General News
Are you owed money by HMRC?
This month, a brief article on a couple of issues regarding private pensions and whether you are owed money by HMRC. This is something that often gets overlooked, especially if you deal with your financial arrangements yourself and have no financial adviser or accountant looking after your tax affairs in particular. Pension Tax Relief on Contributions If you pay contributions
The UK has the joint highest Income Tax rate of 60% in Europe – Who Knew?
Surely this can’t be the case? Well it is. All Income tax tables will show that the highest income tax rate in the UK is 45% if you earn over £150,000, however a quirk in the system means if you earn over £100,000 you might start to pay an effective income tax rate of 60% on some of your earnings,
Looking forward in 2019
It’s that time of year when the papers will be full of predictions about the coming 12 months, more often than not under an attention seeking headline! I’m writing this several weeks before the end of 2018, in a week of so much political uncertainty and I am in no doubt that ‘short term predictions’ on many financial aspects are
Emerging Markets – Tomorrow’s Biggest Economies?
Before I start, it is best that I point out that this article does not constitute advice. Just because I am writing about Emerging Markets, does not mean I am recommending them to all and sundry! There are many reasons (not just associated with risk) why investing in companies operating in Emerging Markets (EM) is inappropriate for some. However for
The State Pension – What The Future Might Hold?
I often think people underestimate the impact of the state pension on their retirement income. Most are pleasantly surprised at the difference it makes, but then most people I deal with have been able to accumulate retirement income with our help from other sources. For them the state pension helps, but is not the only source of income. Needless to
New Year Intentions
I think 2018 is going to be an unpredictable year both for the economy, investments and our household finances. Perhaps getting our own arrangements ‘in an efficient state’ is more important than usual. Here are a few ways you can help yourself 1) Set yourself a savings target – If you have no ‘emergency fund’ then you need to create one by setting
2017 Award Winners
Top 25 Financial Planning Companies for 2017 For the second year running, we are delighted to announce that Grosvenor Consultancy Ltd has been named as one of thewealthnet Top Financial Planning Companies for 2017. The rankings are based on data from a number of market sources and recognise excellence within the industry based on areas such as client satisfaction, client
Budget 2017 – Report from Brooks MacDonald
Traditionally, the first budget following an election is used to increase taxes as the new government makes the most of its recently-gained political capital. However, the Conservative’s relatively weak position as a minority government, propped up by the Democratic Unionists and characterised by dissension, has forced the Chancellor to take a different approach. As such, the budget has shifted away
Don’t Leave It To Someone Else
Are you curious about the title? How many of you thought the article might be about spending all your money while you can or maybe an article about inheritance tax? Well it’s neither of these. It reflects an ongoing concern that I have that in the UK, we now are firmly entrenched in a ‘blame culture’ society. One only has
Lifetime ISA (LISA) – The New Pension
After all the pre-budget talk of reducing tax relief on pensions, the government has introduced “bonuses” on ISAs available from April 2017. But what does this mean? And how does it compare to a pension? What is a LISA? You can save up to £4,000 a year into a LISA At the end of the tax year the government will
