News

The government has published draft legislation to raise the minimum age for drawing pension benefits from 55 to 57. At present, the normal minimum pension age (NMPA) at which you can draw benefits from a pension scheme is 55. That … Continue reading →

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has given Rishi Sunak its new worry list. It gives the Chancellor little wriggle room for potential Budget generosity. Every alternate year the OBR must issue a Fiscal Risks Report (FRR). Unlike the six-monthly … Continue reading →

National Savings & Investments has announced details of a new green savings product. One of the small surprises in March’s Budget was the announcement that National Savings & Investments (NS&I) would be launching “a new, retail savings product to give … Continue reading →

A recent Upper Tribunal case has raised questions about HMRC’s approach to collecting tax on child benefit. Child benefit tax, or the High-Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) to use its legal name, has a chequered history. The HICBC was introduced … Continue reading →

New HMRC statistics show the lifetime allowance continues to be a useful revenue earner for HM Treasury, but rumoured cuts at the next Budget could be a concern for soon-to-be retirees. Source: HMRC. In the March Budget, the Chancellor announced … Continue reading →

A proposal to address social care funding is apparently imminent. “My job is to protect you or your parents or grandparents from the fear of having to sell your home to pay for the costs of care. And so I … Continue reading →

The first six months of 2021 have been rewarding for investors, but the next six are uncertain. Index 2021 Change FTSE 100 +8.93% FTSE All-Share +9.21% Dow Jones Industrial +12.73% Standard & Poor’s 500 +14.41% Nikkei 225 +4.91% Euro Stoxx … Continue reading →

New statistics from HMRC show over £300bn invested in cash ISAs. Source: HMRC. One of the many knock-on effects of the pandemic has been that HMRC’s annual updating of statistics has suffered delays. As a result, details of ISA subscriptions … Continue reading →

Over £9 billion was invested in Child Trust Funds (CTFs) as of April 2020, according to new HMRC data. If you have a child or grandchild born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011, they were almost certainly the … Continue reading →

A leading pension think tank has examined this question – but the findings aren’t straightforward. Over the years, there has been much focus on the tax treatment of pensions and ways to encourage greater saving for retirement. Arguably, there has … Continue reading →

A global jump in inflation in 2021 is raising the prospect of a broader upward trend beyond a short-term pandemic reaction. Source: Various including fred.stlouisfed.org, www.euro-area-statistics.org and Office for National Statistics The risk of the return of inflation has become a … Continue reading →

Research from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) examines how pension contributions fit into life-cycle patterns. Economists often seem to think in a way that is unique to their world. Many of their theories start with the assumption that people behave rationally, weighing up all the pros and cons … Continue reading →