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 →

It should be easier for consumers to compare cash savings accounts and then switch providers if they wish, said the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The FCA comments came on 20 January, following a market study that showed competition in the £700 billion cash savings market often did not work well for consumers, particularly those with … Continue reading Cash savers need easier switching, says FCA →

New research has revealed that pension saving is becoming established as a national priority. In research carried out for NEST (National Employment Savings Trust), a workplace pension scheme open to all employers and the self-employed, 2,000 people were asked how they would allocate their money if they had more of it to spend. Saving for … Continue reading Pensions ‘becoming a national priority’ →