Category: Market commentary & Uncategorized
Introduction
Well, what a splendid month October was, with all the major world stock markets that we cover in this Bulletin skipping merrily upwards. Germany and China led the way with gains of 12% and 11% respectively, and if you only looked at the figures you'd be quite justified in thinking that everything in the world economic garden was rosy.
Category: Care & retirement & Uncategorized
National Insurance contributions go towards things like your State Pension but they don’t count towards the costs of social care. This type of care is managed by your local authority and generally comes at a price. That is why you have to apply directly to them if you need help with paying for long-term care. Your local authority (or Health and Social Care Trust in Northern Ireland) will first carry out a Care Needs Assessment to find out what support you need.
Category: Funds & Investments & Uncategorized
Investors who entrust their savings to active fund managers do so in the hope they will achieve market-beating performance. When the fund starts to dip, it is possible that some investors may forget that short-term bouts of underperformance must be endured along the road to potentially superior long-term results. Ultimately, whether to stick with an underperforming fund is the investor’s decision to make… and a very difficult one at that!
Category: Education & Family & Lifestyle & Uncategorized
An April 2015 article reviews the cost of studying at university in the UK, giving food for thought for would-be undergraduates and their families. UK tuition fees are frequently under the media spotlight, following price hikes for home students in recent years.
Category: Auto-enrolment & pensions & Uncategorized
The first 2015 quarterly bulletin published by The Pensions Regulator (TPR) revealed that the number of fixed penalty notices increased in 2015, with 198 penalties for failing to comply with workplace pensions duties handed down in the first three months of the year.
Category: pensions & state pensions & Uncategorized
A new initiative allows people who reach the state pension age before April 2016, to top up their pension. This includes those that are already drawing the state pension. The Government is allowing retirees to buy extra state pension by paying so-called Class 3A voluntary National Insurance contributions between October 2015 and April 2017. This will help people reaching state pension age before April 2016 who will not receive the new flat-rate state pension.
