Spring Budget 2023

“A Budget for Growth” Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, delivered his first Spring Budget on 15 March declaring it was “A Budget for Growth.” The fiscal update included a range of new measures, some of which had been widely trailed prior to Budget day, in order to achieve growth “by removing obstacles that stop […]

Savers say goodbye to £34m in LISA bonuses During the 2020/21 tax year, HMRC reclaimed £34m in Lifetime ISA (LISA) withdrawal charges1. Although the government reduced withdrawal charges for LISAs from 25% to 20% in 2020 (to 5 April 2021) to help those who had no choice but to access their savings during the pandemic, […]

If you’re looking ahead to your retirement, the good news is that nowadays there are more choices open to you than ever before. However, recent research7 shows that many retirees may not be exploring these options and aren’t shopping around at retirement, selecting instead to take the annuity or drawdown facility offered to them by […]

Parents and grandparents keen to help their offspring get onto the housing ladder are increasingly helping them out with the money they need for their deposit. This can help reduce Inheritance Tax (IHT) too, but you need to be aware of the rules. Everyone has a yearly ‘gift’ allowance for IHT and can give away […]

Data from the Office for National Statistics5 show that various patterns are emerging in how wealth is transferred down the generations. Unsurprisingly, gifts and loans are more commonly made to those aged 25–34, with 11% in this age bracket receiving more than £500 during the previous two years, with the average across all age groups being […]

Losing your income can be a major financial upset. However, there are policies designed to protect your income in this situation, giving you valuable peace of mind. Income protection These policies are designed to replace a proportion of your income should you be unable to work due to an accident or illness. You can also […]

The Individual Savings Account (ISA) was launched on 6th April 1999 and it hasn’t looked back. Today it’s estimated that 42% of adults hold one, which is hardly surprising considering how simple and tax-efficient they are. When the ISA was launched, the annual allowance was £7,000 and it has risen steadily over the years. In […]

ARE ‘SLASHIES’ THE FUTURE OF WORK? A study by the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed1 reports that more than 320,000 self-employed people in the UK have two or more jobs. The term used to describe this is ‘slashie’, as in “I’m a writer/dog-walker/gardener”. AUTO-ENROLMENT BENEFITTING THOSE IN SMALLER FIRMS The government reports that […]

75% OF OVER-50s AREN’T SAVING FOR CARE New research3 shows that although 60% of those surveyed feared losing their savings and homes to pay for care fees, less than a quarter of adults aged over 50 are making any provision for later-life care. As people are living longer, it’s estimated that more than 143,000 older […]

New research4 has shown that one in 10 workers expects never to be able to afford to stop work and believe they will have to keep on well into their retirement years. This survey also reports that 58% of respondents think they’ll need to take on some form of work, in order to supplement their […]