2021 – An Opportunity for Change
Investing whilst listening to your moral compass or considering your ethical preferences has been around for many years. Friends Provident entered the market with their Stewardship range of funds in the early 1980s and we should remember that Prince Charles has been talking to plants for well over 30 years. The spotlight on investing in […]
The slow creep of inflation
Consumer price inflation, the rate at which the prices of goods and services bought by households rise and fall, is estimated using 3 price indices, Retail Price Index (RPI), Consumer Price Index (CPI) and CPIH (this is CPI including owner occupier’s housing costs). CPIH has been adopted since 2017 over CPI as being the UK’s […]
Should I continue to hold cash on deposit?
Bank base rates currently stand at 0.1% in the UK with similarly low rates in the US and Europe. I think it is unlikely that there will be much appetite for interest rates to rise in the near future particularly with the enormous levels of debt that governments have been required to take on as […]
What are the main considerations in funding for long-term care fees?
Being faced with the prospect of requiring care for yourself or a loved one can be daunting. It is well documented that the cost of care is expensive and must be paid for even by those with modest assets or savings (currently £23,250 in England for the tax year 2020/21). However, there are several steps […]
A Wingate Financial Planning White Paper… Funding for later life care provision
When looking at later life planning and in particular care funding there are many different options available and working out which is appropriate can be difficult. There are various routes, some provided by the state. For those who are thinking about self-funding, there is often a concern over how long their funds may last and […]
A free lunch?
In the current tough economic environment, every penny counts. Many people have been faced with a reduction in their earnings or have sadly lost their jobs. In addition, there are those who are either partially or fully retired, whose income may have been reduced by some margin. The Personal Allowance is a tax allowance that […]
Tapered Annual Allowance
Tapered Annual Allowance The Pension Annual Allowance sets the limit on how much you can pay into a pension in a tax year. It is based on your earnings for the year and is capped at £40,000. To add a layer of complication, for higher earners (see below) this allowance could taper away to as […]
We have all the time in the world
We have all the time in the world ‘I don’t want [our children] brought up in a country where the only way pensioners can get long-term care is by selling their home’. (September 1997 – New Prime Minister, Tony Blair’s speech at annual Labour party conference) ‘Nobody should have to sell their home for dementia […]
Don’t forget your protection!
Don’t forget your protection! Most people are aware that their pension will allow them access to 25% of the fund value, usually after the age of 55, as a tax-free lump sum. However, there are circumstances where the tax-free lump sum will be a higher percentage, and this is referred to as protected tax-free cash. […]
All things Green
All things Green 2017, Blue Planet II and David Attenborough have a lot to answer for when considering current investment trends. As you may recall, one program showed the damage that we are all doing to our planet specifically highlighting the dangers of plastic waste – bottled water, plastic packaging, electrical tape etc. The realisation […]
