Blog – 2 Columns

INVESTING FOR THE FUTURE Most parents want to help their children financially, whether it is making sure there is enough money for their education or eventually helping them to buy a property. An early objective as they grow up may well be to help children understand the value and importance of money. Whatever the reason, […]

New HMRC statistics show the lifetime allowance continues to be a useful revenue earner for HM Treasury, but rumoured cuts at the next Budget could be a concern for soon-to-be retirees.  In the March Budget, the Chancellor announced that he would be freezing the pension lifetime allowance (LTA) at its 2020/21 level of £1.0731 million […]

A recent Upper Tribunal case has raised questions about HMRC’s approach to collecting tax on child benefit.   Child benefit tax, or the High-Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) to use its legal name, has a chequered history. The HICBC was introduced in January 2013 as a mechanism for clawing back child benefit from high-income couples, […]

National Savings & Investments has announced details of a new green savings product.  One of the small surprises in March’s Budget was the announcement that National Savings & Investments (NS&I) would be launching “a new, retail savings product to give all United Kingdom savers the chance to support green projects”. No further information was given […]

A proposal to address social care funding is apparently imminent.  “My job is to protect you or your parents or grandparents from the fear of having to sell your home to pay for the costs of care. And so I am announcing now – on the steps of Downing Street – that we will fix […]

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has given Rishi Sunak its new worry list. It gives the Chancellor little wriggle room for potential Budget generosity. Every alternate year the OBR must issue a Fiscal Risks Report (FRR). Unlike the six-monthly economic outlooks the OBR produces for Budgets and (theoretically) Spring Statements, the FRR takes a […]

Action Fraud is reminding animal lovers to take extra care when buying a pet online, as new figures show more than £2.5 million has been lost to criminals through fake pet adverts. Data from Action Fraud, the national reporting centre for fraud and cyber crime, reveals that £2,638,323 was lost by prospective pet owners in […]

Investing is all about tradeoffs. Each choice made is paired with an implicit decision not to do some alternative; the ‘opportunity cost’. For example, by investing solely in a basket of UK companies one accepts the risk of losing out if the UK market struggles relative to the rest of the world, and vice-versa.  An […]

BRICKS AND MORTAR Becoming a landlord has been an attractive proposition for anyone who could raise a deposit, thanks to a prolonged period of low borrowing costs and generally rising property values. The housing market, helped by the temporary cut to stamp duty, has performed much better than expected over the past year, with prices […]

State pensions and the National Living Wage both increased in April. April is the month when state benefits are uprated – unless they are subject to a freeze. It is also the month when the National Living Wage (NLW) and National Minimum Wage (NMW) are increased. In 2021, many social security benefits rose by 0.5%, […]

A recent survey of people who have or plan to retire in 2021 provides interesting insights, whatever your intended retirement year. The average age of people planning to retire in 2021 is 60, according to a recently published survey by investment manager, Standard Life Aberdeen. That is six years before current state pension age, which […]

The role of Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) has changed since they were launched over 20 years ago, so are they still worth having? Since ISAs were introduced in April 1999 the ISA portfolio has been extended to include: Junior ISAs (for the under-18s). Help to Buy ISAs (no longer on sale). Innovative Finance ISAs (for […]