What questions should you be asking before you access your pension?
According to HMRC, record numbers of people have been taking money out of their pensions since the beginning of the year. 348,000 people made a withdrawal between January and March, a 23% increase from 284,000 in the same quarter in 2019. The value of the payments was £2.46bn, the highest…
What does the stamp duty holiday mean for me?
In his 8 July summer statement, Chancellor Rishi Sunak confirmed that the stamp duty threshold will be immediately raised to £500,000 in England and Northern Ireland, in what some have dubbed the ‘stamp duty holiday’. The rise in threshold lasts until 31 March 2021 and will apply to both first-time…
The Chancellor’s Summer Statement 2020
Introduction On 11th March this year – less than four months ago – the new Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, presented his first Budget following the Conservative victory in the December election. That Budget was, he declared, a “People’s Budget from a People’s Government.” It was certainly a Budget…
Retirement planning in the time of COVID-19
The COVID-19 outbreak has heralded the beginning of a concerning time for everyone. As well as anxiety about our own health and the wellbeing of our loved ones, many of us are understandably worried about the financial future. Recent stock market volatility is worrying for all investors, but especially for…
Why even high-flying professionals need a financial planner
You may find it surprising to learn that even successful tax, legal, accounting and other professionals use financial planners. Surely, they know it all already, don’t they? Don’t they just follow their own advice? Let’s look at why professional advisers sometimes find it helpful to sit on the opposite side…
The importance of tail-end events when investing
At the start of the year, none of us would have foreseen where we are today. Who would have predicted that a bat jumping onto a pangolin and onto a human in China would have wrought such devastation across the globe? It just goes to show that nothing can be…
Rethinking what’s important
The time in lockdown has given people the chance to reflect on what’s really important to them. It’s been a time to re-evaluate priorities and think about resetting goals for the future. What about you? What have you missed? • Have you liked the slower pace of life? • Have…
Ways to promote your wellbeing
The wide-ranging uncertainty in these current times intensifies our anxiety and stress. Ordinarily, we like to feel in control and make plans for the future but it’s impossible to plan when there are so many unknowns. We’ve never been in this situation before. We don’t know what the new ‘everyday’…
How to reduce your monthly outgoings
Many employees have lost their jobs, accepted part-time hours or been put on furlough as a result of the economic disruption caused by the coronavirus outbreak. According to the Centre for Economics and Business Research, British households will see a drop in their disposable income of £515 a month –…
What will the new normal look like?
The coronavirus pandemic has triggered a crisis of such immense proportions that things will not just go back to the way they once were. When some semblance of normality emerges, things will be different. We are set for vast cultural, social and economic changes. It’s unlikely that we will suddenly…