Category: Uncategorized

The government is coming under increased pressure to change the student loans system. Some are calling for a complete reform – making student loans into a tax. They argue that that is what they effectively are already. Others are calling for a less serious reform – raising the salary cap at which the repayments of…

New government rules will now allow people with small pensions (under £30,000) to transfer their money to other schemes, without paying fees. Previously, they would have to pay advice fees, which could sometimes be over £1,000. This will apply to “guaranteed annuity rate” pensions. The Telegraph reports – “Savers with “guaranteed annuity rate” pensions worth…

If you are releasing money from your pension, under the Pensions Freedoms provisions, how do you make sure, within current regulations, that the taxman doesn’t take a huge chunk? That was the question a reader of iNews put to their financial expert this week. He wanted to know if his wife would have to pay…

More news on the issue of potentially dangerous levels of sub-prime car loans in today’s Daily Mail. Their investigation found unscrupulous car salesmen are offering cars worth up to £20,000 with no deposit but monthly payments of hundreds of pounds that they will be paying back for many years to come. And these loans are…

The Bank Of England has warned about the danger to the economy of too many “bad loans”. They have forced banks to put an additional £11.4 billion into reserves to counter the risks and try to avoid another financial crisis like 2008. This comes as many experts have been warning that there is too much…

Should you join the 200,000+ people who are planning to cash in their pension this year? In their case, it is “final salary” pensions that savers are thinking of “cashing in” by transferring them to other types of pension. Many companies who were giving final salary schemes are now offering seemingly generous incentives to get…

We’ve mentioned before that some people look to pension loans because they want to help out their children who are facing potentially crippling debt from student loans. With inflation rising recently, interest on student loans is reaching its highest ever levels (over 6%) and more parents are wondering whether to pay off their kids’ loans.…

Should you release the tax free 25% lump sum that is available from your pension when you first retire? Many people use that cash to pay off debts, make an investment, or help their family. For example some people use it to help children to buy a house or pay for university. But there is…

In the iNews Money section today, a reader is asking for expert advice on cashing in her pension. She has two pensions and wants to be able to get all of her smaller  pension pot, but not pay any tax on it. She asks – “When I retire I will need to take some of…

Around a million people who plan to retire early could get a £237 per year boost to their state pension. And that bonus will be increased every year, in line with inflation. And the cost is only £741 this year – giving an annual return on investment of around 30%. ThisIsMoney reports – “The returns…