Category Archives: Financial Planning

Prepare for auto enrolment

The law on workplace pensions has changed to make it easier for people to save for their retirement. Automatic - or auto - enrolment means every employer must enrol eligible staff into a qualifying pension scheme. Both you and the employee contribute to the pension, as does the government in the form of tax relief. Find out your staging date Continue Reading
Read more

Pension contributions and high income earners

Our previous government enacted legislation that removed the personal allowance for certain high income earners. The present government has made no change to this process. Basically, for every £2 your income exceeds £100,000, your personal allowance is reduced by £1. Take, for example, the case of Joe Smith who has income for 2014-15 of £100,000 and a personal tax allowance Continue Reading
Read more

7 Questions to ask when choosing your accountant

Are you a member of any professional body? Unlike other professions, anyone can open an office and call themselves an accountant, no training or qualifications are required!  There are many unqualifieds out there, I suspect that many of their clients don’t realise they are unqualified!  You wouldn’t go to an unqualified doctor, so why take a risk with your financial Continue Reading
Read more

Pension decision period extended

Last month we touched on the changes that HMRC is introducing to the treatment of defined contributions pensions. HM Treasury has now issued the following update that clarifies the position of people who have recently taken a tax-free lump sum from their defined contribution scheme. “The government has announced today (Wednesday 9 April) that people who have recently taken a Continue Reading
Read more