By Rob Barron

New research from the Scottish Widows suggests that whilst auto-enrolment has been a success, under 30s are not putting enough away to save for their future.

For the uninitiated, auto-enrolment was introduced as part of the Pension Act in 2008, and means that an employer must enrol staff into a workplace pension if they fit a range of criteria, including the following:

• Over the age of 22 
• Earn more than £10,000 

Once enrolled, employees have a month to decide whether to stay in, or opt out. If they choose to stay in t...

By James Tanswell

In the run up to any budget or General Election, there are always rumours circulating regarding the abolition of pension tax relief. In fact, whenever the Government looks to save money, pension tax relief seems to be a likely target.

Therefore, many pension savers will be pleased to hear that the threat of cuts to the current system have been publicly neutralised by David Gauke, the Work and Pensions Secretary.

Mr Gauke released a statement on the 4th July, saying that he doesn’t expect to see any fundamental changes in...

By David Triggs

Gaps are rarely good things. Sure, a gap year backpacking around South East Asia might sound splendid, but certain gaps aren’t so wonderful, such as:

• Gaps in the road 
• Gaps in your CV 
• The retirement income gender gap 

Looking specifically at retirement, new research from Prudential suggests that women retiring this year will now on average be £6,400 worse off than men.

A survey of 10,605 non-retired UK adults was conducted by Research Plus. It revealed that the gender gap of £5,300 in 2016 had increased by £1,100,...

By James Tanswell

Saving for a rainy day is something that many of us struggle to do. Last month, research from Legal and General suggested that nearly one in four people in the UK have no savings. In fact, the average UK employee only has enough money saved to maintain their lifestyle for one month, should their income suddenly stop.

It doesn’t come as much of a surprise then, that figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that the average proportion of disposable income that goes into savings is at a record low.

What is...

By David Triggs

New research from Retirement Advantage suggests that many over 50s in the UK are underprepared, uniformed and daunted by their rapidly approaching retirement.

Andrew Tully, the Pensions Technical Director at Retirement Advantage, states: “In 2017 we find that there is a perilously low level of understanding and financial activity in preparing for retirement. We don’t want people to lurch, like zombies, towards their retirement.”

Zombies are generally known for their tendency to shuffle around in B movies, rather than retir...

By Rob Barron

There are two schools of thought on retiring early.

For some people, the question isn’t at what age they wish to retire, it’s at what income. Working past retirement age has obvious financial benefits, and continuing to earn an income, even part-time can be the right decision for them.

For others, however, early retirement is the ultimate dream.

New research from Prudential shows that the majority of people planning to stop working this year will be retiring early; a stark contrast to the 20% of young workers who believe tha...

By James Tanswell

For some, there is no greater feeling than getting a good deal on something. Whatever it is, from car insurance to the car itself; getting the most for your money can be incredibly satisfying.

However, new research from Retirement Advantage suggests that retirees are missing out on a total of £765 million in Annuity income, simply by not shopping around.

This equates to the average person losing out on £8,460 over the course of their retirement; money that would no doubt be better off in your pocket than that of your pen...

By Rob Barron

Confusion reigned this week as the Chancellor, Philip Hammond, revealed that two measures previously announced in his Budget will not go ahead.

For now, anyway.

Mr Hammond’s Budget, delivered in early March, will be remembered for the proposed National Insurance rise for self-employed workers. A few days later, following protests and a media backlash, he changed his mind.

It now seems that two other measures, which would have affected pensioners and shareholders, will now not go ahead.

Contribution cut

Prior to the Budg...

By James Tanswell

The 6th of April is an important date to many for a number of reasons:

• It’s National Fisherman Day in Indonesia 
• It’s the day that ABBA won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974
• It’s Raphael’s birthday (the 16th century Italian Renaissance painter, not the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle)

It’s also the first day of the brand-new tax year, which brings with it a long list of changes that you should know about. This article looks at the 10 most important changes to your personal finances, from your personal tax allowance...