Standard Life is to remediate all customers who lost money after the revaluation of its Pension Sterling fund last month (January), at an estimated cost of £100m.

Make the most of your ISA allowance

Whatever your savings needs, you’ll want to make sure you choose the most tax efficient option.  After all, you need your money to work hard for you.  Your valuable annual ISA allowance may have an important part to play in helping you achieve these objectives.

The important thing to remember is that you can’t carry forward your allowance so, if you don’t use it you’ll lose it. 

If your not sure what an ISA or you need a refresher on the guidlelines for investing then your should read the FSA Money Made Clear Saving and Investing  publication.  You can download a copy here.

If you would like to arrange a convenient time to talk through your options with me before the end of this tax year, please give me a call on 02476 251100.

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Scottish Life have developed new software which they are providing free of charge to employers who take out a pension scheme for their staff.  This is an anticipation of the government requirements on compulsory pension schemes for all employers so why not take the initiative now.

If you are thinking of putting in a new pension scheme for your staff or would like to change your existing providers to obtain the software then please contact us on 02476 251100

Want to know more? –  Scottish Life Benefits Administration details are here.

Everyone should know what they spend each month.  Most of us know what we receive each month.  I’m also sure a lot of people have taken time to do a budget planner.  A budget planner allows you to make sure that your income always exceeds your expenditure.

With some people now experiencing a lower income through the current economic downturn it is time to revisit this exercise to make sure that you don’t fall into the debt trap.  If you want a blank budget planner then contact us and we can email the one we use or you can download one from Money Saving Expert here.

But, once a planner has been done, what do you do with it?  Whether it keeps you solvent or sends you into debt it is worth asking an expert on personal finance for thier opinion.  We can offer you a free consultancy on this.  Call our office on 02476 251100 to arrange a meeting in our Coventry Office.  If this is not geographically possible then please visit IFA Promotion to find a suitable adviser in your area.

If you are thinking of buying a property for the first time, moving home or remortgaging your property then you will need to appoint a solicitor to act for you.  Solicitors normally refer to this service they give to you as conveyancing.

Every firm of solicitors has a different charge for this service.  In our experience, the actual service you get can very dramatically.  They all get you there in the end, it’s just that some are more efficient than others.

We have an excellent tool on our site so that you can obtain a comparative quote from over 300 solicitor firms throughout the UK for their conveyancing service.  Not only does it give you the fee it also shows you the feedback that the partcular firms has been given by other people like yourself.

I personally used the service last time I remortgaged in April 2008.  I used a firm who were over 300 miles away and they were excellent in terms of price and service.  I saved about £300 against quotes I received from local firms in Coventry.

So, see if you can save yourself a few pounds and try the system out.  If you like the price you can instruct the firm online as well!

So you are reaching your intended retirement age and you are beginning to receive your maturity options from your various pension providers.  What do you do now?  How do you decide on which style of annuity is best for you.  Level in payment or increasing?  A spouses pension or single life? Take the tax free cash or not?  Or even is buying an annuity the best way for you to provide income in retirement?

For the purpose of this article, lets assume that a single life, escalating annuity is best for you.  The next part of our advice process now involves finding which Pension Provider is going to offer you the highest income for your fund.  This ability to shop around for the best annuity rate is called The Open Market Option. 

The Pension Providers base their annuity rates on their own experiences of average life expectancy.  Don’t be fooled by there warm brochures covered with pictures of a happy pensioners.  They want you to die prematurely so they don’t have to pay your annuity out for long.   In fact, a number of Pension Companies will now offer enhanced annuity rates for smokers and retirees who have serious medical conditions such as high blood pressure, historical heart attacks, diabetics etc.

We don’t advocate you start smoking just before you retire but if you do, or you take medication, then contact us to see how much extra pension income you might get. 

You only get one chance to buy your annuity so make sure you contact us to get the correct advice on both style of annuity and the Pension Provider offering the highest rate.  

Then all you have to do is live a long and happy retirement!

So what really are the benefits of offering this scheme to your staff?  Well, if they are already paying for it themselves (and they haven’t had a string of claims) they will jump at the chance to let you, the Employer, pay the premiums for them.

But it must be more than that.  From the Employer’s point of view it does help with absence management.  Rather than having the member of staff off work whilst undergoing sporadic treatment from the NHS they are treated, probably by the same consultant, but in a matter of days rather than weeks or months.  This should lead to the speedy return to work of a fit, well and motivated employee.

It also increases time management.  I’m sure we’ve all waited in the NHS waiting room for hours on end.  Even those of us who have arrived early in the hope of a quick consultation and then back to the office.  It doesn’t happen!   Private Medical Insurance allows the patient to dictate the time of the treatment to fit in with their busy work schedule.

And of course the member of staff. In the event of an illness or injury which needs treatment, the sooner that the treatment starts the quicker the potential recovery.  They in turn should feel gratitude to their employer who has gone that extra yard to care for it’s employees.

There are many different types of Private Medical Insurance Schemes to cater for all different business types and sizes.  Indeed, there are many different providers of the insurance such as BUPA, Norwich Union Healthcare, AXA PPP Healthcare etc.  As professional advisers, Simpson Financial Services works with you to ensure that you get the most appropriate scheme for your business. 

Call us now to discuss your requirements.

So your thinking about a health check on your finances and wondering where to go for advice and what it involves.  For all new enquiries about our service we provide a free initial consultation at our offices in Coventry.

The free consultation allows you the opportunity to see who we are and where we carry out our business with you.  It also gives us the opportunity to see what we can do for you.  You can do some preliminary checks on our firm on the Financial Services Authority register.  Our reference number is 472031. 

You might be interested in an income an expenditure analysis, claiming back tax paid, planning for you future or protecting what assetts you have already accumulated.  Indeed, most of our clients ask us to advise on all these areas for them.

You will need to bring with you some idea of you current financial circumstances such as 12 months bank statments and details of your current investments, pensions, savings and insurances.  Don’t worry if you don’t have all the specifics at this time.

We look forward to meeting with you.

The Financial Services Authority has produced a series of excellent guides to help UK consumers with their financial decision making.  The guides, under the general heading of “Money Made Clear” are designed to be jargon free.
Read it all..