With all the coverage in the national press over recent months, you will surely be aware of the pension reforms that the government introduced. Ever since the announcement, the newspapers have been full of stories about what the reforms will mean for Britain’s retirees. The range of options available to you for taking your retirement benefits are vast. But although …
Beware of Pension scammers
As we approach the new Pension Freedoms era, retirees are being told to be aware of a new wave of fraudsters trying to steal their life savings. Experts are worried that the new freedoms will be a golden opportunity for would be criminals and estimate more than half a billion pounds has been lost so far to these pension scammers. …
Budget 2015
George Osborne has delivered his sixth Budget as Chancellor, and the last of this current parliament. The main changes for pensions are a reduction in the Lifetime Annual Allowance (LTA), £1.25m to £1m from next year. The LTA will be index linked from 2018. Additionally, laws are to be changed to allow pensioners access to their annuities, with the 55% …
Five reasons to buy a pension annuity
After a lifetime accumulating pension savings, you reach the point when those savings must provide a regular income for your retirement. Recently the options have become much broader, but the most traditional route – the annuity – is refusing to go quietly. Here’s why. Consider your pension fund, built up over a working lifetime. On retirement, you could simply draw …
FTSE 100 rockets to record high
Yesterday (24/02/2015) marked an historic day for the London stock market. The FTSE 100 index hit a new record high of 6958.89, closing on 6949.63. The index has been steadily rising for months, helped by the central bank stimulus and improvements to the British and US economies that have offset weakness in China and Eurozone strains. The previous high was …
“We’re ready……are you”
Pension freedoms arrive April 2015. Want to maximise your retirement income? We’d all like to think that we’ll have a level of income that will really let us enjoy our retirement. However, with the cost of living rising all the time, it’s more important than ever to consider all the options available, to help you get the most out of …