Holiday season is officially on (but make sure your home is protected)!
With the limited resumption of international travel prompting a flurry of holiday bookings, whether you’re raring to fly or sticking with a staycation, make sure you don’t leave your home vulnerable. With lockdowns preventing us from going on holiday for much of the past year, it’s little wonder we’re all desperate to get away. However, […]
Multi-jobbers – listen up!
Workers on lower salaries with more than one job are at risk of a poorer retirement, as they miss out on employer pension contributions, a new study has concluded1. Excluded from auto enrolment Auto enrolment was introduced to encourage people to save more in their pensions during their working years. Under the scheme, employers are […]
In the News – Home Finance
Investing in your garden It seems that gardens have become more important to UK homeowners during the pandemic1, with 58% saying that their garden has become more of a priority, resulting in a willingness to spend considerably more on their outdoor space. Just 12% of homeowners normally spend more than £600 on their garden each […]
In the News – Money
Holiday selfie could invalidate insurance With travel back on the agenda for many, think twice before posting a holiday selfie on social media. Your insurer may consider this as advertising the fact that you are away from home, leaving your property unoccupied and invalidating your insurance cover. Unfortunately, more and more criminals are using social […]
In the News – Wealth
Dividend decline slowing From Q2 2020 to Q1 2021, the pandemic cost investors almost £45bn in lost dividends. After such a tumultuous year, the good news is that the latest UK Dividend Monitor1 highlights that in Q1 this year, dividends fell at their slowest rate since the beginning of the pandemic. In a positive sign, […]
The financial basics you wish you’d learnt at school
A survey of British employees reveals that a significant proportion of working adults wish they’d been taught more about basic financial topics at school. According to research1, the number one topic UK adults wish they’d learnt more about at school is pensions: 40% of respondents to a survey said that learning about pensions at school […]
More people accessing pension cash
More people accessed their pensions and more money was withdrawn in the final three months of 2020 compared to the same quarter the previous year. A total of £2.4bn was withdrawn from pensions flexibly in the three months to December 2020, representing a 6% increase from £2.2bn in Q4 2019. The HMRC data1 shows that […]
Dividends down 44% year-on-year
UK dividends fell 44% in 2020 to £61.9bn, the lowest annual total since 2011, according to Link Group’s latest Dividend Monitor1. However, a better-than-expected Q4 was boosted by suspended payouts being restored. The biggest impact came from the financial sector, which contributed to two-fifths of cuts, while oil dividend cuts accounted for another fifth. Dividends […]
Why it pays to update your pension expression of wishes
An expression of wishes tells your pension provider who you would like the beneficiaries of your pension to be in the event of your death. Multiple beneficiaries can be named, and you can state how much of your pension you want each to receive. However, while many people complete an expression of wishes when they […]
Sorting out your mortgage during divorce
Divorce can be an incredibly stressful time for couples and the financial impact it can have only adds to the pressure. The number of couples getting divorced surged by almost a fifth in 20191. Although data for 2020 has not yet been released, after the strains of the last year or so, unfortunately it would […]