When people move home, only around 1 in 25 remember to tell their pension providers their new address. This has led to over £19.4 billion of unclaimed pension pots, equating to 1.6 million pensions with an average fund size of £13,000. National Pension Tracing Day is on Sunday, 30th October, an unhelpful date as all…
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The Financial Times recently reported that the UK Future Fund, a government-run venture fund set up during the pandemic, has mostly invested in zombie businesses that have no long-term viability. This is not surprising given the apparent confusion over whether the fund was focused on growth or simply providing a backstop for high-risk businesses. The…
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A good education can be invaluable, but also requires significant investment and long-term planning. Last year the average cost for parents getting a child from birth to the age of 21 came in at £231,843, according to a recent study compiled by the Centre for Economics and Business Research in London. Although the total includes…
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People now have only 100 days left to use the paper £20 and £50 banknotes before they are no longer in circulation. The last day of legal tender status is 30th September 2022. People who still have them need to use them or deposit them at their bank or a Post Office before that date.…
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The latest HMRC data reveals that Inheritance Tax (IHT) receipts for the period April 2021 to February 2022 stood at a whopping £5.5 billion, £700 million higher than the corresponding period in 2021. The average amount paid per estate was around £209,000 and this amount can often be mitigated by various well-accepted financial planning techniques,…
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One of the biggest worries for new retirees is that they will run out of money. However, there is now evidence that the opposite seems to be happening, retirees are not actually spending enough. Researchers at Texas Tech University stated, “Rather than spending down savings during retirement many studies have found the value of retirees’…
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In 1994, William Bengen published research that revolutionised the financial planning world. He was trying to figure out how much money retirees could withdraw from their portfolio each year without running out of money. Bengen found that retirees throughout history could have withdrawn 4% from an investment portfolio that held 50% in bonds and 50%…
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Within this new tax year, which started on 6th April, there are a couple of new ways in which you could potentially pay more tax. National Insurance (NI) is rising, but the threshold at which it starts to be paid will also be raised. NI is set to rise by 1.25% from April and…
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Future planning is a key factor for many people in later life. Having an up-to-date Will is the number one way that people use to communicate their wishes and, although it is an important element, it might not be the most effective way to ensure your children, family or friends get the best outcome from…
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However, these HMRC estimates were based on Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) estimates for wage growth from March 2021, which have since changed significantly. Parliament has also frozen current long term tax thresholds, as well as ever-increasing inflation appearing on the scene. HMRC’s estimated number of higher rate taxpayers was based on a 0.9% growth…
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