Month: April 2017

The new government-backed savings bond from National Savings & Investment (NS&I) is set to launch in April this year, offering what Chancellor Philip Hammond has described as a ‘market-leading’ interest rate of 2.2% over three years. The bond is also set to become the first savings account offered by NS&I which will only be offered...

How often do you still recommend with-profit policies? With-profit funds are still very much like marmite. Some advisers don’t like them and some do. This is mainly due to the period post 1999/00 when the dot-com bubble crashed and all with profit providers applied MVRs to their funds. I feel these funds and their features...

In the Budget, the Chancellor Philip Hammond announced a 25% charge for people moving their pension abroad. If you’re planning to spend your retirement somewhere warmer and sunnier than the UK then the news may have worried you somewhat – will it end up stalling your dreams of life after work spent overseas? The charge...

Whilst the pay gap experienced by women in comparison to men is most likely a problem you’ve heard about, another gender gap has emerged which is just as concerning. Recent figures suggest that, on average, women are receiving smaller pension contributions from their employers than men. Between 2013 and 2016, women benefitted from pension contributions...

It’s tempting to think that Brexit is the only story worth reporting: in fact, there was plenty happening in March, from elections in Holland to a rate rise in the US, new growth targets for China and – also in the Chinese capital – a park which spectacularly failed to live up to its name…...