Changes to the pensions triple lock possible

Downing Street has given its strongest signal yet that the pensions triple lock will be watered down because of the recent surge in average earnings, which under current rules would deliver a rise of more than 8% for pensioners next year. Boris Johnson’s spokesperson...

Pandemic widens gender pensions gap

The pandemic has increased the gender pensions gap to almost £200,000, according to a new study. Research carried out by the Centre for Economics and Business Research found women are missing out on £183,936 compared to the amount men receive from their pension. This...

Investment trust dividends fall

Income investors that bought investment trusts to weather the worst of the pandemic cuts suffered a drop in pay-outs in the first half of 2021, according to the latest Link Investment Trust Dividend Snapshot. The report, which studies equity investment trusts only,...

Governments subtle inheritance tax changes see payments soar

HMRC confirmed this week that IHT receipts for April 2021 to July 2021 were £2.1 billion. The Government also confirmed higher receipts over the last year or so are expected to be higher due to the impact of coronavirus, although this cannot be verified until full...

HMRC cracks down on evaders

HMRC has an Offshore, Corporate and Wealthy (OCW) Unit which, according to the Government’s latest figures, has convictions totalling 67 years of prison time for tax evaders last year. This is nearly triple the total of just 23 years secured a year earlier,...

Pensions warning as divorces rise

Around 10,500 people shared their pension as part of divorce settlements in 2020, research shows. This said that the recent boom in equities has made pensions a highly desirable asset in divorces. With the value of pensions increasing, they have become an increasingly...

UK house price growth cools

UK house price growth has dropped to its slowest pace in fourth months, new data shows, as the end of the temporary stamp duty holiday ended a boom in the property market. Halifax said on Friday that annual house price growth in the UK slowed to 7.6% in July, down...

Bank of England holds rates

The Bank of England opted Thursday to keep its main interest rate at the record low of 0.1% as it painted a fairly rosy picture about the near-term prospects for the British economy following the lifting of lockdown restrictions in the wake of the rapid rollout of...

UK leaders call on pension funds to invest more at home

UK pension funds and other institutional investors should join other countries’ investors benefiting from British infrastructure and other long-term investments and rely less on the stock market, said Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Chancellor of the Exchequer...

Over 40,000 challenge their council tax bills

If you believe your property is in the wrong band, you can challenge it through the Valuation Office Agency to get your property revalued and moved into a different, cheaper band. There are some criteria you have to meet, so you’ll need to have some concrete evidence...