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An article on Yahoo Finance discusses recent proposals from James Brokenshire – “Housing minister James Brokenshire floated recently the controversial idea that young people should be allowed to raid their pension pots to fund a home deposit as first-time buyers. He’s not the first to do so and he probably won’t be the last.” The…

The amount of cash being withdrawn from pensions under the “pensions freedom” legislation reached an all time high in the second quarter of 2017. Between April and June this year, over 200,000 people released more than £1.86 billion, a 5% increase on last year. And the number of people withdrawing money has increased by more…

Many people have heard that property investment, usually in buy-to-let houses, is a great form of investment. But how does it compare to a pension? If you had the choice, would investing £100 in a pension, or in a property give you the best return? New research says that a 40% tax-payer would earn twice…

The government yesterday announced that it was bringing forward planned changes to the state pension age, and was accused of trying to “bury bad news” by releasing the announcement on the same day as BBC salaries were revealed. But, once the dust has settled, will the changes affect your retirement? The Telegraph digs into the…

Many people who have “defined benefits” pensions and are thinking of transferring the cash to another scheme are curious about why they have to take advice from a qualified IFA (Independent Financial Adviser) before they can make the switch. Unbiased, a website that helps people find IFAs in their area, gives their view on why…

The government has brought back plans to cut pension tax relief for people who release some of their pension and leave the rest in their pension scheme. The cut will affect people who are over 55, reducing the amount they can save without being taxed from £10,000 per year to £4,000. Critics are saying that…

Some people look at pension loans as an alternative to payday loans, or as a way to pay off their debt from payday loans. There have even been suggestions from some financial experts that it would be better if people could access small amounts of money from their pensions, rather than going down the route…

We recently wrote that the FCA is warning that it may need to change “pension freedom” legislation, because it is concerned about people releasing the cash in their pension early. This came after they revealed the results of their study into how people have responded in the years since the “freedoms” were introduced by George…

The “pensions freedom” regulations, which were introduced by George Osborne in 2015, could be reversed by financial regulators. The FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) is releasing an interim version of a report on its investigation of how the retirement income market has changed in recent years. This includes strong concerns about the way the reforms are…

Many people with “gold plated” final salary pension schemes are being offered seemingly generous incentives to cash in their pension at the moment. Thousands of people are wondering whether it is worth exchanging a guaranteed income in their retirement for an enticing cash lump sum now. Other benefits, such as being able to pass on…