Personal Finance

Tax credit claimants warned over scam emails

Monday, 20 May 2013

Tax credits claimants are being warned by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) in the run-up to the renewal deadline about scam or “phishing” emails sent out by fraudsters.

Tax credits claimants are being warned by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) in the run-up to the renewal deadline about scam or “phishing” emails sent out by fraudsters.The warning comes as HMRC has launched an advertising campaign to remind claimants to renew their tax credits or their payments might stop.

Almost a third of Britons admit to not knowing how to fund later life costs

Saturday, 18 May 2013

37 is the age most believe they should start considering their needs

34% of Britons expect to care for relatives or other dependents in retirement or in the future

NS&I’s latest Quarterly Savings Survey has revealed that just under a third of Britain’s adults (31%) do not know how they will finance their needs in later life, including such eventualities as long-term illness, nursing home or care fees and care of others including partners, parents and siblings. However, 26.7 million adults in Britain (54%) have started thinking about their financial needs, while just over a quarter (27%) of these adults have actually started to put financial plans into practice.

Likely winners and losers from the single-tier pension plan

Thursday, 16 May 2013

Malcolm McLean, consultant at Barnett Waddingham, comments on the impending Pensions Bill:

"The Pensions Bill being published today (9 May 2013) gives effect to the Government’s plans for a single-tier state pension for new pensioners from 6 April 2016.

"There are some clear advantages in having a largely flat-rate pension instead of the present convoluted combination of a basic state pension (based on national insurance contributions paid or credited) and a state second pension, S2P formerly SERPS, (based on the contributor’s earnings). The new pension will be simpler, easier to understand and, insofar as it is pitched at a level above the current means-tested pension credit guarantee level, should encourage private pension saving on top – without the current worry that low earners in particular have of overlapping and missing out on means-tested top-up benefits as a consequence.

Retirees manage mortgage and personal debt of £105bn

Tuesday, 14 May 2013

- Over four million retirees (or 34% of retirees) each have an average of £6,952 personal debt

- One in eight retirees (13%) continue to pay off a mortgage in retirement, collectively worth £76bn (average of £47,458 per person)

- 10% of people in retirement each manage a personal debt worth over £5,000

- 6% of retirees aged 55 and over work part-time to supplement their income

Money Advice Service responds to Interest-Only Mortgage Review

Friday, 03 May 2013

The Money_Advice_Service_logo "Today's findings from the FCA shed a fascinating new light on the financial situation of interest-only mortgage customers. On the one-hand, the results are encouraging - it's great to hear so many people have a 'strategy' to repay their mortgage when it is due. But on the flip-side I'm concerned that many borrowers are still likely to have a 'shortfall', and urge them to take control of their mortgage repayment planning quickly.

The FCA publishes findings of review into interest-only mortgages

Thursday, 02 May 2013

The FCA publishes findings of review into interest-only mortgages and reaches agreement with lenders to contact interest-only borrowers

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published its research into consumers’ ability to repay their interest-only mortgages when they mature. The findings show that many people should be in a good position to repay their mortgage when it is due for repayment.

However many borrowers, particularly those whose mortgage is due to be repaid before 2020, will need to take control of their mortgage repayment planning now. To that end the FCA, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) and the Building Societies Association (BSA) are working together to ensure lenders contact their borrowers in order to prompt them into checking their plan for repayment is on track and considering the options available to them.

Brits still expect hefty £78k inheritance from parents – but 40% won’t receive a thing

Wednesday, 01 May 2013

The majority of Brits ‘expect’ to receive inheritance from their parents – but in reality four in 10 won’t get a penny, according to new research. The findings emerged in a study of 2,000 adults, and show that while 75% of people aged 20 to 35 hopes to receive a windfall when their parents pass away; they look set to be disappointed.

In fact, the average person assumes they’ll get in the region of £78,000 when mum and dad pass on, so are in for quite a shock.

More families seek ways to mitigate inheritance tax

Wednesday, 01 May 2013

devere group logo An increasing number of families across Britain are actively seeking advice on mitigating their inheritance tax (IHT) liabilities as more and more are being pulled into the IHT net, reveals the world’s largest independent financial advisory firm.

deVere United Kingdom, part of the deVere Group, says that since it was announced earlier this year that the threshold (assets of £325,000 or £650,000 for married couples) from which IHT is charged at 40 per cent would be frozen until 2018, 73 per cent of all clients are now making inheritance planning a dominant feature of their financial strategy.

Financial Advisers and Internet show greatest growth for Care Funding Advice

Monday, 29 April 2013

Partnership logo Financial advisers and the Internet are the fastest growing avenues for those seeking advice about the costs of elderly care.

The finding comes from leading care annuity provider Partnership, whose second annual care index compares attitudes towards the cost of long term care across the UK year on year.