Monthly Archives: July 2017

Pension time bomb

Planning to prevent the financial equivalent of climate change

Millions of workers across the UK could be heading for a significant shortfall in the amount of pension they need for an adequate income. The World Economic Forum (WEF) has issued a warning that calls on the Government to impose faster pension-age rises as it earmarks the UK as one of several countries facing a ‘pension time bomb’, with the UK pension savings gap reaching £25 trillion by 2050 if action is not taken soon.

Funding future care costs

‘The tragedy of old age is not that one is old, but that one is young’

With the UK’s population ageing, more people will be living with long-term care needs. Oscar Wilde once said: ‘The tragedy of old age is not that one is old, but that one is young.’ But the good news of rising life expectancy also brings with it the challenge of how we fund our future care costs. The question is: who is responsible for looking after us if we need care in old age?

Election 2017

Why investors need to keep focused on long-term financial goals

Prime Minister Theresa May’s announcement that she would call a snap UK general election on 8 June 2017 surprised many people. After weeks of campaigning, there was no outright winner, with both the Conservatives and the Labour Party failing to secure a majority, resulting in a hung parliament.

Inheritance Tax rule changes

Effective estate planning can safeguard your wealth for future generations

If you want to have control over what happens to your assets after your death, effective estate planning is essential. After a lifetime of hard work, you want to make sure you protect as much of your wealth as possible and pass it on to the right people. However, this does not happen automatically. If you do not plan for what happens to your assets when you die, more of your estate than necessary could be subject to Inheritance Tax.

Retirement choices

How much time do you spend planning for retirement?

The 2015 pension freedoms gave us greater flexibility over our retirement options, but the reforms have also made retirement choices much more complex. This means we need to start thinking about our retirement earlier. However, half (50%) of respondents aged 45–54 to a LV= consumer survey[1] didn’t think about retirement at all last year.

Securing your financial future

Investing for major life events requires comprehensive investment solutions

If you really want to give your money the potential to grow and you don’t need immediate access to it, think about investing it rather than just saving. You might want to invest for major life events like retirement or paying your child’s or grandchild’s university fees.

Currency fluctuations

Why foreign exchange markets are in uncharted territory

The summer months are usually the only time when we think about different currencies and their values as we consider what money to take on our holidays. Where should we get our euros or dollars? How much will we need? Should we purchase travellers cheques, cash, a pre-paid card or a combination of each?

Investment wise

Learning from the past and understanding the present

The key to successful investing isn’t predicting the future, its learning from the past and understanding the present. To give your money its best opportunity to grow, whether you’re just starting to build a portfolio or looking to rebalance an existing one, we consider some of the key questions you need to consider to nurture your wealth.

Currency fluctuations

Why foreign exchange markets are in uncharted territory

The summer months are usually the only time when we think about different currencies and their values as we consider what money to take on our holidays. Where should we get our euros or dollars? How much will we need? Should we purchase travellers cheques, cash, a pre-paid card or a combination of each?

Investment wise

Learning from the past and understanding the present

The key to successful investing isn’t predicting the future, its learning from the past and understanding the present. To give your money its best opportunity to grow, whether you’re just starting to build a portfolio or looking to rebalance an existing one, we consider some of the key questions you need to consider to nurture your wealth.