In Focus News & Insights

Managing your finances is not an easy task, and many people worry whether they’ll have enough money to last them through retirement. Most people are likely to need a helping hand from a financial adviser, and a new move from the government will help make receiving this advice easier than ever before.

New plans, to be introduced in April 2017, will allow pension savers to withdraw a tax-free lump sum of £1,500 from their pensions so that they can pay for financial advice regarding their retirement funding.

Is your final salary scheme safe?  Are you aware that many of these schemes are seriously underfunded? What is the exact deficit of your final salary scheme? Brexit and the BHS scandal have brought the pension deficit story in to the media spotlight again. However, the issues with defined benefit schemes have been brewing for some time. The UK faces a very real pension crisis with several schemes close to collapse unless serious steps are taken to address the growing problem.

Making sure you have enough money for retirement is a crucial part of your financial planning process. But some workers may struggle to save more than others.

The government is looking to make reforms to automatic-enrolment (AE), possibly putting employees who work seasonally or part-time at a disadvantage when it comes to saving up for their pension.

Once again the NS&I (National Savings and Investments) are about to cut the returns they give to Premium Bond holders.  The returns they give are already poor and to reduce them further is a travesty considering the many loyal supporters Premium Bonds have.

Relocating to a new place can be an exciting time. Experiencing different environments is usually a good thing, and moving abroad can open up many opportunities, such as the chance to learn a new language and experience a different culture first hand. Whether you’ve relocated in retirement, because of work, or to be with a partner, the expat life can certainly be a fascinating one.

However, once you have your accommodation and finances sorted out, the absence of friends, family and UK home comforts can begin to take its toll. Homesickness can be hard to shake.

If, as an expat, you are feeling low, there are several things you can do to help make yourself feel at home no matter where in the world you find yourself.

In 2014 the government introduced an additional form of protection against the Lifetime Allowance (LTA) – “IP14” – which offers individuals more flexibility than FP14 in how they protect their pension savings.

The ex-pensions minister Steve Webb is urging the government and the HMRC to do more to alert grandparents to all the pension perks they’re entitled to after it was revealed that the overwhelming majority are not receiving the full state pension. By missing out on a particular benefit, unknowing eligible grandparents are missing out on £231 a year. Over the course of their full retirement, this could possibly lead to a loss of thousands of pounds.

It is a scheme called the Specified Adult Childcare Credit. It is thought that only 1,300 grandparents are taking advantage of it despite 100,000 being eligible (a mere one per cent). The scope of the problem was found out by Webb when he sent a Freedom of Information request to the HMRC.

The purpose behind the Specified Adult Childcare Credit is to allow grandparents who give up work completely to help raise their grandchildren the chance to claim National Insurance (NI) credits.