Wealth Knowledge

Inheritance tax freeze ‘set to grab £985m’ from estates  The Treasury expects inheritance tax receipts to soar by almost £1 billion by 2025/26, following the decision to freeze two key thresholds in last month’s Budget.  The nil-rate band will continue at £325,000, while the residence nil-rate band remains at £175,000 until April 2026.  This means

OTS proposal could trigger a spike in pension tax relief bills Higher-rate taxpayers who save into personal pensions and fail to claim extra tax relief could soon have it handed to them automatically under a new proposal.  Currently, individuals pay into their personal pension scheme out of their net income, while their pension provider claims

Are major tax changes on hold until the autumn? Chancellor Rishi Sunak is expected to shelve plans to introduce tax rises in next month’s Spring Budget, according to reports. The Chancellor will deliver his second Budget on 3 March 2021 and his first since COVID-19 began to engulf the UK last March.  Since then, the

IFS: ‘People born in the 1980s face long wait for inheritance’ The average person in their 30s and early 40s faces a wait until they are 64 to inherit their parents’ wealth, according to the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS).  The average age of those losing their last surviving parent is tipped to rise from

Mortgage payment holidays extended for up to six months Mortgage payment breaks have been extended for homeowners who are being financially affected by the ongoing pandemic.  The announcement was made on 31 October 2020, the same day as the scheme was due to end after an initial six months. Borrowers who have not yet had

UK economic recovery slows to 2.1% in August The UK’s economic recovery following sharp declines caused by the coronavirus lockdown continued to slow in August 2020, official figures show.  The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that GDP grew by 2.1% in August 2020, its fourth consecutive monthly increase after falling by 26.2% in March

Pension freedoms age rising to 57 in 2028 dashes early retirement hopes The age at which retirement savers can access their private pensions will increase from 55 to 57 in 2028 confirmed.  Introduced in 2015, existing pension freedom rules offer more options to over-55s when it comes to accessing their pension before retirement. Over 4.5

Help-to-buy equity loan scheme gets two-month extension The Government has extended a loan scheme which is designed to help those who are struggling to save for a mortgage deposit. Buyers who use the help-to-buy equity loan scheme now have until 28 February 2021 for their new-build homes in England to be finished.  The previous deadline

Workers in hardest-hit sectors face retirement savings crisis Many workers in sectors that shut down during the COVID-19 lockdown could be facing a retirement savings crisis, according to a report.  Scottish Widows polled 5,757 savers for its annual retirement report, which was undertaken in March 2020 – during the height of the pandemic. More than

Base rate cuts have significant effect on savings market Dwindling interest rates have seen average savings rates for ISAs drop to their lowest levels since records began in 2008, according to Moneyfacts. During the first six months of the year, the average easy access ISA rate collapsed to a low of 0.45%, from 0.85% in