The UK Budget 2024 was primed to be an important event in the financial calendar. Industry professionals huddled around, waiting for that one policy announcement that would forever change the face of financial planning. It wasn’t to be! In past budgets, income tax rates were slashed, mortgage and pension tax reliefs disappeared or were reduced, […]
Updating your pension plan
Andy Warhol once said, “They always say time changes things, but you have to change them yourself.”. We are pretty good at this. We regularly change our mobile phones, clothing style, cars, houses and almost everything we own. We do this to renew and refresh our belongings and ensure we’re up to date with modern […]
Retirement planning: new year, new country?
Christmas is often a time for reflection. How was the past year? What will the new one be like? For some, it’s a focus on retirement planning and a move abroad. Since Brexit, UK emigrees to EU States are now considered 3rd country nationals. In other words, in the same way as anyone who doesn’t […]
Autumn Statement 2023
The UK Chancellor makes his annual Autumn Statement every year. The purpose is to update progress from the main event, the Spring Budget. Initially, it was a relatively mundane affair where few important new policies were announced. Over the years, the Autumn Statement has morphed into a mini-Budget as more new laws and government policy […]
Changes to NHR in Portugal
Despite the undoubted success of NHR in Portugal, political pressure has signalled the end of the current system and the beginning of a new one. Whilst the NHR regime was highly beneficial for wealthy retirees, it is claimed that increases in the cost of living, and in particular housing, have not been so great for […]
Multi-jurisdiction divorce and pensions
Divorce can be a difficult process at the best of times. Even in relatively straightforward cases, it’s a long and expensive procedure. Lawyers don’t come cheap, and the incidental costs associated with at least one partner finding new accommodation and establishing a new life are unavoidable. This article deals with the complexities of multi-jurisdiction divorce […]
QROPS transfers guidance
The financial industry welcomed the Pensions Regulator’s guidance notes on QROPS transfers. New rules designed to prevent scams were sorely needed as we have seen so many people’s pension pots decimated by criminal behaviour and poor adviser practises. However, pension providers often interpret the recently introduced red flag system incorrectly. This is unsurprising as insurance […]
UK pension options for US citizens
People who now live in the USA and built up private or company pensions whilst working in the UK often face several challenges when accessing information, obtaining advice and transferring their plan to something more appropriate to their residency status. So, what UK pension options are available to ‘US-connected’ citizens, and can better outcomes be […]
Pension transfer regulation
The UK government introduced new pension transfer regulation in November 2021 to combat pension scams. A traffic light flag system was created to help Trustees and administrators of pension schemes identify and reject transfers that might result in the policy owner being scammed. Individuals and the pension industry welcomed this. Not before time, some would […]
Abolition of the LTA in the UK Budget
No one expected the abolition of the LTA in the Budget. Rumours always abound within the industry the week before, but major structural changes rarely happen. The industry expected the limit to be restored to £1.8m, but the Chancellor went even further, with the abolition of the LTA completely. The rationale was to encourage highly […]
Solving the mobile employee pension conundrum
I recently talked with a Human Resources professional about providing mobile employee pension benefits for their overseas workers. It went a little like this. Caller – “Hi, I’m enquiring about an International Pension Plan for our non-UK employees. I suspect we’ll have a nice chat; then you’ll tell me it’s impossible!” Me – “I’m sure […]
Investment options
Not long ago, shareholders were limited to a narrow range of investment options. Employing a stockbroker was only open to the very wealthy; Unit Trusts were in their infancy and considered too risky for most, and With-Profit funds dominated the pension and endowment market. With-Profit funds were ok up to a point. However, they fell […]
Personal pensions and IHT
Countries worldwide are battling the financial consequences of Covid and the cost of living crisis. The UK is no different, with government resources struggling to provide services to the public. Into the fray stepped the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), a leading independent economic research institute, with proposals for personal pensions and IHT (inheritance tax). […]
Looking for low volatility investments
The fall in global stock markets in 2022 has resulted in many people searching for low volatility investments. We haven’t seen markets behave this erratically since the financial crisis of 2008/9. To make matters worse, fixed Interest investments and property funds have also suffered; it appears there is nowhere to go to protect ourselves from […]
Wealth Tax in Andalucia eliminated
The much despised Wealth Tax in Andalucia has been eliminated following Juanma Moreno’s recent election victory. Great news for Andalucian taxpayers! QROPS relationship with Wealth Tax has always been a contentious issue; at least we now know that they are definitely outside the scope of Wealth Tax for Andalucian (and Madrid) taxpayers, albeit by default. […]