The Bank of England has taken another step toward easing, cutting the base rate from 4.5% to 4.25% in a widely anticipated but cautious move. There was however a split in the voting so it wasn’t unanimous. With inflation easing—coming in at 2.6% in the year to March—markets had priced in a cut, though the Bank’s measured 25bp shift suggests policymakers remain …
After a long stretch of economic unease, UK inflation has continued its downward trajectory, with the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) falling to 2.6% in the year to March, according to the latest inflation figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This marks the second consecutive monthly decline and comes in lower than market expectations — a welcome development for households and …
Applications could take 14 fewer days to process Legal & General (L&G) has launched a digital application process for annuity applications which it says could trim a fortnight off the time it takes an average case to complete. The provider said it had launched the digital process with a select number of firms and would roll it out in the …
As it stands, from April 2026 people could pay tax on the state pension alone Further inflation-busting state pension rise would feed affordability debate Mike Ambery, Retirement Savings Director at Standard Life, part of Phoenix Group said: “This April the full new state pension will rise to £11,973 per year, 95% of the personal allowance – a welcome boost for …
As priced in by markets The Bank of England’s (BoE) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) opted to keep interest rates unchanged at 4.5% in its second meeting of the year. Eight MPC members voted in favour holding the interest rate steady, while Swati Dhingra wanted to reduce the rate by another 0.25 percentage points. Last month, the MPC implemented a quarter …
The provider exited the annuity market in 2017 but is now selling a fixed-term product to advisers. M&G has re-entered the annuity market eight years after it stopped selling the retirement products, Citywire can reveal. The provider is launching a fixed-term annuity term product (between five to 15 years) for advisers’ clients, with a minimum lump-sum investment of £10,000. The launch …
