We are delighted to welcome Chris Porter as the latest member of our growing Client Manager team. Chris is coming on board as a Trainee Client Manager, to help deal with our ever-increasing workload Chris has significant financial services experience, having previously worked in Banking and Finance, speciallsing in pension administration for the last 9…
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Many people will have come across the headline-grabbing interest rate of 5.6% per annum on some student loans. Many people rightly believe that we should pay off all our debts where possible and should never take out a loan that we know we cannot repay. However, with the average starting salary of graduates stagnant at…
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Workers nowadays have, on average, 11 jobs during their working lives. So, it is not uncommon to have built up numerous pensions, which are easy to lose track of overtime. Some might be “Defined Benefit”, also known as Final Salary schemes, which promise a certain level of pension from retirement age, while others – increasingly…
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Before we begin any discussion, let us be quite clear – both property and pensions can deliver long-term growth, both can be used to fund retirement, and both can play an important role in savings. In the UK, property has long been seen as a good investment, with house prices beating inflation by 3% per…
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Making a gift to your family and friends while you are alive can be a good way to reduce the value of your estate for Inheritance Tax purposes, ensuring those closest to you benefit from a lifetime of your hard work. Estate and tax planning is a complex area and professional financial advice can help…
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There are many reasons to look at so-called “get rich schemes” during the current climate. We are only just coming out of a national lockdown and the future of the UK economy looks bleak with short-term inflation and recession fears to name but a few. Many people have had more time on their hands, and…
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The Spring Budget announced that the Pension Life Time Allowance (LTA) would be frozen until at least April 2026 at £1,073,100. Previously, the LTA increased at the target rate of 2.5% however last year due to the low inflationary environment, it only went up by 0.5%. A prolonged period with no inflationary increases will mean…
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One of the most fundamental risks in retirement is longevity, the risk of running out of money before running out of life. Whilst there are a lot of benefits to living a long time, longevity undoubtedly increases financial risk. So just how long will your retirement plan need to generate income? Most people underestimate their life expectancy, often significantly. A man who is 65 years…
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A client once remarked that it would be good if we had a crystal ball for their finances. A good point well made, so we went and bought one from Amazon, which still sits on a windowsill in the office. It looks good but has never proved to be entirely reliable. Cashflow forecasting, on the…
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Each year around 25,000 estates in the UK have to pay Inheritance Tax (IHT), but a further 250,000 also have to jump through onerous and time-consuming hoops to establish that they do not. The job of gathering every last detail of a friend or relative’s financial affairs, requiring as many as 25 different forms to be completed, is a real labour of love. However,…
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