Property Market Review August 2019
MARKET BEHAVIOUR “LITTLE CHANGED” AS BREXIT HEADWINDS REMAIN The UK Commercial Property Market Survey for Q2, conducted by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, reports that demand is still solid across the industrial sector and that further growth in capital values is expected across both the prime industrial and office sectors over the coming year. […]
Generation X top the pensions saving chart
Information from HMRC shows that those aged 43 to 54, often referred to as Generation X, account for the largest proportion of the UK’s personal pension contributions, equating to 43% of total contributions made in the 2015–16 tax year, the latest year for which data is available. However, there are fears that they are still […]
Saving £2,880 a year could provide a retirement windfall for your child
Planning ahead and starting early can really help when it comes to building up wealth for children. Current pension rules, which could change in the future, allow a parent to put up to £2,880 a year into a pension for a child. Tax relief means that this is then topped up to £3,600. If a […]
Economic Review – August 2019
EMPLOYMENT AT NEW RECORD HIGH The latest batch of employment data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that the UK labour market remains in robust health, with the total number of people in work rising to another record high. Statistics from the Labour Force Survey showed that a net 115,000 jobs were […]
Millennials could save £10.5bn by making a few lifestyle swaps
With two-thirds of millennials admitting they don’t save enough, and saying they’re finding it difficult to get the cash together for a deposit on a property, Barclays has suggested a few ways in which they could boost their savings without giving up on socialising or treats. According to the findings of a survey carried out […]
Huge rise in protection policy take-up
If you were unable to work due to accident, injury, sickness or redundancy, you would still need to support yourself and your family financially. Whilst you might have enough savings to tide you over for a short period off work, if it went on for longer, it could be a struggle to meet mortgage costs […]
Savings – do you need a nudge?
Savings – do you need a nudge? According to data from the Office for National Statistics3, the UK is losing the savings habit. In the last couple of years, the savings ratio has been at about 4%, whereas in the 1990s it was closer to 15%. Statistics show that half of 20-somethings have no savings […]
Investment jargon made simple
Commonly used words and phrases in connection with investing can often seem confusing, but the good news is that we are well-versed in providing plain-English explanations of technical terms. Volatility You will probably have heard this term quite a lot recently. Volatility refers to the rate at which the price of an investment moves up […]
WORRYINGLY, 68% OF RETIREES DON’T TAKE ADVICE
If you’re looking ahead to your retirement, the good news is that nowadays there are more choices open to you than ever before. However, recent research7 shows that many retirees may not be exploring these options and aren’t shopping around at retirement, selecting instead to take the annuity or drawdown facility offered to them by […]
Gifting money for a deposit – what you need to know
Parents and grandparents keen to help their offspring get onto the housing ladder are increasingly helping them out with the money they need for their deposit. This can help reduce Inheritance Tax (IHT) too, but you need to be aware of the rules. Everyone has a yearly ‘gift’ allowance for IHT and can give away […]