The Spring Budget brought a good, the bad and the ugly to pensions. The good being a freeing up of savings restrictions, the bad evincing a sting in the tale, and the ugly highlighting fears for the tax-free allowance. First,...
All change in the mortgage world (Birmingham Post article 23.03.2023)
The machinations of the housing market are currently enough to baffle all but the cognoscenti. Interest rates are going up but some mortgage rates are coming down – perverse or what! Throw in declining house prices – itself a rare...
Get prepared for a rainy day (Birmingham Post article 09.03.2023)
How would you survive if a serious illness or injury meant you lost your main source of income? Not long is generally the answer, something we find is frequently borne out when meeting clients – especially younger ones. Worse still,...
Taking a SIPP from the commercial property cup (Birmingham Post article 16.03.2023)
They say everything has a silver lining – even Covid. Self-Invested Personal Pensions weren’t spawned by the pandemic – the astute were already on board – but it stimulated interest. With the cost of borrowing and renting going up along...
Maintain pension contributions or miss out in retirement (Birmingham Post article 02.03.2023)
The importance of maintaining payments into your pension during the current cost of living crisis cannot be overstated. If you knock them on the head then, taking into account employee contributions and tax relief, you are in effect throwing away...
Partial retirement can be an attractive option – Birmingham Post article 23.02.2023
More people are talking about delaying retirement and continuing in work either fulltime or part-time. Some because they have little choice given rising living costs; others because they like what they do. The government is making the right noises about...
Still ways to circumvent the Chancellor – Birmingham Post article 16.02.2023
Outrage over the Autumn Statement may have faded amidst a festive blizzard of turkey, presents and general over-indulgence. Nevertheless, reality dawns, for Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s tax raid on investors’ dividends and profits from shares, funds and investment trusts is set...
Time to beat the National Insurance purchase clock – Birmingham Post article 09.02.2023
Time is running out to grab one of the best deals you are ever likely to find. For the remainder of this tax period, consider buying extra National Insurance years to supplement State Pension benefits. However, the clock is most...
Green shoots of recovery for Year of the Rabbit – Birmingham Post article 02.02.2023
This Chinese New Year pays homage to the rabbit … and the hope is there will at least be bunny hops for the troubled second biggest economy in the world. The question for 2023 is – how big a recovery...
Serious illness can have an upside – Birmingham Post article 26.01.2023
Last week we outlined how annuities have been making something of a comeback, albeit from a low base. Rates jumped around 20 per cent in 2022. This Is Money cites how with a pot of £100,000, a healthy 65-year-old can...