Welcome to our blogs which relate to the financial services you may be interested in from mortgages to pensions; protection to auto-enrolment and many more. So why not grab a drink and enjoy the read.
Just to be clear, we’re not talking about your physical health here (that’s the doctor’s remit). We’re talking about a check-up to assess your financial wellbeing. And we’re asking because nearly one in six people aged between 45 and 54 are now making significant financial sacrifices to ensure their pension pots are up to scratch for retirement. At the same
Falling house prices and turbulent mortgage rates made 2023 an unpredictable year for homeowners and movers. As the first buds of spring start to appear, is a calmer year on the cards? Three key questions dominate analysts’ minds it seems. First, do house prices have further to fall? Second, will mortgage rates go lower? And third, how will affordability change
Thank you to all those who attended our Wealth Preservation Seminar, hosted alongside Lamb & Holmes Solicitors on the 27th of March 2024 at the Kettering Park Hotel. The event was a huge success with 120 guests attending the morning and afternoon seminars. For those that attended we do hope you found the seminar informative. For those who were unable to attend,
A client’s loss of mental capacity can have a devastating impact on the financial plans which have been put in place. A Power of Attorney can ensure that where those plans need to be adapted, they have flexibility when it’s needed most. Data from the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) shows that the number of ‘lasting powers of attorney’
Joint Borrower Sole Proprietor (JBSP) mortgages can offer a family solution to affordability. Who can support a Joint Borrower Sole Proprietor arrangement (JBSP)? For owner occupier arrangements, family members who can provide support include parents, grandparents, siblings and aunts / uncles For a Buy to Let arrangement, a spouse or parent can support For a reverse JBSP, adult children can also
The mortgage guarantee scheme allows would-be property buyers access to 95% loan to value (LTV) mortgages – meaning you need a 5% deposit – on properties worth up to £600,000 The mortgage guarantee scheme, which allows first-time buyers to take out a mortgage with a 5% deposit, has been extended again. Following the Autumn Statement, the mortgageguarantee scheme sees first-time
The pensions Lifetime Allowance and resulting tax charges was abolished under the UK’s 2023 Spring Budget. However, life is never simple with UK pensions and new tax-free limits are set to replace it. The March Budget only reduced the Lifetime Allowance charge to nil from April 6, 2023. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has now published its draft legislation to
Both two and five-year fixed-rate deals have dropped according to data from the financial information company Moneyfacts.The average rate on a two-year fixed deal is now 6.49%, with a five-year rate at 5.99%. The majority of UK mortgage holders are on fixed-rate deals, and with more than 400,000 people expected to move off existing fixed deals in the coming months
A critical part of death benefits planning An Expression of Wish is a request from yourself to your pension provider as to how to deal with your pension when you pass away. Often pension providers will supply their own forms to complete, requesting specific instructions as to how the pension is to be distributed, and you have the opportunity to split by asset or percentage of
The government is giving people more time to pay National Insurance (NI) contributions towards their State Pension. Extending the deadline means that people have more time to properly consider whether paying voluntary contributions is right for them Taxpayers now have until 5 April 2025 to fill gaps in their National Insurance (NI) record from April 2006 that may increase their