News

Understanding HMRC's Simple Assessment From June 2025, HMRC will begin issuing "simple assessment" letters, a new form of communication that is expected to catch many recipients by surprise. These letters are part of HMRC's effort to streamline tax collection for...

Your Pension: Who's Really Making the Investment Decisions? The UK Government is increasingly taking an active interest in the investment strategies, or lack thereof, of pension funds across the country. Government's Tightening Financial Stance As highlighted by...

Is Inflation Making a Comeback in the UK? The latest inflation figures for April have once again pushed beyond the Bank of England's designated target range, prompting fresh scrutiny of the UK's economic landscape. So what caused the latest inflation spike? The Bank...

15.3 Million Brits Face Future Poverty Risk Concerning new research has brought to light a significant number of individuals on a trajectory towards a retirement characterized by financial hardship. The State of UK Retirement Savings Several prominent investment...

Adult Social Care Review The first Friday of May was a whirlwind of news, creating the perfect backdrop for an announcement the government might prefer to keep under the radar: the launch of a new independent commission into adult social care in England. A Quiet...

Trump's "Yippy" Justification for Tariff Delay A new word was added to investors’ vocabulary in April. “Well, I thought that people were jumping a little bit out of line. They were getting yippy, you know, they were getting a little bit yippy, a little bit afraid.”...

2025 introduces a technical change to company car tax, which could alter your next choice of car. In recent years, the tax rules for company cars have provided a major incentive to choose a battery electric vehicle (BEV), with zero CO2 emissions, or a plug-in hybrid...

Global Government Efficiency Scrutiny Despite referring to taxpayers as 'customers,' the question of HMRC efficiency and cost-effectiveness remains. In the United States, there has been considerable media attention on DOGE, the so-called Department of Government...

The Inflation Illusion: Understanding the Disconnect Between Data and Reality Inflation fell in 2024, reaching 2.5% compared to 4.0% in 2023. Yet, for many, this drop didn't reflect their lived experience. Why the discrepancy?   The Economist's View vs. Public...

Spring Forecast Announced - 26 March 2025 The Chancellor has announced the timing of her next formal report to Parliament. Cast your mind back six Chancellors ago to Philip Hammond (aka Spreadsheet Phil). In autumn 2016, Hammond announced a change to the timings of...

Discover why National Savings & Investments is cutting rates. National Savings & Investments (NS&I) has been busy reducing its interest rates in recent months. NS&I has roots going back to 1861, when Gladstone, then Chancellor of the Exchequer,...

Not every interest rate moves in the same direction. If you are approaching the end of your five-year fixed rate mortgage and currently enjoying an interest rate of around 2%, you have probably been watching the fluctuations of interest rates with some trepidation....