Lots of landlords and property investors, including many people investing to supplement their retirement income, have been able to enter the property market over the last decade thanks to buy-to-let. The ability to get an affordable buy-to-let mortgage has opened up the door to many people who would have otherwise considered property investment too costly […]

Rapidly rising inflation has been pushing up the Bank of England’s (BoE) base rate at a historic pace in the last few months. The rate, set by the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), rose by 0.5 per cent in both August and September and currently sits at 2.25 per cent (at the time of writing). […]

During the mini-Budget, the former Chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, plans to “accelerate” reforms to the pensions charge cap. This move, he said, would help to “unlock pension investments” into UK assets and high-growth businesses. Under these new pension measures, the Government has brought forward plans that exclude performance fees from the 0.75 per cent charge cap on […]

Adding property investment into a wider portfolio has been a popular option for many savers for a number of years. However, now new buy-to-let landlords may face a challenge as lenders pull lower fixed-rate mortgage products from the market. At the end of September, some 37 lenders decided to remove existing mortgage products for buy-to-let […]

New data from has revealed that pension savers could be owed up to £6 billion from overpaid Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT). According to an analysis of tax records, hundreds of transfers of commercial properties into pension schemes may have triggered SDLT where the transactions were exempt from paying the tax. The House of Lords […]

Although the Help to Buy ISA may have closed, its legacy has been enjoyed by more than 17,500 first-time buyers, who have enjoyed over £35 million in bonuses this year. During its lifespan, the ISA has paid out 650,000 bonuses worth £750 million, which has helped first-time buyers to purchase 497,949 properties worth £87.7 billion […]

Savers now have access to a new type of hybrid pension scheme, which could help them improve their retirement returns. New Collective Defined Contribution (CDC) schemes are said to offer a useful “middle ground” between existing Defined Contribution and Defined Benefit schemes. What are the differences between defined contribution and defined benefit schemes? Defined Benefit […]

The current state of the global economy and rapidly rising inflation in the UK means that many savers are experiencing a period of financial hardship. While some of us may be able to rely on savings or investments, there have been growing calls to change the rules around the taxation of pensions to allow individuals […]

According to the latest product sales data provided by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), there is a growing number of retirees who are not taking advice when purchasing income drawdown and guaranteed income for life products. The analysis, provided by retirement product specialists Just Group, has revealed that 40 per cent of decumulation products, which […]

The current high levels of inflation are having a wide range of effects on our financial lives, not least on our savings. While many savings accounts are increasing their interest rates as a response to the Bank of England raising the base rate, new research suggests that many financial products aren’t keeping pace with price […]