Category: Uncategorized

Isn’t it time to tailor your pension to
suit your own personal requirements?

More investors are now able to take their entire pension as cash. Flexible drawdown allows you to take up to a quarter of your pension tax free as a lump sum, and then unlimited taxable withdrawals if set criteria are met.

The Government has issued a consultation on allowing transfers between Child Trust Funds (CTFs) and Junior ISAs (JISAs)

CTFs were one of Gordon Brownís recurrent Budget ideas. They eventually became reality in April 2005, with the Government making payments of around £250 or £500 for children born after 31 August 2002. Parents and others could make top-up contributions, but few did.

The State Pension accounts for 36 per cent of the average retirement income in 2013

One in seven (14 per cent) people planning to retire this year will depend on the State Pension as they have no other pension, according to new research from Prudential.

What reasons do you have for
not investing in your future?

People who make bad money decisions as well as bad investment decisions can often rationalise them. The most common excuses are included below, but there are plenty of others. These arguments are often elaborate short-term excuses that we use to justify behaviour that often contradicts our own long-term interests.

Bright ideas to help you develop your portfolios and light up your wealth strategy

Investors with longer-term investment objectives often have requirements for regular income and capital growth. The right mix of income and capital growth may depend on whether you need immediate access to your money or you prefer to draw an income and grow your investments over time.

Talk to us about one of the most tax-efficient
ways of saving for your retirement

Retirement may be a long way off for you at the moment, but that doesnít mean you should forget about it. The sooner you start to plan for the future, the easier it is to build up the kind of money you need to enjoy the life you want.

The most popular held misconceptions about Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs)

ISAs are complicated
If you’re already familiar with how savings and investments work, all you need to know about ISAs is that they are simply a wrapper that shelters any gains from tax.

Holding the right structure can pay big dividends

Few assets are inherently tax-efficient. While growth in the value of oneís principal residence is not subject to capital gains tax, a home is a home and should not necessarily be viewed as an investment. Most assets, however, come with a choice of tax-efficient returns if held through the right structure.

Will you give a cash loan to family members instead of leaving an inheritance?

A quarter of over-75s and more than a fifth of over-55s in total (21 per cent) have given a cash loan to family members instead of leaving an inheritance, according to Aviva’s latest Real Retirement Report. The findings also show nearly one in ten over-55s regularly give money to family to avoid Inheritance Tax (8 per cent), while a further 20 per cent would do the same.