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Category: retirement & Uncategorized
Recent HSBC research identified four broad actions which may help today’s retirement savers to create an informal plan and work towards a better financial future for themselves.
Category: General Election & Uncategorized
When the polls opened at 7am on Thursday 7th May, the pundits and the pollsters were as one: the only certainty was a hung parliament. It was the most difficult-to-predict election for generations. The opinion polls had the parties running neck and neck, but the Conservatives led slightly in the predicted number of seats.
Category: inheritance tax & Uncategorized
Inheritance Tax (IHT) applies to (some) wealth that is transferred on, or shortly before, death. The tax is currently charged at 40%, with each individual receiving an allowance of ÂŁ325,000, before the tax is applied. Any unused proportion of this allowance is transferable to a surviving spouse or civil partner, effectively doubling the inheritance tax threshold for many couples. An Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) observation published last year considered the case for radical reform of IHT.
Category: property & Uncategorized
Following proposals from both Labour and Conservative parties to deliver housing on UK brownfield land, the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has today published research suggesting there is enough brownfield land available in England to build 226,000 houses by 2019. With the UK’s housing shortage a key issue and battleground in the general election, it is no surprise that the parties have prioritised the development on brownfield land in their manifestos.
Category: Inheritance & isas & pensions & Uncategorized
The choice of which vehicle can provide the best savings returns over time – the Pension Pot or the ISA – is a long talked about topic. Standard Life recently published research which identified and compared tax and interest rate factors in relation to both options. With recent changes to rules governing inheritance, the research has also been updated to compare what can be passed on to family members on death and how tax efficient each method is.
Category: Lifestyle & retirement & Uncategorized
Good news for all of us who have accepted that we are getting older: Saga reports that new European research shows that 60 is the new 40! The research reveals that people are now reaching middle age at the tender age of 60, instead of the previously expected figure of 40 years old.
