Each year, just under 300,000 male pensioners are unwittingly denying their wives a comfortable retirement when they die because they are not taking the right advice when purchasing an annuity with their pension savings. Labelled a ‘ticking time bomb’ by leading pensions campaigner Dr Ros Altmann, the shocking revelation could leave thousands of widows in …
Raw Deal for Older Taxpayers?
A report by Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee into the way that older people, especially pensioners, are taxed has worryingly shown they could be on the receiving end of a very raw deal. Constituting 18% of taxpayers, older people are more likely to abide by tax rules but are less likely to understand them, which means …
Equity Release is Key Source of Retirement Funding say Politicians
A key source of retirement funding could come from Equity Release says a well known All Party Parliamentary Group. The group, led by Baroness Hollis of Heigham, suggested that the Government should provide better support to an industry that could offer a solution to the financial issues caused by a progressively ageing population. With additional …
Pensioners to Sell Home or Release Equity to Pay for Care
The future role of equity release as a possible means of funding social care for pensioners has been welcomed by trade body Equity Release Council (formerly Safe Home Income Plans, SHIP) in response to recent Lib Dem research. Interrogating Conservative plans for a residential social care scheme that would cost pensioners £8,000, the Liberal Democrats have …
Ex-Pats Migrating back to UK
More than two thirds of Brits who headed off to Europe for a life in the sun are returning to the UK. UK foreign exchange experts Moneycorp have recently reported that 70% of Brits who moved to mainland Europe are now considering coming home because as the value of the Pound has plunged, so has …
Women’s Pensions Falling Short of Male Counterparts
A recent Prudential survey says that women retiring this year will be living on an average pension of £234 a week, which falls two-thirds short of that of their male counterparts. This figure has dropped by 11% on that produced by the same survey last year, whilst the figure for men has only dropped by …
Your Pension: How will you fund it?
Huge numbers of people approaching retirement age — millions in fact – are heading for a worrying mix of hefty mortgages with no savings. A report by Aviva found that 25% of ‘pre-retirees’ – those aged between 55 and 64 – have a mortgage and in 20% of those cases it exceeds £75,000. The report, …
Equity Release Helps Beat the Winter Blues!
Fed up homeowners stranded at home whilst the snow continues to fall will more than likely be dreaming of jetting off to sunnier climes; but with finances being stretched to the limit many have little chance of getting away this winter, or even this year. …
Equity Release Provider uses Bower Case Studies in Campaign
Independent equity release specialists Bower are seeing their commitment to exceptional client care and in-depth advice rewarded through being featured in case studies used by leading equity release provider LV=, to promote the benefits of their range of equity release plans. …
State Pension Rise Doesn’t Include SERPS
Perhaps one of the very few almost positive things to come out of the Pre-Budget Report was the April 2010 state pension rise which sees an increase of 2.5% in the rate from £95.25 to £97.65 for a single pensioner and from £152.30 to £156.16 for couples. …
