Homeowners have this year been forced to release equity from their homes in record numbers as the grim reality of a shortfall upon retirement hits home. Equity release allows the homeowner to raise money without the need to sell their property, and there are two options available for this method of finance. Either borrow against […]
Young Britain Facing Pension Uncertainty
In a poll carried out by UK pension providers, a staggering 74% of those currently in employment had no idea of when they would be able to access their own pension. While most of the UK has now come to terms with the idea of having to work beyond 65, there is much uncertainty surrounding […]
Gordon Brown’s Legacy Remains
Despite proving as short lived a Prime Minister as can be recently recalled, the true extent of Gordon Brown’s effect on the lives of the working man can be traced back to 1997 when he was chancellor. It has now been revealed exactly how much Gordon Brown single handedly decimated final salary schemes to the […]
Cutting Through the UK Pension Budget Reforms
Since the Budget 2014 and the changes to the UK Pension Scheme, there seems to be much confusion from various angles. However the reforms are relatively simple when broken down, the significant changes will not be implemented until April 2015 after industry consultation. In the interim there will be some changes right away. Here we […]
UK Pension Terms Explained
Pensions are never far from being in the financial headlines. We all know it’s something we need to be thinking about, but every time we try to read something about it, something more instantly interesting tends to crop up and we brush any thoughts of the future under the carpet for the time being. ‘It […]
Waitrose’s ‘golden pension’ under fire
With its 3.1% rise in sales over the festive period, and its consequent cementing in the key Christmas trading period, you may have been thinking all is rosy at upmarket grocer Waitrose. Yet beneath the record sales is a record pension deficit currently totalling GBP 840 million. Revealed after an investigation in March 2013, the […]
QROPS and Fixed Protection: Protecting pension assets over GBP 1.25 million
If you own UK pension fund assets totalling over GBP 1.25 million, you currently have two months in which to protect your assets from the UK’s Lifetime Allowance (LTA). The LTA is the upper limit on any tax relief you can receive on your pension fund. Currently set at GBP 1.5 million, from the 6th […]
How the self-employed can save for retirement
According to the UK’s Office of National Statistics, there were approximately 4.25 million self-employed workers in October 2013. Whilst independence is one of the biggest advantages of being self-employed, it also causes problems, and not least with regards to saving for a pension. The state pension With a current worth of GBP 110.15 each week, […]
Renting a home during retirement. A growing trend – or a growing problem?
Traditionally, paying off the mortgage before beginning retirement has been the aim of many individuals, in order to ease the draining burden of paying off a mortgage during the ‘golden years.’ Yet new analysis of ONS census data shows that one in every four of retired households across England and Wales currently pays rent for […]