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From 6 April 2024, individual savings account (ISA) rules will be changing, mostly for the better. In April, ISAs will celebrate their 25th birthday. However, the ISA was hardly a new-born back in 1999, as it was effectively a reworking of two previous tax-favoured savings plans – the personal equity plan (PEP) and tax exempt […]
The gap between two government set income levels is the widest it has ever been. The National Living Wage (NLW) and the new State pension both started life in April 2016 during George Osborne’s tenure as Chancellor. In his March 2013 Budget, he announced that the new State pension would begin a year earlier than […]
With Christmas and the New Year over, it is time to turn your thoughts to planning for the tax year end. While many parts of the tax landscape have been frozen, such as the personal allowance and most income tax thresholds, that does not mean you should ignore tax year-end planning as we approach 5 […]
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced new rules to ensure a green label on a fund is more than just marketing puffery. It was perhaps no coincidence that the FCA published a new set of rules on sustainable funds just as COP28, the UN global conference on climate change, got underway […]
For employees, the national insurance cut announced in the Autumn Statement took effect on 6 January. For many years, successive governments have been happy for the public to vaguely believe that national insurance contributions (NICs) are building up in some national benefit fund, rather than representing just another tax on income. While something called […]
Many of us dream about an early retirement, spending time doing things we enjoy. Financial realities inevitably mean few of us will realise those dreams. You may have heard of the Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE) movement, which claims it can boost people’s chances of early retirement success. But how attainable is it really? Igniting […]
Since the beginning of December 2023, Action Fraud and the Suspicious Email Reporting System (SERS) have received over 180 reports concerning the impersonation of National Crime Agency (NCA) agents. The victims describe receiving an email purporting to be from the NCA. The email states that the NCA has evidence that the recipient has accessed and […]
A key intestacy limit was due to increase in December 2022, but the timing was overlooked… until July 2023. The intestacy rules for England and Wales state that where there is no will, if on first death the deceased leaves children, grandchildren or great grandchildren, the surviving spouse or civil partner is entitled to the […]
A new think tank report highlights the need to increase pension contributions. Over time, good ideas start to age. Take, for example, automatic enrolment into workplace pensions, which is now eleven years old. In some respects, it has been highly successful – about 80% of employees are now benefiting from pension contributions compared […]
State pension increases could be outpacing inflation next April, and there’s no guarantee of the Triple Lock surviving the next election. In mid-September, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) published the latest earnings data, covering the period May to July 2023. Earnings data has been the focus of much attention recently because a fall in […]
National Savings & Investments has launched two top of the savings league table one-year bonds, but the headline rates may not be your net return. The primary role of National Savings & Investments (NS&I) is “cost-effective financing for the government.” In the current financial year, NS&I has been charged with raising between £4.5 billion and […]
The Chancellor has announced that he will issue an Autumn Statement on 22 November. Perhaps it was just coincidence, but a year to the day after Liz Truss was elected Prime Minister, the current Chancellor (and her second) announced that there would be an Autumn Statement on 22 November 2023. In autumn 2022, Ms Truss’s […]