Christmas is usually associated with buying gifts for loved ones, but this giving spirit may not be shared among many in or nearing retirement this festive season.

Buried away in the reams of pensions legislation is a ‘triviality rule’ allowing pension pots to be taken wholly as a cash lump sum where a retiree’s total pension savings are less than £18,000.  A quarter of the cash sum is paid out tax-free and the remainder is taxable.

On the day the Government announces next year’s Budget day as 21st March it also confirms the removal of Life Assurance Premium Relief effective from 2015. This move will raise very little extra income for the Government but could impact on the retirement plans of hundreds of thousands of retirees.

During the course of this year it has been impossible to escape the doom and gloom headlines that continue to engulf this country. With low investment returns and inflation at an historical high, it comes as no surprise research1 from RetireEasy.co.uk has found the majority of people in or nearing retirement are afraid their money […]

MILLIONS of workers will have to wait a year longer for help with pension saving from employers after the Government announced in yesterday’s Autumn statement it is delaying reforms for smaller firms. Under the incoming auto-enrolment programme, employers will be obliged to automatically enroll any employees who meet certain eligibility criteria in a pension scheme […]

People are living longer, an undisputed fact that could be considered a breakthrough were it not for the serious financial consequences it has in today’s economic climate. The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics reveals the average life expectancy for UK men and women rose again by four months to 78.2 and 82.3 […]

The long-awaited Dilnot Commission has elevated the massive cost of health care in later life in the public consciousness. And its suggested sharing of the costs between the individual and the State have been broadly welcomed. But any outcomes will not come into play for some time to come. Until then, what should those in […]

People are living longer, an undisputed fact that could be considered a breakthrough were it not for the serious financial consequences it has in today’s economic climate. The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics reveals the average life expectancy for UK men and women rose again by four months to 78.2 and 82.3 […]

The majority of people in the UK in or nearing retirement are afraid they will not have enough money to continue funding their lifestyle after they retire, according to a study released today by the UK’s first online service allowing them to take control of their finances, RetireEasy.co.uk.

IT would appear that we are a nation of split personalities. First, the long-standing lament that we’re not taking retirement planning seriously enough was reinforced this week with research from HSBC suggesting that it drops to the bottom of the list of priorities for couples with families. Around 44 per cent of couples with children […]