Latest - RETIREMENT PLANNING

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  Post baby boomer savers need to sacrifice more take-home pay for retirement

  10 April 2019

  The ‘good times’ of rapidly rising retirement incomes may be coming to an end. It follows the latest retirement income figures from the Department for Work and Pensions which showed that average weekly income for all pensioners was £304 in 2017/18, almost twice the £161 recorded in 1994/95, but down from £317 in 2016/17....

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  Maximising pension allowances

  7 April 2019

  Daniel Hough, wealth management consultant, Mattioli Woods, looks at the issues for clients seeking options to maximise their pension for retirement through additional contributions. As we know, the most you can personally pay into your pension (and get full tax relief) in a tax year is up to 100% of your relevant UK earnings,...

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  Industry concerns over Dashboards timeframes

  4 April 2019

  Commentators flag details around legislation, inclusion of state pension and ‘significant amount of work’ yet to be done before dashboards become reality Work and pensions secretary Amber Rudd has given Pensions Dashboards the green light following an industry consultation, but ongoing Brexit uncertainty means proposals could be delayed beyond the year. In a statement,...

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  Client concerns around retirement shifting, say advisers

  2 April 2019

  As the pension freedoms approach their fourth birthday, new research by Aegon shows a complex and evolving retirement landscape, with retirees’ priorities shifting as many take advantage of the greater flexibility offered by the freedoms.  Thirty-eight percent of advisers surveyed said running out of money was the greatest concern of their clients, while 32%...

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  Estate planning ignorance is opportunity for advice firms

  26 March 2019

  Advised clients are far more knowledgeable about the benefits of estate planning and particularly use of pensions for inheritance tax planning purposes, than the non-advised general population, new research has revealed. This creates opportunities for advice firms.  Nine in ten advisers said their clients were aware of the changes to pension death benefits following the...

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  Probate fee increases are undisguised death tax

  21 March 2019

  National advisory firm LEBC Group has called on the government to withdraw plans to impose what it says is a new “death tax” on estates from April. The Office of Budget Responsibility has confirmed that probate fees will increase from April 2019, resulting in costs rising from £215 to £6,000 for those with estates...

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  What paraplanners need to know when using commercial property within self-invested pensions

  21 March 2019

  What are the issues and practical considerations involved of using commercial property within self-invested pensions? Michael Hulse, Wealth Management consultant at Mattioli Woods provides a walk-through of the process and what paraplanners need to consider. One of the many advantages of self-invested pensions, whether those be small self-administered schemes (SSASs) or self-invested personal pensions...

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  Caution revealed in pension freedom withdrawals amongst Brexit uncertainty

  20 March 2019

  New research has suggested that pension freedoms investors are acting cautiously amid difficult market conditions and Brexit uncertainty. The findings revealed that, on average, regular annual pension freedoms withdrawals are 4.7% of the fund value, almost a third lower than a year ago, according to AJ Bell. The pensions group said savers appear to be...

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