This week, the sun set in Tromso, Norway and will not rise again until 15th January. Although it is not quite as dark here, the current news flow is doing little to lighten the mood. Against this backdrop, October saw the biggest stock market falls in over three years, with [...]
We are only a couple of weeks away from the Autumn Budget, due on the 29 October 2018, and media reports have suggested the lifetime and annual caps on tax-free pension contributions could be reduced. Pension tax relief is a common topic in pre-budget speculation, although this time the speculation [...]
What could the further reduction mean to your retirement income? The Government has introduced comprehensive reforms to the pension rules over the previous few years. One important change, which may have been overlooked by some savers, is the reduction of the Lifetime Allowance that applies to pension savings. This further [...]
In 2014 the then chancellor, George Osbourne announced changes to pensions, which meant that from April 2015 “no one will ever have to buy an annuity again”. These “Pension Freedoms” have allowed individuals from age 55 much greater access to their pension pots than they have enjoyed previously and as [...]
Tax relief means some of your money that would have gone to the Government as tax goes into your pension instead. You can put as much as you want into your pension, but there are annual and lifetime limits on how much tax relief you get on your pension contributions. [...]
Pensions and retirement income are synonymous with one another. The first thing most clients will think about when considering their income in retirement will be their pension. But with the new pension freedoms it isn't necessarily the first place they should turn to when deciding where to draw their retirement income [...]
The Chancellor has announced a major overhaul of the way in which individuals can draw their funds from defined contribution (DC) arrangements. With effect from April 2015, individuals will be able to put their DC funds into payment much more flexibly than now. The 25% tax-free cash limit will continue [...]
The sweeping changes to pensions announced in the budget could have a fundamental impact on the way that pension funds are viewed on divorce. The increased triviality sums and proposed flexibility to extract funds at marginal rates of income tax rather than the punitive rate (55%) currently applied, coupled with [...]
