That familiar time of year has arrived again. As 2026 begins, how will you balance your finances in the year ahead? With New Year’s Day falling on a Thursday, many people will not return to work until Monday 5 January. That extended break offers a rare opportunity —...
The government has launched a consultation on a new way of drawing pension benefits, adding yet another set of initials to the ever-expanding pension landscape. What Is a Collective Defined Contribution (CDC) Pension? Unless you work for Royal Mail, you may be...
A recent government announcement has confirmed that university tuition fees in England are set to rise once again, placing additional long-term financial considerations on students and their families. Post-16 Education Reform Takes Centre Stage In October, the UK...
Recent rule changes from HMRC mean that a form of crypto-related investment fund has now become eligible for inclusion within an ISA — a notable development in the UK’s cautious approach to cryptoassets. Source: Investing.com Cryptoassets: From Fringe to Financial...
The Autumn 2025 Budget risked becoming a “winter Budget”, arriving at the latest possible opportunity on 26 November after a prolonged and rumour-filled run-up. This marked the Chancellor’s second Budget. Her first, delivered on 30 October 2024, followed early...
HMRC Is Asking Taxpayers to Recheck Their Dividend Income Some taxpayers have recently received letters from HMRC urging them to confirm that their 2023/24 self assessment tax returns include all dividend income. The letters open with wording along these lines:...
Conflicting Attitudes Toward Retirement Across Generations A new report has revealed a striking disparity between when people want to retire and when they expect they realistically will. Two simple questions were asked: At what age would you like to retire? At what...
A Growing Issue for Millions of Young Adults HMRC’s latest data reveals that the total value of unclaimed Child Trust Funds (CTFs) has climbed to more than £1.5 billion. With hundreds of thousands of accounts now matured — but untouched — the scale of the problem...
Nine Months In – And Markets Haven’t Behaved as Expected As we enter the final quarter of 2025, investment performance may not resemble what many investors had anticipated at the start of the year. While global markets continue to generate headlines, their underlying...
A Significant Shift in ISA Subscription Trends Recent HMRC figures for the 2023/24 tax year reveal a notable trend: cash ISA subscriptions rose at a much faster pace than stocks and shares ISAs — around 224% more by the end of the decade. With cash ISAs attracting the...
Public Unawareness of Pension Changes A new survey has revealed a high level of public unawareness of impending pension changes and the need to plan. While there is plenty of media attention on what surprises might emerge in the November Budget, new research has...
The Ingredients for the Next State Pension Increase The ingredients to determine next April’s increase in the State pension are now clear and suggest a problem deferred until the 2026 Budget. Source: DWP, HMRC How the State Pension ‘Triple Lock’ Works The basis for...
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