The Bank of England (BoE) has cut interest rates further amid the Covid-19 crisis. At a special meeting yesterday, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) unanimously voted to cut interest rates from 0.25% to 0.1% and to increase holdings of UK government and corporate bonds by £200bn. The BoE, which has just appointed Andrew Bailey as its new governor, said the …
Budget 2020 Summary
In this article, we provide a summary of the Budget 2020 content that is of relevance to financial planning. Pensions Tapered annual allowance This measure increases the income limits used in calculating the tapered annual allowance and decreases the minimum tapered annual allowance. • Threshold income, which is broadly total income before tax (less employee/personal contributions), is increased from £110,000 …
BoE slashes interest rate to 0.25%
In a bid to shore up the economy the Bank of England has cut interest rates back to their lowest ever level, 0.25% from 0.75%. The MPC (Monetary Policy Committee) voted unanimously to slash the bank rate at an unscheduled meeting, which ended yesterday. The rate cut is part of a ‘package of measures to help UK businesses and households …
Annuity sales rise 22% at L&G
Individual annuity sales jumped 22 per cent last year at Legal and General, latest results show. Bucking a wider market trend of falling sales since the pension freedoms, the insurer put part of the spike down to “increased intermediary presence”. FCA data shows annuity sales from October 2015 to March 2016 for those accessing their pots for the first time …
Small pension pot withdrawals avoid triggering MPAA tax charge
Advisers can prevent clients from triggering the money purchase annual allowance (MPAA) by ensuring they draw money from small pension pots of £10,000 and under, according to new analysis from Royal London. Advisers can prevent clients from triggering the money purchase annual allowance (MPAA) by ensuring they draw money from smaller pension pots, according to new analysis from Royal London. …
FCA fines Standard Life Assurance £30m over annuity sales failures
Standard Life has been fined £30.7 million by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) over failures in selling non-advised annuities. The regulator took action against Standard Life Assurance, now owned by closed-book pension provider Phoenix, over enhanced annuity sales between July 2008 and May 2016. ‘Standard Life Assurance failed to put in place adequate controls to monitor the quality of the …