-boarder are £18...
27 August 2024
Back to school: everything you need to know about children’s financesWith your children (or grandchildren) going back to school after the long summer holiday, you might find you have a little bit more spare time. With the back-to-school vibe in the air, here are all the financial-related freebies, limits and allowances that you need to know about for your child.
Get free childcareIf your child is pre-school age...
27 August 2024
Is it worth setting up my own pension?With prices of just about everything still going up it might be hard to think about putting money away for the future but, according to the latest government figures, the number of personal pension savers in the UK keeps rising. As of 2023, government statistics show there are now 6.8 million of us using pensions to help build a retirement nest egg...
21 August 2024
Pension lump sumsAs well as drawdown and annuities, your retirement options include taking lump sum payments straight from your pension pot. So how does it work, and are pension lump sums taxable?
16 August 2024
Seven ways to beat the death taxThe death tax is dubbed Britain’s most hated tax, but only around 1 in 20 estates pay it. Those numbers are rising, along with the amount of money HMRC is raking in each year.
If you’re concerned that your estate might have to pay inheritance tax (IHT) when you’re gone, there are things you can do to reduce (or even eliminate) the amount it will...
29 July 2024
SIPP allowancesOur article should help you to understand pension allowances, contributions and tax relief. Learn how much you could pay into your SIPP each year.
16 July 2024
Lifetime ISAs for over 40sIf you’re over 40 and have a LISA with another provider, you can transfer it to us. Find out more about how Lifetime ISAs for over 40s work.
16 July 2024
Investing in the FTSE 100Find out what the FTSE 100 index is, what companies are included and how it’s constructed. You can invest in the FTSE 100 via shares, funds and ETFs, so learn more.
16 July 2024
Retirement checklistTo help you make those all-important choices about your pension in the run up to your retirement, here are 10 things you should consider.
15 July 2024
Investing in later lifeIn the past, investing in later life was all about reducing risk and converting investments into cash. Now, there are other options available - learn about what they are in more detail.
