Defined Benefits (DB) or Defined Contributions (DC) Pension Schemes In the popular press, ‘final salary’, also known as ‘defined benefit’, pensions are often referred to as ‘gold-plated’, the implication being that they are superior to ‘defined contribution’ (money Purchased) arrangements such as Personal Pensions. Many therefore can dismiss the notion of doing anything with a
Read MoreYou are no doubt starting to see a lot of press regarding the proposed pension legislation and enhancements to ISA investments as we head up to the 6th April 2015. Naturally there are concerns and questions being asked, especially in the media and there are those that feel that the government are looking for short
Read MoreThe Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, has announced this week that ‘Everyone who will be able to take advantage of the new reforms will be able to access free and impartial guidance’ with respect to their retirement options. This was previously announced by the Chancellor to the House of Commons in his budget statement
Read MoreIt was only relatively recently, in April 2006, that HM Treasury brought in legislation to simplify the many different pension regimes that existed at the time. This was done partly to ensure that from the 6th April 2006, all pensions accrued their benefits within set limits, removing the bewildering array of different rules and caveats
Read MoreWhat are economic cycles and how do they affect me? One of the frequent themes that impacts upon the tactics and longer term strategy when investing, is identifying where we are in the economic cycle. Despite the turmoil and in some instances, capitulation over recent years, the economic cycles are a known and lucid part
Read MoreAs a new tax year rolls around, you should note that there are quite a few changes to the allowances you can claim to help improve the tax efficiency of your financial affairs. Of course, to our clients we are on hand to advise about these and ensure that in combination they work to the
Read MoreFollowing the recent announcements in the media, the news that employers will have to pay into a pension scheme for their employees may come as a bit of a shock. The Government has introduced auto-enrolment and the National Employment Savings Trust or NEST for short. Preparedness and planning is the key to ensuring that this
Read MoreFrom April 2012, Contracting Out will be abolished under a defined contribution pension plan. What is Contracting Out? It is where you opt out of the State Second Pension (S2P) previously known as State Earnings Related Pension Scheme (SERPS) and instead divert some of your National Insurance Contributions into an ‘Appropriate Pension Plan’. These ‘rebated’
Read MoreIncome Drawdown (also known as an unsecured pension) allows you to take income from your pension fund while the fund remains invested and continues to benefit from any fund growth. There is no minimum amount of income that must be drawn, irrespective of age. This means that you may be able to leave your pension
Read MoreYou know the time, when you would rather be doing anything else than attending to those boring financial matters. It’s normal to have a ‘head in the sand’ over matters financial. We all experience this to a lesser or greater extent. However, the chances are if you are reading this blog that you are already
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