When the Prime Minister announced that National Insurance rates were to be increased from April to fund the NHS and social care reform, there was a general consensus that the extra funds were a welcome way to improve the NHS. However, the tax rise now means that graduates will face a 49.8% tax charge on…
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We are delighted to announce that Simon Booth, our Managing Director, and Lissa Horton, our Director of Operations, have tied the knot. Simon and Lissa married in mid-January at Chelsea & Kensington Registry Office in London – where all self-respecting rock stars get hitched. They told no one about their secret marriage preparations and even…
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Taxpayers are exempt from Inheritance Tax (IHT) if the value of their estate is below a threshold of £325,000, or £650,000 under a joint allowance, or if the estate is left to a spouse, civil partner, a charity or a community amateur sports club. In the wake of massive pandemic-related spending, HMRC netted £254m in…
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The headline rate for the Consumer Prices Index inflation increased to 5.4% in December, a rise from 5.1% in November, and the highest rate in 30 years. With the Bank of England seeming more hawkish on inflation, interest rates have risen again to 0.5%, at this month’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting. This rise to 0.5%,…
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Individual Savings Accounts (ISA) were introduced over 20 years ago, in the last millennium even, and have always been a very tax-efficient way of investing, with no liability to either Income Tax or Capital Gains Tax on the invested funds. These days ISAs offer the opportunity to invest up to £20,000 annually per person. Unlike…
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We are pleased to welcome Ben Holland as the latest member of the Foresight team. He joins us as a Client Manager, to help with the ever-increasing workload at Foresight. Ben has previously worked at an IFA practice in Stockport as a Trainee Paraplanner and therefore has a good understanding of what the financial planning…
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You might recall that we wrote an article in October last year about our Willing Wisdom campaign to make sure your family knows what you want to happen when you pass away. At Foresight, we are one of a handful of advisers who have acquired the Willing Wisdom Index to help clients plan. The index…
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The University of John Hopkins recently conducted research into the returns on offer to investors. Between 1900 and 2017, the average annual return on stocks was around 11% and, even after adjusting for inflation, that average annual return only fell to 8%. It shows that, for longer-term investors, staying the course is the best port…
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Letting your family know what you want to happen when you pass away is the final gift you can give them. If you are not clear about how you want your money to be split, especially if you have more complex wishes such as uneven distributions, or have stepchildren, then how do you expect your…
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The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) has warned that the cost of retirement has risen substantially – seeing an increase in the cost of 4.9% since 2019. The latest PLSA report predicts an extra £40,000 is needed to fund a comfortable 20-year retirement. They break down their calculations into three tiers – minimum, moderate,…
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