Category: Financial News

After just 34 days in the job and having inherited a difficult situation from the previous short-lived administration, Jeremy Hunt has made his second formal statement about changes to fiscal policy. The first was on his first full day in office, when he reversed much of his predecessor Kwasi Kwarteng’s plans, including reinstating the 45p income tax rate and removing a freeze on corporation tax. The measures aim to plug…

When passing through my local town recently, on a wet and windy night, I went to cross the road. Not looking where I was going (I was instead, looking out for traffic) I stubbed my toe on some fallen street furniture. After the bruising went down, and the pain in the toe remained, I thought it best to get it looked at. After an x-ray, I was diagnosed with a…

HMRC will soon send out thousands of so-called “nudge letters” to cryptocurrency investors. What should you do if you receive one? In recent years HMRC has stepped up its use of nudge letters. These are designed to remind taxpayers of their responsibilities to report income or gains through self-assessment or, if they are not registered for self-assessment, to notify it that they have transactions to report. In the past nudge…

Defined Benefit Pensions A defined benefit (DB) pension, sometimes called a final salary pension, gives you a guaranteed lifetime income that usually increases each year to protect you against inflation. It may also continue being paid to your partner at a reduced rate when you die. When you start taking your pension, you can usually choose to receive a tax-free lump sum in return for giving up some of the…

You may have gaps or part years in your National Insurance (NI) record due to a number of reasons – for example, you may have been employed on low earnings, or unemployed but not claiming benefits.  Those who were self-employed or worked abroad may also have gaps in their record. If your National Insurance record is incomplete you can make up one or more qualifying years by paying voluntary contributions –…

If you make pension contributions personally or through your firm’s workplace scheme you’re entitled to tax relief. However, thousands of people fail to claim this relief to the tune of an estimated £830m each year. Might you be one of those missing out? Statistics Tax relief for pension contributions is not always being claimed. Estimates of the amount unclaimed vary widely but even HMRC has suggested a figure that runs into hundreds…

The Normal Minimum Pension Age (NMPA) is the minimum age at which most pension savers can access their pensions without incurring an unauthorised payments tax charge (unless they are retiring due to ill-health). The NMPA was raised from age 50 to age 55 in 2010 and in 2014, the coalition Government announced that it would be appropriate for the NMPA to be increased again being set broadly at 10 years…

RENOVATION NATION GETS STUCK IN It seems the months spent at home have been put to good use as the nation reflected on their living space and chose to spend an average of just over £4,000 each on renovating their homes, since lockdown commenced in March. A study1 has highlighted that the key area for improvement has been upgrades to the garden (34%), with living room (23%), bedroom (22%) and kitchen…

Investing according to Environmental, Social and Governance principles (ESG) has been a fast growth area, according to figures1, UK-based ESG funds saw record inflows between March and July 2020, with £362m invested in July alone. What is ESG? The acronym, ESG, refers to three key factors used by investment companies to evaluate corporate behaviour: Environmental criteria – such as: carbon emissions, waste management and air/water pollution Social criteria – such…

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) has extended its protection for savers amid concerns that the pandemic has increased the likelihood of financial firms failing. The fund currently protects deposits with UK banks, building societies and credit unions to the tune of £85,000 per person. However, there is additional protection for consumers who temporarily have high balances of up to £1M. Having such a large balance for a relatively short…