Pensions, inheritance tax, the budget
THE changes in pensions in the budget really are a smack in the face with an old wet fish for financial planning. Tabled as altering ‘loopholes’ they are pretty brutal in their measure in terms of bringing pensions under the scope of Inheritance Tax. The changes do not come into effect until 2027, and there is […]
Investment and pension diversification
WE all have our investment or pension portfolios and we want the best from them as that’s what brings us the security and the ability to do the things we want. It is often believed, incorrectly, that investment/pension funds are fully diversified when they are not. Read that again please. Some are also over diversified […]
What are my retirement options for my pension?
IF you have built up a pension fund, you’ll want it to do its job of creating financial security for you which alludes to the question for many – what are my retirement options for my pension? Retiring at age 66, the life expectancy for a male is 19 years and it’s 21 for a […]
Tips for when you’re coming up to retirement
FOR many of us the ‘coming up to retirement’ has many stress points to it. It is filled with many financial questions, but the emotional ones are those that can paralyse us, and we really need to pay attention to those, long before retirement. The same applies with having to finish work early, let alone […]
Pension drawdown or an annuity?
FOLLOWING last week’s column on targeted pension strategies, in which I mentioned annuities, I thought I would cover the difference between annuities and pension drawdown. When I was a young lad in this role, everyone took out an annuity. Today, those accessing their pension plans for the first time is closer to one in 10. This […]
There could be a hefty price to pay for ignoring that pension document in your cupboard
‘IN the olden days’, the general advice regarding a pension fund was to begin reducing the equity proportion of your investment fund as you approached retirement. The reason for this was twofold: equities carried a higher risk than bonds and property; almost all retirees bought an annuity which was then a ‘locked-in’ income. I’ll cover […]
Budget pension changes and tax-free cash
I’LL make no bones about it, if pensions aren’t your thing, this may not float your boat. The government recently announced changes to pensions, to again simplify something they have simplified countless times in a way that makes it impossible for the average person to have even the remotest clue what to do or where […]
Long Walk To Freedom
The reality of freedom and revolution is always less enjoyable and straightforward than when the concept is first proposed. The pension world is proving no different as the reforms and freedoms, announced by the chancellor in 2014 and introduced this April, are not working as smoothly as many expected. Those, who expected to use their […]
Finding That Little Extra
DEBT seems to have become a way of life. It’s hard to imagine how you would make your way in the modern world without it. The generation that saved first and then bought is long gone. We exist, normally and easily, with levels of debts that would probably have sent our grandparents, if not our […]
Pension Power
No-one predicted the pensioners’ windfall that emerged from George Osborne’s Budget speech this week. In a stroke, the Chancellor has changed the aspirations of those approaching retirement by eliminating the annuity trap. The removal of the need to buy an annuity with your pension pot, plus the raising of the ISA annual limit to £15,000, […]
Triple Whammy
Jargon, abbreviations and catch-phrases are designed for young ears. Those of a certain age have struggled in recent times with a succession of modern technical problems – being “on-line”, connecting to “wifi” and texting. Then came social media. With help from the younger generation, Facebook is just about manageable and “Skype” is a great way […]
Hypochondriacs take note – you may qualify for greater income on your annuity.
Okay, so we’re not saying that you should make yourself ill, or even fake it, in order to receive a bigger payout, but if you’ve had any medical conditions and you’re about to retire then it’s probably worth mentioning them when you meet your independent financial adviser. Let me explain. As many people who are […]