Review your life assurance arrangements

Pull out the documents and see how much you are covered for and for how long. You may find a policy is coming to its end and you can ask us to check the cost to ensure you are not overpaying for your life assurance. The Uni-Sex insurance directive that came into force at the end of 2012 has brought about various changes in the costs of life assurance – some good and some bad!

Be aware of your Tax Allowances

Be aware of your Tax Allowances and take advantage of them and ensure your spouse does so as well - if you are married.


                                                       2012/13                                          2013/14

Personal Tax Allowance                   £8,105                                           £9,440

For those aged 65/74                       £10,500                                         £10,500 (no change)

For those 75 and over                      £10,660                                         £10,660 (no change)


Note: The Age Related Allowances above are only available to those whose total income is less than £25,400 in the current Tax Year and £26,100 in the new Tax Year.

The end of the Tax Year

We are approaching the end of the Tax Year and it is a good time to ensure we are all taking advantage of all of the tax allowances available, including the Personal Tax Allowance, the ISA (Individual Savings Account) allowance, the Capital Gains Tax allowance, etc.


Use your Capital Gains Tax Allowance if you have investments that have gone up in value. You can realise tax-free profits of up to £10,600. As with your ISA allowance, you cannot carry this forward. Use it or lose it!

Maximise your pension contributions where possible. In the current Tax Year you can put a maximum of £50,000 into your pension, and even more if you have not used up your pension payment allowance in the preceding three years. In the new Tax Year this maximum reduces to £40,000. We would be pleased to assist.

Review all of your cash deposit accounts

We are approaching the end of the Tax Year and it is a good time to ensure we are all taking advantage of all of the tax allowances available, including the Personal Tax Allowance, the ISA (Individual Savings Account) allowance, the Capital Gains Tax allowance, etc.


Review all of your cash deposit accounts. Find out what interest rate you are receiving. You may be shocked to find interest rates of 0.10% for monies held in a savings account with the glorified name of “Gold” or “Platinum” savings account. Look for better rates.