Beware of scammers impersonating HMRC
Scammers are making threatening calls pretending to be from HMRC6 and saying if the victim doesn’t pay out thousands of pounds immediately, they will be arrested. This is a particularly unpleasant scam, and more than 60,000 calls are reported to have been made in the six months to January 2019. HMRC confirms that it will never […]
Long-term mortgages – a boon or a burden?
Traditionally mortgages were for 25 years, but nowadays many loans on offer have a standard maximum term of 40 years. Longer-term mortgages have the advantage of lower monthly repayments, making them more affordable, especially if you are struggling to get onto the housing ladder. However, the downside is that by the end of the term, […]
In the news…
SELF-STORAGE INSURANCE CONCERNS Some home insurance policies provide cover for ‘items temporarily removed’ from your home, although there may be a time limit, typically 30 to 90 days, and you need to inform your insurer when you deposit items in a storage facility. MPs have raised concerns about the insurance policies that storage companies insist […]
Generation X top the pensions saving chart
Information from HMRC shows that those aged 43 to 54, often referred to as Generation X, account for the largest proportion of the UK’s personal pension contributions, equating to 43% of total contributions made in the 2015–16 tax year, the latest year for which data is available. However, there are fears that they are still […]
Saving £2,880 a year could provide a retirement windfall for your child
Planning ahead and starting early can really help when it comes to building up wealth for children. Current pension rules, which could change in the future, allow a parent to put up to £2,880 a year into a pension for a child. Tax relief means that this is then topped up to £3,600. If a […]
Trusts – not just the preserve of the rich and famous
Today, you don’t have to be incredibly rich for your family to benefit from the creation of a trust. They can offer long-term asset protection and have a variety of uses as part of financial planning strategies. A family trust can help protect your family’s assets for the benefit of future generations and may be […]
The intergenerational fairness debate continues
The House of Lords Committee on Intergenerational Fairness and Provision has called on the government to take steps to make society fairer by supporting younger people, particularly in the employment market and the provision of housing. A change of perspective needed Peers believe that ‘outdated’ age-specific benefits for older people should be replaced with support […]
Housing shortage creates downsizing problems
For those who didn’t manage to save enough to fund their retirement, or find their existing home is too big and expensive to run, downsizing can be the answer. You sell your home, move to a cheaper one and live off the money you’ve made. However, recent research1 has shown that there is a shortage of […]
Millennials could save £10.5bn by making a few lifestyle swaps
With two-thirds of millennials admitting they don’t save enough, and saying they’re finding it difficult to get the cash together for a deposit on a property, Barclays has suggested a few ways in which they could boost their savings without giving up on socialising or treats. According to the findings of a survey carried out […]
Huge rise in protection policy take-up
If you were unable to work due to accident, injury, sickness or redundancy, you would still need to support yourself and your family financially. Whilst you might have enough savings to tide you over for a short period off work, if it went on for longer, it could be a struggle to meet mortgage costs […]