magazine archive
magazine archive
Money Matters
Could you benefit from pensions child benefit tax planning trick?
Thursday 14 Sep 2017While there might be no such thing as a free lunch, by understanding the tax system there are simple ways to boost your wealth. If you have young children and earn between £50,000 and £60,000, there’s a little known – and perfectly legitimate – bit of tax planning you can use to save hundreds of...
Cash ISA investing falls as savers move to boost returns
Thursday 07 Sep 2017The latest official statistics on ISA saving in the UK paint a fascinating picture of a nation shifting away from cash ISA products offering feeble returns. Saving in cash ISAs fell off a cliff, with the number of accounts opened down from 10.1m in 2015/16 to 8.5m in 2016/17. The amount of money...
Why you should blend income and growth
Thursday 07 Sep 2017Income and growth are often seen as two mutually exclusive investment styles, but combining the two can sometimes yield better results. This can be the case whether you’re a young investor seeking capital growth or a retiree needing a regular income. Why should I blend styles? A key reason for...
A brief guide to pensions and divorce
Thursday 31 Aug 2017Approximately one third of UK marriages recorded in 1998 subsequently ended in divorce by the fifteenth anniversary, according to the Office for National Statistics. Someone’s pension could be the most valuable asset they own, so what happens to it in the case of divorce? There are three ways a...
SIPPs versus personal pensions
Thursday 31 Aug 2017One of the biggest decisions to make when you’re saving for retirement is which type of pension you should use. The main choice is whether to opt for a traditional personal pension, offered by the likes of Aviva and Standard Life, or a self-invested personal pension ( SIPP ), provided by DIY...
How savers have missed out on £94bn of returns
Thursday 24 Aug 2017Over 14m working age adults in Britain are not saving at all, while some 26m do not hold adequate rainy day or pension savings. Even those who are setting money to one side are potentially missing out on billions of pounds of valuable income by holding too much money in cash. Those were the...
The 10 biggest investment mistakes
Thursday 24 Aug 2017Whether you’re an experienced investor or just starting out it’s likely you’ll make some mistakes along the way. These are the 10 common errors you should try to avoid in order to boost your chances of success. Not having an investment goal Before you start investing it’s important to think about...
Official stats expose great pensions divide
Thursday 17 Aug 2017We all know that saving early and often is the key to enjoying a prosperous retirement. But just how much difference can saving in a private pension, such as a SIPP, make to your income in old age? Figures published by the Office for National Statistics recently shed some light on the different...
Time to review pension drawdown arrangements
Thursday 17 Aug 2017The amount of pension income you can receive from a capped drawdown product has been curtailed, further increasing the attractiveness of flexi-access drawdown. But there are lots of things to consider before making the move to this type of product. What is capped drawdown? Capped drawdown is a type...
Is pension tax relief back under the microscope?
Thursday 10 Aug 2017We don’t even know the date of the Chancellor’s first post-election Budget and already the knives are out for pension tax relief. The Sunday Times’ political editor Tim Shipman reports early stage talks are being held by Treasury officials about ways to save money, with pension tax perks once again...