The hung parliament outcome of the 2017 Election brings unwelcome uncertainty in many areas of financial planning – not least pensions planning. With such a thin majority in the House of Commons – assuming all Conservative & DUP vote alike – the Government will need to tread a careful path in pushing through its policy […]

Facebook means different things to different people. But one thing is sure – it’s not the animal it was in the beginning, and it is now shaping how we connect with each other and even how we vote. By Tony Watts OBE A long-standing friend emailed me the other day to tell me that, with […]

Thinking of staying in work for a few more years but concerned that employers will not be interested in a 60- or even 70-something? Think again. It looks like many of Britain’s top employers have got the message that having more older people in the workforce will be essential to their future. As part of […]

Thinking of a cruising holiday? You’d be hard pushed to enjoy a more relaxing and inspiring time than sailing down the Rhine.   And with RetireEasy’s new travel partner Cosmos, you can enjoy the special offer to RetireEasy subscribers announced in the last newsletter. To me, a holiday is always better if it has water in it. And while being […]

Two recent reports have illustrated the dependence of many current and future pensioners on their home as the key asset to fund their future… but with the prospect of many of them going into retirement still burdened by mortgage debt. Bower Private Clients have estimated that, for nearly six out of 10 over-55s, their property […]

Just how crusty are you? Tony Watts OBE wonders why so many of today’s older people make a point of not understanding the younger generation when we had exactly the same response from our parents… Hands up everyone reading this who has, in the last month, uttered the immortal phrase “young people today”… or words […]

There are many things we don’t know about what the snap election might mean for those in or heading for retirement – either because some cards are being kept closely to the politicians’ chests or (more probably!) they are still working out their policies. But, crystal ball in hand, Mark Soper considers the big three […]

New research by insurers Royal London estimates that around £400 billion is likely to be passed down in the wills of older people in the coming decades – with much of that wealth in the form of property. The survey asked over 5,600 older, middle and younger adults about their plans and expectations around receiving […]

A report from Aegon hit the headlines recently, telling us that the average pension pot has almost doubled in the last couple of years. That’s great news – except that we are starting from a ludicrously low base. The average figure is now a titchy £50,000 – enough, if invested in an annuity, to yield […]

A leaked government document has revealed that a working party has been set up to study the possible introduction of taxing 5-15 year olds in order to supplement the incomes of poorer pensioners. The document reveals that children in this age group receive, on average, £10 weekly pocket money – which the working party says […]