Pension providers handled more than 200,000 calls from customers in the first week following the introduction of new pension freedoms on 6 April. Members of the Association of British Insurers (ABI) reported that between 7 and 10 April, they received 229,932 phone calls from customers interested in finding out more about their pension options under … Continue reading Pension freedom calls flood in →

Most British adults are falling through an “advice gap” by not making use of financial advisers, according to new research. A survey of 2,002 people by life insurers MetLife and unbiased.co.uk, which helps people to find independent professional advisers, found that 58 per cent had never taken professional advice and even when people did use … Continue reading Brits ‘falling through advice gap’ →

Financial sector bodies have welcome 2015 Budget measures that Chancellor George Osborne said were designed to help create a “savings culture”. They included reforms to ISAs to make them “fully flexible”. At present, any money taken out of an ISA cannot be paid back into it during the same tax year, reducing the tax savings … Continue reading ISAs given Budget boost →

Pensions experts have raised concerns over the future level of the pensions lifetime allowance (LTA), after it was reduced to £1 million from April 2016. The allowance – the amount someone can save into a pension pot and benefit from tax relief – will be reduced from £1.25 million next year, Chancellor George Osborne announced … Continue reading Pensions experts warn against more lifetime allowance cuts →

More than three-quarters of over-55s have not yet considered or do not know how they will access their pension funds under new freedoms being introduced in April. From April, savers aged 55 and over will be able to decide for the first time how they access defined contribution pension funds. They will be able to choose … Continue reading Savers undecided on pension choices →

Brits are set to waste more than £1.3 billion in ISA tax savings this year, new research has found. Cash ISAs are the biggest area of waste, with £1.2 billion of tax-free allowances left unused, with another £104 million lost by not making the most of stocks and shares ISAs. The findings come in research … Continue reading Brits ‘lose out on £1.3bn ISA tax savings’ →

Thousands of first-time home buyers have been urged to give serious thought to how they would pay their mortgage and other bills if they were unable to work. In January, the Halifax bank announced that the number of first-time buyers increased by an estimated 22 per cent in 2014 to reach its highest annual total … Continue reading First-time buyers urged to protect income →