Monday 26 September 2011

COMING UP TO RETIREMENT/AGE 55?

Whether you are just coming up to age 55 and want to start taking your pension benefits, or approaching 65 and State Pension Age, it is worth learning how to get the most from your pensions. There are some important decisions to make which can significantly affect how much money you can get in retirement. For example, if you have your pension with one company, you are not restricted to taking your benefit from them. You may find you can get more by taking advantage of the Open Market Option, which allows you to compare what other companies would offer you. Also remember that you do not have to stop working if you start taking your pension benefits.

Monday 19 September 2011

UPS AND DOWNS

The world’s Stock Markets are moving rather wildly up and down as investors worry about the problems that many countries face in meeting their debt obligations. They include Spain, Portugal and Italy, as well as the United States. In these circumstances it is worth reviewing the following Investment Tips that have proven their worth in the past.

 Buy what’s right for you.
 Diversify (don’t put all of your eggs in one basket).
 Invest for the long term.
 If an investment has risen substantially, consider selling it (don’t be ashamed to take a profit).
 Never buy what you don’t understand.
 Know when to say goodbye to a bad investment.
 Be your own person – don’t follow the herd.
 Review your investments regularly.
 Don’t believe everything you read!

Monday 12 September 2011

MAXIMISE YOUR INCOME

1) Maximise the income on your savings. Keep in touch with how much interest you are receiving from your cash savings. One poor soul received 0.1% interest for over two years before he finally wised up. There are various websites you can use to search out the best savings rates such as: www.moneyfacts.co.uk and www.moneysupermarket.com

2) If appropriate, find out if you are eligible for any benefits such as Pension Credit or Working Family Credit.

3) If you are aged 55 or over, look at possibly taking some of your pension benefits such as the Tax Free Cash immediately to augment your income. Note: some people may have lost track of pension benefits they have had, but there is a tracing system to allow you to hunt those down. Contact us for more information on this.

4) If you are really struggling with making ends meet, but have a house with little or no mortgage, look into Equity Release options. Here again it costs nothing to find out what is possible and we are happy to research your options for you without charge.

Monday 5 September 2011

CUTTING COSTS

The cost of living is increasing. That includes food, heating, travel and electricity. It is time to check to make sure that you remain in the Happiness Zone. To qualify for the Happiness Zone you need to have more money coming in than going out. If you are already there, pat yourself on your back. For those not there, it is worth looking at some ways to make some savings.

1) Reduce the cost of your credit. If you have ongoing, ‘never-ending’ credit card balances, you will be paying a very high interest rate. Check out possible personal loans to see if you can save on the costs. Changing it into a loan will also mean that the debt will eventually be gone! If your debts are too high to deal with by means of a personal loan, find out about remortgage possibilities. You may be able to score twice – once by lowering the costs of your credit, and secondly by lowering your mortgage payments by getting a better mortgage interest rate from another lender. It will cost you nothing to find out what your options are. Just give us a ring.

2) Really face up to your financial situation. Take the last 3 months and see what your spending has actually been. List out everything. Then compare it to your average income. You will soon see how much you need to cut back. Or, if you are already in the Happiness Zone, you can look at savings for the future.

3) Make sure you are not paying more tax than you have to. If you are employed, you should check your Tax Coding to see if it is correct. The Tax Man has certainly been known to make mistakes. If you are over 65, check to see that you are making the most of the extra personal allowance to which you are entitled. That can save almost £500 a year in tax. If you have investments, do not forget to take advantage of your Capital Gains Tax Allowance. It allows you to take profits out of your investments of up to £10,600 without having to pay any tax at all.