News

A recent survey of people who have or plan to retire in 2021 provides interesting insights, whatever your intended retirement year. The average age of people planning to retire in 2021 is 60, according to a recently published survey by … Continue reading →

State pensions and the National Living Wage both increased in April. Still under 60% April is the month when state benefits are uprated – unless they are subject to a freeze. It is also the month when the National Living … Continue reading →

A recent report showed that global dividend payments held up much better than those in the UK in 2020. Source: Janus Henderson For investors in UK shares and funds investing in UK companies, 2020 was a grim year when it … Continue reading →

The freeze on the inheritance tax (IHT) nil rate band will mean more tax from more estates. The big freeze In March 2006 the then Chancellor, Gordon Brown, announced that the IHT nil rate band for 2009/10 would be £325,000. … Continue reading →

The planned increase in corporation tax has changed some of the mathematics on incorporation. The Budget announced a significant change to corporation tax from 2023: Small companies, with profits of up to £50,000, would continue to pay the tax at … Continue reading →

The Spring Budget on 3 March was not the end of the taxing story. The run up to the March Budget was accompanied by much press speculation about changes to capital gains tax (CGT), inheritance tax (IHT) and pension tax … Continue reading →

The UK base rate may be stuck at 0.1%, but there is interest rate movement elsewhere. The Bank of England has kept its base rate below 1% for over 12 years now. The rate first dropped to 0.5% on 5 … Continue reading →

We could see a jump in inflation soon. The pandemic has posed problems for the Office for National Statistics (ONS) when it comes to calculating the rate of inflation. For example: How do you measure the price of an item … Continue reading →

A new consultation paper has set out more details of an increase in the normal minimum retirement age. In February the Treasury and HMRC published a consultation paper on implementing an increase in the normal minimum pension age (NMPA) from … Continue reading →

The Budget announced a five-year freeze to the standard lifetime allowance. The standard lifetime allowance (SLA) is an important pensions number. It effectively sets the maximum tax efficient value of all your retirement benefits, in the absence of any legislative … Continue reading →

A quiet turning of the tax screw. Just before the Budget arrived on 3 March, it seemed as if the Chancellor would have nothing to say that was not already public knowledge. However, while some of the many leaks were … Continue reading →

Taking some time to start planning for 2021/22 now can be worthwhile. While there is often a focus on planning for the end of the tax year, much less attention is paid to the start of the tax year. The … Continue reading →