As life expectancy rates in the UK continue to rise, the coalition Government estimates that nearly one in five people will live to see their 100th birthday. Radical legislation will attempt to ensure pension savings are sufficient for these retirees, which in turn will help reduce the burden on the state.
If you are a 50-something, are you financially prepared for retirement? It is estimated that one third of people in this age group have no retirement savings at all. However, the plans you make in the final approach to retirement can have the most significant impact on the size of your eventual pension.
Different investments are subject to different tax treatment. The following is based on our understanding, as at 6 April 2011, of current taxation, legislation and HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) practice, all of which are subject to change without notice. The impact of taxation (and any tax relief) depends on individual circumstances.
All investments, including cash deposits, carry a degree of risk but some are more risky than others. Once you have established a solid foundation of savings for the short term, you may look to investments to provide more growth potential over a longer period, typically five years or more. There is no one investment strategy that suits everyone and your decisions on how to divide up your investment portfolio into different types of investment will change over time.
The European Court of Justice has ruled that gender-based insurance rates are unlawful in a move that could lead to a shake-up in the annuity market. This major ruling takes effect from 21 December 2012 and will fundamentally reshape the retirement landscape, leading to the likely equalisation of annuity rates for men and women. This ruling means it will be imperative that every investor shops around with their pension fund at retirement; if they don’t they risk ending up with a homogenised standard–issue annuity which is almost certain to be a poor deal for them.
Do you want to grow your capital, increase your income or both? Your answer will determine the type of investments you select and, in addition, you need to be aware of the concept of ‘total return’. This is the measurement of performance – the actual rate of return of an investment or a pool of investments over a given evaluation period. Total return includes interest, capital gains, dividends and distributions realised over a given period of time.
If you have an estate currently worth more than £325,000, you should plan early and act decisively if you are to avoid burdening your heirs with a future Inheritance Tax (IHT) liability.
Labour peer Lord Hutton has recommended to ministers that public sector workers should no longer have final salary pensions. Instead they should have schemes linked to average earnings, while paying more and working longer.
In the current investment climate, absolute return funds could offer the ordinary investor access to a range of more sophisticated investment techniques previously only available to the very wealthy.
Mr Deputy Speaker, last year’s emergency Budget was about rescuing the nation’s finances, and paying for the mistakes of the past. Today’s Budget is about reforming the nation’s economy, so that we have enduring growth and jobs in the future. And it’s about doing what we can to help families with the cost of living and the high oil price.