Vision without action is merely a dream. Having a financial plan in place early on can make it easier to manage your money further down the line. It’s never too early to make a financial plan. The sooner you work out your goals and start following a plan to achieve them, the more likely you are to succeed. Here are three key questions to ask yourself when building a financial plan. 1. What are my goals? Building wealth takes time

Understanding your options and putting a plan in place. We spend our working lives building towards retirement. Choices we make today will have a big impact on the quality of our lives later on. If you only have a handful of years to go until you reach your retirement, it has never been more important to understand your options and put a plan in place – now could be a good time to re-evaluate your plans with us. The changes

Are you making use of this useful and much under-utilised exemption? If you want to make inheritance gifts from surplus or excess income, there is a useful and much under-utilised exemption that allows gifts over and above the value of £3,000 per annum to be made without these gifts forming part of your estate if you die within seven years of making them. The exemption comes under the heading of ‘Normal expenditure out of surplus income’. It is a particularly

Minimising the impact of inheritance tax on your estate. The latest Inheritance Tax (IHT) statistics show an additional 4% was added to HM Revenue & Customs receipts compared to the previous year[1]. IHT is a tax payable when you die. Whether your beneficiaries have to pay it, and how much they’ll pay, is based on the value of your estate. Your estate’s value is the value of the whole entirety of your assets. An asset is anything of value that

Investing isn’t just a luxury reserved for adults. Saving for a child today is a wonderful gift for their future. Whether you want to help them buy their first car, contribute to their first home or even set them up for a comfortable retirement, there is little more fulfilling than providing financial security for your children or grandchildren. It’s worrying to think about the expenses they will face as adults. So the earlier you can start investing money for your

A momentous event that can change every aspect of your financial stability. The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has had a shattering effect on the country. Future-proofing your finances can help you feel more secure about what lies ahead – whether that’s preparing for big life milestones, such as starting a family, or navigating difficult periods, such as unemployment or poor health. One of the areas that tends to cause some anxiety is managing household finances with the additional cost of each

Helping you achieve your financial goals. The key steps toward financial security are to translate them into your own terms. What, exactly, are your personal financial goals? If you have trouble sorting them out, try classifying them as either wants or needs. Go a step further and add short-term, medium-term and long-term to the descriptions. Now you have some useful labels you can apply to your priorities. If you’re not sure where to start or what your goals should be,

Women see incomes fall by 33% following divorce, compared to just 18% for men. Divorce is an emotionally charged event – and can be an expensive one. The financial impact of divorce can also last for decades and carry on into older age. Women are also often impacted harder financially by divorce, new research highlights. Many women are likely to see their household incomes fall by a third (33%) in the year following their divorce, almost twice as much as

3 million people in the UK aged over 50 considering relocating. The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has lead to a reappraisal of urban living, with increasing numbers fleeing city confines in search of green space. 3 million people aged over 50 (12%) now plan to relocate in retirement, as a direct result of the pandemic. A year of lockdowns has led these over 50s to want to move closer to family and friends, pursue a better quality of life or even

The potential impact to your expected retirement income over time. When you’re planning your retirement income, there are multiple factors to consider: how much you can expect from the State Pension, the value of the pensions you have accumulated in your working life, your projected outgoings, and your potential later life expenses. One more factor not to overlook is how much of your retirement income could you lose in taxes. The amount you pay to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC)

Are you claiming all of the generous tax relief you’re entitled to? The unique combination of tax breaks and flexible access available to pensions make them a compelling choice when saving for retirement. One of the key benefits of saving into a pension rather than another type of savings or investment vehicle is the generous tax relief you’re entitled to receive. Making the most of pension saving involves maximising tax relief and allowances which could substantially boost your retirement savings.

Start planning your legacy to mitigate or reduce Inheritance Tax. If you’ve worked hard throughout your lifetime to grow your wealth, and hope it will help to safeguard the financial security of your loved ones after you’ve gone. But without careful planning in your lifetime, you could leave them with less than expected after the Inheritance Tax bill is paid. Proper planning can help you pass on as much as possible to the people you choose by avoiding additional unnecessary