Tag: economy
Ageing – an ongoing problem for debt-laden Europe
A recent report from Reuters suggests that long after the Euro debt crisis is over, Europe will be grappling with an even more serious problem – how to pay for growing numbers of old people. The population of some countries is stagnant or already shrinking and that could reduce potential savings and economic growth. The [...]
Read moreTax on your savings in bank and building society accounts
You pay tax on your savings interest in the tax year that the interest is paid to you, or credited to your account, even if you’ve earned part of it in previous tax years. Savings income normally has 20 per cent tax taken off before you receive it. This is confirmed by the entry ‘net [...]
Read moreMay Market Commentary
“No news is good news” as the old saying goes. By that definition, April was a good month in that there were no disasters. Europe remained relatively stable, Cyprus didn’t implode, Barack Obama and Congress continued speaking to each other and Kim Jong-un kept his finger off the trigger. Mind you, the International Monetary Fund [...]
Read moreThe Prudential Regulation Authority
On 1 April 2013, the UK Financial Services Authority (FSA) was abolished and the majority of its functions transferred to two new regulators: the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA). On the same date, the Bank of England took over the FSA’s responsibilities for financial market infrastructures and the Financial Policy [...]
Read moreISAs in 2013/14: a basic guide
An ISA is a type of savings account which enables you to keep all that you receive from that investment and not pay any tax on it. ISAs began in 1999 and should be around for the foreseeable future. You can start with small amounts and save up to £11,520 in the tax year 2013-14. [...]
Read moreDon’t Fall in Love – the Most Common Mistakes Investors Make
This is the first part of a two part article, where we’ve taken a look at some of the common mistakes investors make when they’re buying and selling stocks and shares and other investments. We’ve identified ten mistakes – and this month, we take a look at the first five. It Costs Money Despite the [...]
Read moreThe Baby Boomers Regret
Research by Standard Life has evidenced that people in Britain’s baby boomer generation, now approaching retirement, say that their biggest financial regret is not starting saving for retirement earlier. Nearly one in seven (15%) of adults responding, admitted wishing they had started a pension sooner, with the figure rising to one in five for those [...]
Read moreMore women in work due to rising female pension age
Since April 2010, the age at which women can first receive a state pension has been rising from 60. It is currently at 61 years and 5 months and is due to rise to 66 by 2020. So far, this change has played a part in increasing employment among those women directly affected by the [...]
Read moreHow to Utilise Pensions to Meet Your Needs
Self Invested Pension Plans (SIPPs) and Small Self Administered Schemes (SSASs) have a number of unique features which enable flexibility with regards to the underlying investments you can hold in a pension plan and the options available for loans, borrowing and pension benefits. Informed Financial Planning are able to advise you in all these [...]
Read moreWon’t Save, Can’t Save
The tough economic situation for many families means few are managing to put away anything in savings. Many are simply needing to support themselves and instant payday loans other family members in hard times. According to the recently published seventh annual Savings and Investment report by Scottish Widows, 31% in a survey of over 5,000 [...]
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