Blog
LCP, a pensions consultancy that counts former pensions minister Sir Steve Webb amongst its employees, has published a guide looking at the pros and cons of someone combining all their pensions in one pot. To a certain extent, the guide is aimed at those looking to consolidate their workplace pensions, but the points covered can
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Factor investing is a specific way to approach investing. This approach targets specific drivers of returns across asset classes and can help improve returns and enhance diversification. How does factor investing differ from traditional investing? When looking at investing styles, there are two ends of the spectrum. At one end, you have purely active managers.
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We tell our clients that investing is risky. However, it is during bear markets that this becomes real. Like most fears, the best way to deal with them is to understand them, know your options, and be confident that they will pass. What is a bear market? A bear market occurs when the value of
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When you are off work due to an illness or injury, worrying about how you will pay your bills can make an already stressful situation worse. So much so that many people are finding themselves in the challenging position of having to put the need to earn money over their health by continuing to go
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Voluntary National Insurance contributions can help ensure you have enough qualifying years to get the full State Pension. If you have gaps in your record, you might be able to make voluntary contributions to fill them. In the past, you have only been able to fill the last six tax years. However, when the Government
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The deadline for registering trusts on the new Trust Registration Service (TRS) of 1st September 2022 is fast approaching. As a reminder, the new rules, introduced on 6th October 2020, extended the scope of the TRS to UK (and some non-UK) trusts. Previously, only Trusts that had to pay tax had to register; the requirement
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There are a lot of things to worry about right now. The markets, inflation, interest rates, and many other things complicate even the simplest financial decisions. If you are worried about the stock market right now, there is a better way to invest. When I say a better way to invest, I am not talking
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New research [1] has exposed the staggering impact of the gender pension gap. The study shows that women have smaller pension pot sizes in every age bracket, and the situation worsens the closer retirement gets. Worryingly, women, on average, retire with less than half the income of men. Reduction in amounts paid into pensions The amount
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When looking at the Lifetime Allowance things are not as simple as they seem. The case study below looks at some of the things to consider. Mr Bloggs is a 57-year-old consultant surgeon with the NHS. His wife is 52 years old and works for a pharmaceutical company, although she also worked within the NHS.
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Using pension drawdown in retirement offers lots of flexibility and the potential to keep your pension growing. However, the tax on pension drawdown can get very messy. In many cases, HMRC tax the first pension drawdown payment incorrectly. Having to sort this out can kick start months of toing and froing with HM Revenue and
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