Increases to National Insurance Contributions (NICs) from next April have made employee pension contributions less attractive. That headline is not one you might expect to see from a financial adviser, but there is some solid logic behind it. Consider Jane who works in Leeds, earns £40,000 a year and makes net contributions to her employer’s […]
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) says many savers may have too much cash and face the risk of wealth erosion. As the regulator for personal financial products, the FCA is rightly concerned about financial scams and savers who are encouraged to choose inappropriate high-risk investments. Both are serious issues: The FCA says that 23,378 consumers […]
Action Fraud is warning the public to protect their loved ones as criminals cheat older and vulnerable victims out of cash and high value items through courier fraud. Data from Action Fraud, the national reporting centre for fraud and cyber crime, reveals that £10,325,133 has been lost by victims to courier fraud since the start […]
For those readers interested in financial news (some might call it noise), the unfolding story of Chinese property developer Evergrande (a name which is ironic given its dire financial position) has spooked global equity markets. The short version of the story is that the company is very highly leveraged i.e. it has borrowed US$300 […]
ESTATE PLANNING – TOO IMPORTANT TO PUT ON HOLD All too often, people put off estate planning. This is understandable as, rather than preparing for the here and now, it requires you to consider what will happen when your life is over, hardly something most of us rush to contemplate. Consequently, estate planning often becomes, […]
The Bank of England has suggested that interest rates may rise sooner than expected. After its August meeting, the Bank of England (BoE) was never expected to announce any change in base rate from the 0.1% set in response to the pandemic. The BoE, like its counterparts in the US, Eurozone and Japan, wants […]
