Tax avoidance for the law-abiding middle classes
At present there is much noise and fury about fat cats and foreign corporates avoiding tax. The law in the UK is unusual in Europe as legislation defines what is illegal and any activity not mentioned specifically is, by default, legal.
Pensions, lifetime allowance and joined-up government
Unless you are actively involved in the financial services field it is unlikely that you are aware that our political masters have decided that it is not enough to restrict the amount you can pay into a pension scheme year by year, but that your total accumulated funds are restricted as well. This restriction, the Lifetime Allowance, is being reduced from £1.25Million to £1Million in April 2016.
Active versus passive investment portfolios
Outside of the world of financial services there does not seem to be a personality cult for the investment manager, but Neil Woodford could be an exception. However, even the best of the active managers have a digital competitor that in right market conditions can and often has out-performed the recognised stars.
Danger for passive, prospective pensioners!
Pension Freedoms and the almost complete demise of final salary or defined benefit pensions in the private sector have massively increased the dangers of lousy pension outcomes for people not actively reviewing their pension choices.
The Pension Freedom experience
In the last week or so, the press has been making a fuss about how the Pension Freedoms are actually panning out. To put this in context, George Osborne has confirmed in Parliament that some 60,000 savers have withdrawn about £1Billion from their pension pots since April.
The security of cash compared to the returns on investments
Life is rather complicated for the consumer in the UK today. Many of the old assumptions do not seem to hold true anymore. Many people, the retired especially, keep hold of cash as it is 'safe', with little thought about what safe means to them.
Final salary schemes, pension freedom and adviser thought processes
Now that pension freedoms are with us, Martin Redman Partners say they have had a few inquiries about cashing in old defined benefit (final salary) schemes and transferring the money into a drawdown plan.
Is there a market for selling annuities?
One of the ideas floated by Steve Webb around the time of Pension Freedoms, was the ability to sell your annuity to a provider for a cash lump sum.
Critical illness protection insurance
Back in the early days of protection insurance there was just life cover, which paid out only on death. The rise of the self-help movement in the Victorian era and the development of Friendly and Industrial and Provident Societies brought the development of income protection policies, to replace earned income when the insured could not work.
Pleading the case for income protection
Income protection seems to be the Cinderella of protection policies, with most commentators concentrating on life cover. This is absurd as death is unlikely during your working life; being unable to work through illness or accident is much more common and a specific type of protection insurance has existed since the late Victorian era to address it.
Wills are not just for the old!
Many people are unaware that in the event of a premature death and the absence of a valid will, the laws of Intestacy apply to the distribution of any assets of the deceased. As the law distributes assets with no knowledge or interest in the circumstances that apply, it is highly likely that the potential beneficiaries will be disadvantaged by the asset distribution imposed.
How do you manage a drawdown portfolio?
Pension freedom has placed the issue around drawing an income from a fixed fund onto centre stage. The nature of retirement suggests that there is no more capital to be added, so what is there has to be nurtured to the end, whenever that may be. Although the starting fund size may seem large, this can disappear quickly, like bathwater after the plug has been pulled.
Where next for insurance policy innovation?
The last few years have seen the rise of "direct" insurance propositions from underwriters wanting to get closer to their clients and hopefully removing some of the inefficiencies from the market. This innovation has now extended to other parts of the insurance market, encompassing an innovative protection product written around breast cancer.
Pension freedom: what does it mean?
Martin-Redman Partners discuss the implications of a new era of pension freedom.
Moving the goalposts: doing the best thing changes over time
Investing for the private individual has changed considerably in the last 10-15 years, but the impact of these changes is not well known in self-investor circles, as the mainstream press seem to concentrate on stock picking, rather than the best way to hold and administer investment assets. Regulatory pressures have also had an impact, with changes in the disclosure of charges and a reduction in…
Financial adviser as personal trainer?
“Losing weight or keeping fit requires the same self-discipline as saving,” said an article originally published on The Spectator website entitled “The real point of a financial adviser is to save you from yourself”. Its author, Louise Cooper, compared financial advisers to personal trainers...
A lasting power of attorney is not just for the old
Anyone who owns property or has children should have a will and lasting power of attorney in place, says Martin-Redman Partners.
Pension freedom and final salary schemes explained
There has been a great deal of fuss in the press about April’s pension freedoms, but rather less about final salary pension schemes, sometimes known as defined benefit schemes, until this Saturday, when The Telegraph and the Yahoo financial website provided articles.
Views on Pension Wise: the government’s pension guidance guarantee
The trade papers for financial services have announced that the Pension Wise service has now been launched and is looking for feedback. If you do a Google search, there are two significant entries.
Tax planning - do the basics first!
Headlines in the Guardian and on some of the financial papers state that a number of Premiership footballers, both current and recently retired, are facing bankruptcy and personal ruin as HMRC seek to recover tax due on investments made in the UK film industry.
Savings, in a low interest environment
With interest rates still showing little likelihood of rising for retail savers, like most of us using the high street, what do we do to make the best of what is available? Leaving money in an old bank account is not a good plan as banks, almost without exception, do little to encourage you to get more interest on your money.
Painful tax consequences for millions of taxpayers
Taxpayers with complex affairs or the retired with multiple incomes from different sources are likely to be under or overpaying tax where tax offices have not joined the dots between the individual and their incomes. Taxpayers are under a number of obligations they may not be aware of!
How can you get the best results from your money?
Without professional financial advice, translating a proportion of your annual income to long term wealth is fraught with difficulty. It is easy to be side-tracked by following fashionable investments, concentrating on the short term or just plainly making the wrong decision!
Pension reforms April 2015; what are the consequences for you?
The major reforms in the way pension funds can be turned to capital and income for retirement have now reached the mainstream media with a Channel 4 Dispatches programme featuring the 68 year old Michael Buerk. Martin-Redman Partners looks at some of the implications in the press and from the programme.
Beware unexpected changes in pension auto-enrolment
The treatment of equity partners of LLPs needs to be examined by anyone who has to set up an auto-enrolled pension scheme, following a change in interpretation in case law. Getting it wrong could be awkward and expensive, so good, timely advice is almost essential.