The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is introducing new protections for savers to help reduce the numbers of those who take cash out of their pension pots without knowing the full long-term implications for their retirement finances. The move is aimed particularly at those who don’t take independent financial advice, and who could otherwise find […]

  New figures from market analysts Laing Buisson show that care fees have almost doubled in the last two decades: they were, an average of £844 a week last year – up from £445 in 1998. Those paying the fees are those with property and savings: anyone with savings under £23,250 can have their fees […]

An unknown number of people aged 55 and over are currently breaching pension tax regulations – and being fined for doing so… although the HMRC, which imposes the penalties, say they don’t know how many people are affected. The situation has been exposed following a freedom of information request by Royal London director of policy, […]

How much will you need to save for your retirement if you want to live on the equivalent of £20,000 a year for the rest of your life – and hopefully be one of the hundreds of thousands of people expected to live to 100? The figure is a whopping £447,000 – and that’s on […]

Older women living alone are turning in increasing numbers to using their property as a source of income, and taking out lifetime mortgages to keep their heads above water, according to new research from Canada Life They quote figures from the Equity Release Council’s Spring 2019 report showing that single women over 55 accounted for […]

Two stark statements…from the World Economic Forum and one of the UK’s biggest pensions providers… have revealed the parlous state of the future pension incomes of millions of people. Aviva, the insurer and pensions provider, has said that millions of people currently earning less than £27,500 risk facing retirement on a pension far less than […]

I recently turned 60 and I suppose like many of us reflected as to where all the time had gone – Time really does go faster the older you get! I sort of do know where the time goes as I am still fully engaged in full-time work, my wife works 3 days a week […]

Feeling harder up than you’d expected to be at this stage of your life? You’re not alone. Research from insurer SunLife shows that half of those in their 50s to 80s are continuing to support their children or grandchildren financially. In addition, one in 25 people aged 55-59 are providing financial support to elderly parents. […]

New data from Salisbury House Wealth demonstrates how much of a “postcode lottery” the nation’s pension incomes are. Assessed by parliamentary constituencies, The Midlands is home to six of the 10 areas with the lowest income. Of 650 constituencies, Leicester West had the lowest annual pension income, with an average of just £10,400, followed by […]

Insurer Royal London say that hundreds of thousands of people caring for members of their family are missing out on valuable pension credits which could make a massive difference to the amount they receive throughout retirement. Data they obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show that more than 10,000 grandparents and other family members […]