By David Triggs

Gaps are rarely good things. Sure, a gap year backpacking around South East Asia might sound splendid, but certain gaps aren’t so wonderful, such as:

• Gaps in the road 
• Gaps in your CV 
• The retirement income gender gap 

Looking specifically at retirement, new research from Prudential suggests that women retiring this year will now on average be £6,400 worse off than men.

A survey of 10,605 non-retired UK adults was conducted by Research Plus. It revealed that the gender gap of £5,300 in 2016 had increased by £1,100,...

By James Tanswell

Saving for a rainy day is something that many of us struggle to do. Last month, research from Legal and General suggested that nearly one in four people in the UK have no savings. In fact, the average UK employee only has enough money saved to maintain their lifestyle for one month, should their income suddenly stop.

It doesn’t come as much of a surprise then, that figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that the average proportion of disposable income that goes into savings is at a record low.

What is...

By David Triggs

New research from Retirement Advantage suggests that many over 50s in the UK are underprepared, uniformed and daunted by their rapidly approaching retirement.

Andrew Tully, the Pensions Technical Director at Retirement Advantage, states: “In 2017 we find that there is a perilously low level of understanding and financial activity in preparing for retirement. We don’t want people to lurch, like zombies, towards their retirement.”

Zombies are generally known for their tendency to shuffle around in B movies, rather than retir...

By Rob Barron

There are two schools of thought on retiring early.

For some people, the question isn’t at what age they wish to retire, it’s at what income. Working past retirement age has obvious financial benefits, and continuing to earn an income, even part-time can be the right decision for them.

For others, however, early retirement is the ultimate dream.

New research from Prudential shows that the majority of people planning to stop working this year will be retiring early; a stark contrast to the 20% of young workers who believe tha...

By James Tanswell

For some, there is no greater feeling than getting a good deal on something. Whatever it is, from car insurance to the car itself; getting the most for your money can be incredibly satisfying.

However, new research from Retirement Advantage suggests that retirees are missing out on a total of £765 million in Annuity income, simply by not shopping around.

This equates to the average person losing out on £8,460 over the course of their retirement; money that would no doubt be better off in your pocket than that of your pen...

By Rob Barron

Confusion reigned this week as the Chancellor, Philip Hammond, revealed that two measures previously announced in his Budget will not go ahead.

For now, anyway.

Mr Hammond’s Budget, delivered in early March, will be remembered for the proposed National Insurance rise for self-employed workers. A few days later, following protests and a media backlash, he changed his mind.

It now seems that two other measures, which would have affected pensioners and shareholders, will now not go ahead.

Contribution cut

Prior to the Budg...

By James Tanswell

The 6th of April is an important date to many for a number of reasons:

• It’s National Fisherman Day in Indonesia 
• It’s the day that ABBA won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974
• It’s Raphael’s birthday (the 16th century Italian Renaissance painter, not the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle)

It’s also the first day of the brand-new tax year, which brings with it a long list of changes that you should know about. This article looks at the 10 most important changes to your personal finances, from your personal tax allowance...

By James Tanswell

The answer to that question depends on two things; the outcome of the election and how you react to the inevitable instability it will cause.

At this early stage, the most likely outcome seems to be a Conservative victory, with an increased majority. At least that’s what a certain Mrs May, of Number 10 Downing Street, has gambled on.

Logically, if this is the case, Mrs May, and the Chancellor Philip Hammond, will be emboldened to drive through changes to domestic policy, whilst negotiating Brexit. Of course, even if it...

By David Triggs

National Savings & Investments (NS&I) has launched its new Investment Guaranteed Growth Bond, after announcing it in November 2016.

The fixed rate bond offers the highest interest rate currently available at 2.2% gross/AER, and has been called ‘market leading’ by the Treasury. Despite the competitive interest rate, it doesn’t beat the current rate of inflation, as measured by the Consumer Prices Index (CPI), which is currently at 2.3%.

What are the key features?

Although the account is called an Investment Guaranteed Gr...