Monday 10 March 2014

ACT TODAY - MAKE SURE YOU USE YOUR TAX ALLOWANCES



In the run up to the end of the tax year, it's important that you consider all the tax-relief/exemptions and allowances that the Government offer. Please remember, many of these will be lost if you don't act before the tax year ends, on 5th April 2014.


You can manage your finances in a more tax-efficient way through:


- Savings - using tax efficient ISAs;
- Pensions - carrying forward any unused allowances;
- Investments - using up capital gains tax (CGT) exemptions and income tax personal allowances;
- Estate planning - inheritance tax (IHT) allowances and exemptions.


Do get in touch with us.

Monday 3 March 2014

Income Please

Income please


After you have taken your tax-free cash


Option 1 Take a guaranteed income for life (Annuity).


Option 2 Receive a higher guaranteed income for life due to an adverse medical condition or medical history or history of smoking (Enhanced Annuity).


Option 3 Take a fixed income for a period of time (usually 5 years) and have a guaranteed amount left at the end so you can then review your options (Temporary Annuity).


Option 4 Get an income which can possibly increase depending on the underlying investments (Investment Based Annuity).


Option 5 Leave your monies invested with the option to draw an income from the fund itself (Drawdown). There are two possibilities here.


The first is called Capped Drawdown. With this one the maximum you can take is based on your age and the value of the pension fund. The second is called Flexible Drawdown. This allows you to take out as much as you want from your pension fund – but only if you already have a guaranteed pension income of at least £20,000 per annum (this can be made up of the State Pension and Private Pension income but cannot be made up of other earned income or investment income).