Savers disappointed by record-low interest rates are looking for new ways to make their money work harder this spring. With savings accounts offering minimal interest rates, some are pondering investing with the hope of reaping higher returns. Despite many families suffering reduced financial circumstances, others have managed to put away a surprising amount in savings […]

Whether 2021 is the year you’ve earmarked for your retirement or, due to the pandemic, you’ve decided to retire earlier than intended, it’s not too late to get your plans in place. Organisation is key to ensuring your retirement goes smoothly, even if it still seems a long way off, and we’re here to help […]

On 3 March, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, unveiled details of a three-part plan to continue giving support through the pandemic, to repair public finances once recovery is underway, and to lay foundations for the future economy. Mr Sunak opened his statement by revealing the most recent predictions from the Office for Budget Responsibility […]

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, delivered his second Budget on 3 March declaring that “we will recover”. The key fiscal event, which had been delayed from the Autumn due to the pandemic, centred on a £65bn three-part plan designed to continue supporting British people and businesses through the pandemic, ‘fix’ the public finances once […]

Our vulnerabilities have been laid bare over the last year, as the pandemic took hold of all our lives, and continues to present challenges on a variety of levels. Economic frailties have been exposed but, as we enter 2021, hope hangs in the air with the prospect of recovery in the New Year and beyond. […]

The arrival of the new tax year on 6 April means it is time to consider your Individual Savings Accounts (ISA) investments, which will celebrate their 20th birthday in April. Over the last 20 years, the maximum annual contribution has risen from £7,000 per tax year to £20,000 for 2019/20. If you managed to set […]

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is aiming to expand pension coverage among the self-employed.  Pension automatic enrolment has become a major success since it was launched nearly seven years ago, with almost 10 million people joining a workplace pension arrangement. Take-up rates have been much higher than some pundits had forecast – the […]

The State Pension Age (SPA) became equal for men and women for the first time, at age 65, on 6 November 2018. Having reached this landmark, the next stage of SPA increases has already started. For both men and women, the state pension will become payable for anyone born between 6 December 1953 and 5 […]

A 2.6% rise in the single-tier state pension was announced in the 2018 Budget. The increase to the single-tier state pension and its predecessor the basic state pension will apply from next April. Other state pensions, such as the State Earnings Related Pensions Scheme (SERPS), will rise by 2.4%. The higher increases for the two […]

Imagine you are named as the executor and a beneficiary of your wife’s wealthy aunt. You learn that she is suffering from terminal cancer and has ‘a very impaired lifespan’. What do you do? This is what happened in the case of Nader and others v Revenue & Customs. The executor/beneficiary, a Dr Nader, decided […]