Month: October 2016

The latest figures surrounding the pensions lifetime allowance (LTA), which governs how much your pensions can be worth whilst still claiming tax relief, suggest that a considerable number of middle-income earners are being hit by the lower threshold. The amount collected from pensions exceeding the LTA by HMRC during the 2015-16 tax year came to £126...

The popularity of investing in property to fund retirement remains prevalent, in spite of the government’s attempts to make buy-to-let less and less attractive. But is buy-to-let investment really a viable alternative to a pension pot, for example? A recent study has investigated the numbers behind each option. The research looked at how £100,000 would...

The nights are drawing in, the heating is back on, and the mince pies are already stacking up in the supermarkets. But before Christmas, we’ve got the ghostly goodness of Hallowe’en to look forward to. In the spooky spirit of our favourite October event, have a look over our Hallowe’en themed financial planning tips to...

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently published its ‘World Economic Outlook’ report which suggests that whilst global growth in 2016 has been substandard, this is set to improve somewhat during 2017. The IMF’s report states that stifled global growth this year has been caused largely by the Brexit vote and the economic slowdown in the...

Research from the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) surrounding wealth and pensions in the UK has been making headlines in recent months. The study has found that people born during the 1980s are now half as wealthy as those born in the 1970s were at the same stage in their lives. This makes children born...

Paul McCord has recently joined Fairstone NI as an Independent Financial Adviser from Ulster Bank, where he spent 12 years as a Specialist Financial Advice Manager. Paul specialises in providing holistic financial advice to help his clients afford their dream kitchens through astute financial planning. He focuses on advice in relation to investments, pensions, inheritance tax planning,...

According to recent research, the introduction of pension freedoms has led to many thousands of people taking out large sums from their retirement funds, then leaving it earning them next to nothing in low-interest accounts. The figures from Citizens Advice who carried out the study suggest that around three in ten people are currently doing...

If a comfortable retirement is to be a reality for your clients, you need to be encouraging them to ask some important questions, says Fairstone NI adviser, Peter Savage – and the sooner the better. As the government continues to increase the state pension age and life expectancy continues to rise, clients need to be...

Whilst the Brexit result of the EU referendum may have made many in the UK feel more distant from their European neighbours, it seems that the retirement proposals of a number of countries may be closer to our own than you might think. The Bundesbank, Germany’s central bank, recently made a muted proposal to raise...

Deutsche Bank has been in the press for the wrong reasons recently, as it battles to reduce a $14bn penalty from the US authorities for mis-selling mortgage bonds. However, unfortunately, the problems of Deutsche Bank don’t end there. German banks are traditionally cautious, with the sector dominated by savings and co-operative banks and not-for-profit institutions....