New pension freedoms

How future retirees may take advantage of their pension lump sums

Research showing how retirees use their pension lump sums to pay off debt provides an insight into to how pension cash unlocked following the new freedoms available from 6 April 2015 could be used.

Gender gap closing

Report shows the proportion of people preparing adequately for retirement is on the up

The number of women saving adequately for retirement has shifted from a record low to a four-year high in the last 12 months, according to Scottish Widows’ annual Women and Retirement Report.

Meet the Full Nesters

Providing financial support for adult offspring – what are the implications?

Parents with adult children living under their roof are spending £1,200[1] more than their Empty Nester counterparts each year on everyday household expenditure, bringing the total annual cost of ‘Full Nest Syndrome’ in the UK to £3.2 billion[2].

Investing for income

During difficult economic times, one of the tools available to the Bank of England to stimulate the economy is interest rates. Lower interest rates mean that it is cheaper to borrow money and people have more to spend, hopefully stimulating the economy and reducing the risk of deflation.

Investment bonds

An investment bond is a single premium life insurance policy and is a potentially tax-efficient way of holding a range of investment funds in one place. They can be a good way of allowing you to invest in a mixture of investment funds that are managed by professional investment managers.

Investment trusts

Investment trusts are based upon fixed amounts of capital divided into shares. This makes them closed ended, unlike the open-ended structure of unit trusts. They can be one of the easiest and most cost-effective ways to invest in the stock market. Once the capital has been divided into shares, you can purchase the shares. When an investment trust sells shares, it is not taxed on any capital gains it has made. By contrast, private investors are subject to capital gains tax when they sell shares in their own portfolio.

New Individual Savings Account (NISA)

The New Individual Savings Account (NISA) rules were introduced in July 2014 designed to help and encourage people to save more for their future and give savers and investors more flexibility and a larger tax-efficient allowance than ever before. This tax efficient ‘wrapper’ can hold investments such as unit trusts, other collectives such as OEIC’s, shares and cash.

Unit trusts

Unit trusts are a collective investment that allows you to participate in a wider range of investments than can normally be achieved on your own with smaller sums of money. Pooling your money with others also reduces the risk.

Pooled investments

If you require your money to provide the potential for capital growth or income, or a combination of both, and provided you are willing to accept an element of risk, pooled investments could just be the solution you are looking for. A pooled investment allows you to invest in a large, professionally managed portfolio of assets with many other investors. As a result of this, the risk is reduced due to the wider spread of investments in the portfolio.