What's your approach to planning for retirement? It's often an exciting milestone, but it may also be mixed with conflicting emotions. After all, it's likely to signify a great change in your life and you may not have a clue what you want to do with your increased leisure time. Embracing some of the aspects of a Japanese tradition known as kanreki could help.

In many cultures of East Asia, reaching your 60^th birthday is significant. This is because of the traditional 60-year calendar cycle, meaning you’ve completed one ‘cycle’ through the...

It’s natural to want your hard-earned savings to grow as much as possible. However, as the saying goes ‘if something seems too good to be true, it probably is’. When we hear about people losing their life savings, it’s often related to scams and fraudsters. However, recent headlines show that getting sucked into inappropriate products can be just as dangerous.

The case of London Capital & Finance

Over the last few weeks, you may have heard of London Capital & Finance; the scandal has been covered in the media all over the country.

The f...

Ethics are increasingly playing an important role in our day-to-day lives. You may choose to purchase fair trade groceries, use a green energy supplier or be more aware of your own carbon footprint or water use. It's a trend that's inevitably spilling over into finances too.

As the world becomes more connected in the digital age, it's becoming far easier to see the impact our money can have, whether it's negative or positive. For some, it's becoming a defining factor in how and why they make certain financial decisions. Research from Trio...

Premium Bonds have been around since 1956 but they’ve recently been in the headlines again after the technology behind the popular saving option has been revamped. But before you put your hand in your pocket, it’s crucial to understand what Premium Bonds are and how they can potentially offer you a return.

Firstly, despite the name, Premium Bonds differ significantly from standard bonds. A bond represents a loan, with the investor receiving specified repayments over a defined period of time, interest may be variable or fixed. They are use...

Millions of more workers are now saving into a pension thanks to auto-enrolment. The retirement saving initiative saw minimum contributions rise at the start of the 2018/19 tax year. While it may be tempting to opt out in light of this, it could mean you’re hundreds of thousands of pounds worse off once you reach retirement.

Whilst you may not be affected by auto-enrolment, it’s likely that someone in your life is, perhaps children or grandchildren. The majority of workers are now automatically enrolled in their employer’s pension scheme ...

Are you thinking about purchasing an Annuity to fund your retirement lifestyle? It’s crucial to understand the product and shop around for the best deal as research suggests that many retirees could secure a better income.

An Annuity is a way of creating a guaranteed income throughout retirement if you have a Defined Contribution (DC) pension. Should you decide it’s the right option, the money accumulated in your pension is used to purchase an Annuity. Typically, the money paid out from an Annuity will be linked to inflation, maintaining ...

When it comes to falling ill or being injured for an extended period of time, we often think it won’t happen to us. But when questioned about it, research shows it’s something that worries more than half of us. When you consider the potential financial implications, it’s not surprising.

According to research from Royal London, 52% of workers worry about their income if they were to become too ill to work for longer than a month. With official figures showing this is the case for more than a million workers every year, it’s more likely to ...

Every day we make financial decisions, but you’ve probably spent little time thinking about the thought process that goes on behind each one you make. After all, we’ve evolved to make our decision-making processes quicker and easier.

While you may quickly decide whether a purchase is good value for money or to deposit savings into an account, there’s a lot that goes into it. The decisions we make, including those related to finance, are based on experiences, information we’ve stored, our general perception of the world and more. It means ...

One of the key decisions you need to make when investing is how much investment risk you want to take.

Weighing up the level of risk you’re willing to be exposed to can be challenging. It’s often one that’s ruled by emotions and your personal attitude to risk. While these factors should play a role, they aren’t the only areas you should be considering. Whether you’re reviewing your pension or building a personal investment portfolio, balancing risk is a crucial part of the process.

If it’s a step you’re taking, keeping these six points i...