Author: Dale Smith

General Election 2017: How will it affect your personal finances?

The answer to that question depends on two things; the outcome of the election and how you react to the inevitable instability it will cause. At this early stage, the most likely outcome seems to be a Conservative victory, with an increased majority. At least that’s what a certain Mrs May, of Number 10 Downing Street, has gambled on. Logically, if this is the case, Mrs May, and the Chancellor Philip Hammond, will be emboldened to drive through changes to domestic policy, whilst negotiating Brexit. Of course, even if it looks unlikely…

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Taking advice can increase your income

We were asked by a client if we could help her parents, Terry and Barbara, prepare for retirement.

Terry has an existing pension but he didn’t know how to achieve the best income. However, being of a cautious nature, he did know that he wanted the certainty of a regular income for the rest of his life and peace of mind that should he die before Barbara her financial future would be secure…

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Not enjoying work? You might be able to retire early

Ray is an existing client, who, at 60 years old, had not been enjoying work for some time.

He seemed to be permanently on call, was traveling too much and was consequently stressed and tired for much of the time.

Whilst Ray wanted to stop working and retire, he really didn’t think there was a way to do this and was resigned to working for years to come…

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Planning early to retire early

Simon is the son of an existing client who we have advised for many years.

Typical of many people of his age, he has several pensions, six to be precise, accumulated from various jobs over the years.

Simon won’t mind us saying that he paid very little interest to his pensions. He had no idea whether they were likely to provide an acceptable income in retirement. Nor did he understand how much risk he was taking, whether it was enough, or too little, how much he was being charged or how his pensions were performing…

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Are you eligible for Marriage Allowance?

No one likes to pay too much tax, so it is surprising that many people are not taking advantage of an important new tax break. Marriage Allowance is a tax concession that can save married couples, or those in civil partnerships, up to £220 each year in tax. HMRC estimates that around 4.2 million couples are eligible. But, less than a million are actually claiming it, despite a high-profile advertising campaign. Are you missing out? Marriage Allowance was introduced in 6th April 2016. It allows non-taxpayers to transfer £1,100 of their personal…

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A final chance to boost your State Pension

A potentially attractive government scheme, allowing some people to boost their state pension, by paying in a lump sum, closes in April. Time is running out, but there is still time to take advantage of the opportunity, if you act now. What is on offer? The Government has offered up to 12 million older people the chance to convert a lump sum into a guaranteed income for life, on terms significantly better than those available on the open market. The scheme involves making a ‘Class 3A National Insurance voluntary contribution’ and whilst the…

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