Serenity

IFS Reviews Conservative Inheritance Tax Proposal

May 13, 2015 by TIna

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 £325,000, 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.

Is brownfield site house-building the answer?

May 12, 2015 by TIna

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.

Pension v ISAs – looking into new inheritability rules

May 11, 2015 by TIna

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.

60 is the new 40!

May 08, 2015 by TIna

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.

Selling your annuity as we move towards a second-hand annuity market

May 05, 2015 by TIna

Category: annuity & retirement & Uncategorized

An annuity is a regular monthly income source that savers, largely from private sector companies, receive at retirement in exchange for their lifetime pension savings. Now George Osborne has said that around five million pensioners, who have used their retirement savings to buy an annuity, will be allowed to sell it for a cash sum after March 2016 and consultation has begun on how a second-hand annuity market might operate and be regulated.

May Market Commentary

May 01, 2015 by TIna

Category: Market commentary & Uncategorized

In the UK April saw the clock ticking down towards the General Election. For the rest of the world, life went on pretty much as normal: that’s to say, China and Germany remorselessly cranked out another trade surplus, the American economy gave us more mixed signals, and Greece teetered on the edge of bankruptcy.

Our insights

IFS Reviews Conservative Inheritance Tax Proposal

Is brownfield site house-building the answer?

Pension v ISAs – looking into new inheritability rules

60 is the new 40!

Selling your annuity as we move towards a second-hand annuity market

May Market Commentary

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