magazine archive
magazine archive
Money Matters
Are you self employed? It’s time to think about your retirement
Thursday 15 Feb 2018There is a growing army of self-employed workers helping to drive the UK economy. According to the latest Office for National Statistics data, the number of self-employed increased from 3.3m people (12% of the labour force) in 2001 to 4.8m (15.1% of the labour force) in 2017. The nature of self-...
How will working part-time after retirement age affect your pension?
Thursday 15 Feb 2018If you’re one of the growing number of people who want to work part-time after retirement age, it’s worth considering how the move could affect your pension payments and tax liability. Although pension planning is about retirement, there is no actual link between not working and receiving pension...
The simple planning tip that could save you over £1,000
Thursday 08 Feb 2018When it comes to building a retirement portfolio, there are rarely any no-brainer decisions. Deciding how to split investments between your SIPP and your ISA, for example, will depend on a number of factors, not least how readily you need to be able to access the money. And what do you do about the...
Is it possible to build an investment portfolio just using ETFs?
Thursday 08 Feb 2018An exchange-traded fund (ETF) can give you access to a huge range of stocks in one, low-cost product. It’s possible to build an entire portfolio just using ETFs, although there are situations when actively-managed funds are worth considering. IS AN ETF-BASED PORTFOLIO A GOOD IDEA? There’s a growing...
Pension cash withdrawals are falling, says the taxman
Thursday 01 Feb 2018As the pension freedoms approach their third birthday we are starting to get a clearer picture of how savers are using their retirement pots. More than £16bn has been flexibly withdrawn from pensions since the freedoms launched in April 2015. These payments are added to any other income you have to...
How to protect yourself from financial scams
Thursday 01 Feb 2018Increasingly sophisticated technology and the introduction of pension freedoms are leading to a rise in the number of financial scams. Fraudsters target people of all backgrounds, ages and income levels, which means anyone reading this article could be a potential victim. We spoke to the experts to...
Act fast to boost your Lifetime ISA pot by thousands
Thursday 25 Jan 2018Wannabe first-time house buyers and savers craving a more flexible retirement savings option were given a boost in April 2017 when the Lifetime ISA was launched. The product, which to-date has only been adopted by a handful of providers including AJ Bell, is available to anyone aged 18-39 and...
Financial planning tips for the Sandwich Generation
Thursday 25 Jan 2018If you’re one of the Sandwich Generation who provides for your children and your elderly parents then taking care of your own finances might seem like an impossible task. There are lots of steps you can take to ensure you maximise your chances of a financially secure future. GET YOUR PRIORITIES...
What to do if you’ve paid too much into your pension
Thursday 18 Jan 2018For most savers their biggest retirement problem is finding enough spare cash to build a decent sized retirement pot. However, a significant number of high earners will face a very different problem as the 31 January deadline for filling out their 2016/17 online tax return approaches. Complicated...
Combining investment growth with security in retirement
Thursday 18 Jan 2018If you’re approaching retirement and can’t decide whether you want the flexibility of income drawdown or the security of annuities, combining the two could provide the answer. This blended approach gives you the opportunity to keep growing your money while still receiving a guaranteed income for...