A study by Santander, one of the world’s largest banks, has revealed that people are funding Christmas this year by dipping into their savings. High unemployment, inflation at around 5 per cent and the threat of another recession are all putting pressure on people’s pockets and causing them to use their savings to pay for [...]
LV=, the UK’s largest friendly society, has launched a Pension Income Plus Annuity (PIPA) which combines a high level of initial income with the guarantee of an minimum income. It is structured more simply than traditional with-profits annuities and offers enhanced terms, value protection and competitive starting incomes. Clients can take out a PIPA with [...]
Britain’s over-50s have reduced their retirement savings by nearly £18 billion over the last year, according to new research by LV=. The pensions, investments and insurance group found 21% of those approaching retirement have reduced their retirement savings by an average of more than £300 per month in the past 12 months. In the same [...]
Raising a child from birth to age 21 costs more than £201,000, according to research by LV=. This is equivalent to £9,610 a year, or £26 per day. It’s the first time the lifetime cost of child-rearing has exceeded the £200,000 limit, and represents a 43% increase since the survey began in 2004. The biggest [...]
Britons’ love affair with property has left more than one million over fifties looking sadly on their retirement prospects. According to a poll by insurer LV=, 12% of homeowners aged 50 and over are relying on capital growth from their homes to part-fund their non-working years. The boom years of the UK’s housing market actually [...]
LV= has warned of the dangers of trusting the people we love the most. The insurer said debit and credit card users risk having their identity stolen every time they share their pin number with their husband, wife, brother, sister, father, or mother. “We would strongly urge all card-users not to tell anyone their pin [...]
As the recession continues through the summer many British holidaymakers are choosing to stay in the UK rather than travel overseas. Research by insurance provider LV= found that Brits choosing UK holidays are planning to save an average £247 per person by ditching their trip abroad. A quarter of the working population will take their [...]
Two million Brits have had their dream of retirement crushed by the recession, according to research by LV=. One in five (22%) of over 50s have had to delay their retirement date, LV= found, whilst a quarter (25%) have no clear idea of when they’ll be able to give up work. Even where the recession [...]
Brits are using the recession as an opportunity for soul-searching and rethinking priorities, according to new research from LV=. Two-thirds (64%) of those polled by the insurance firm said they’ve been forced to reassess what’s important to them. Money is no longer top priority in the lives of Brits, having been ousted by family health, [...]
Asda’s car insurance customers are to be covered for road rescue by LV= following a partnership deal between the two companies. LV’s Britannia Rescue division – the UK’s fourth largest road rescue company – will provide the cover for an initial period of three years, starting this month. The breakdown products will be sold in [...]
Insurance and pensions group LV= has launched a new pensions plan that can be tailored by customers to meet their individual needs. The Flexible Transitions Account (FTA) has a variety of investment options to suit the needs of different customers. Customers can combine and switch investment options throughout the life of the pension according to [...]
Five million Brits plan to reduce outgoings by cutting back on insurance cover, LV= found in a recent survey. Most popular for cutbacks was home insurance. LV= discovered that 2.2 million households plan to reduce or cancel their home insurance policies to reduce spending. Flood risk insurance is the most likely to be cut, with [...]
LV= has launched a trio of new individual savings accounts (ISAs) – a Diversified Income ISA, a Balance Managed ISA, and a Stockmarket ISA. The three ISAs have been designed to appeal to the individual needs of a range of investors depending on the level of risk they are prepared to take. The Diversified Income [...]
LV= (formerly Liverpool Victoria) has been working on its range of lifetime mortgages and introduced age-banded interest rates. The mutual is confident that the changes will provide its lifetime mortgage customers with a more competitive product. Interest rates start from 6.29% for a flexible lifetime mortgage for a homeowner aged between 60 and 65, increasing [...]
Insurance firm Liverpool Victoria (LV=) has scrapped a restriction that prevents home-owners from claiming unemployment cover during the first 60 days of a policy. LV=’s Mortgage & Lifestyle Protection plan offers policy holders cover for mortgage payments and living expenses in the event of an accident, sickness, or unemployment. The policy pays out until the [...]
LV= (formerly Liverpool Victoria) has launched a new equity release product. The friendly society’s Flexible Lifetime Mortgage allows homeowners to draw on the equity in their homes, as needs arise. It also provides a 15-year guarantee on the maximum amount that can be withdrawn, which will be honoured regardless of future trends in UK property [...]
M&S Money launches 3% cash ISA
M&S Money has launched an Advantage Cash ISA paying 3 per cent, and which allows transfers in from other ISAs. It can be opened with a minimum deposit of £100 lump sum followed by minimum monthly deposits of £25. The 3% rate is variable, but there is no short-term bonus so the return won’t plummet [...]
Google suspends UK Compare Mortgages site
Google has closed its UK mortgage comparison site which it launched in July last year, after it proved to be less popular than expected. Mortgage comparison sites are designed to allow visitors to compare mortgages quickly and easily without having to visit each lender’s individual site. Google was competing with several well-established comparison sites, including [...]
AA launches ‘black-box’ policy for young drivers
The AA is launching an innovative car insurance policy called Drivesafe which could help younger drivers save up to £850 a year. Younger drivers already pay substantially higher premiums than other motorists and these costs are increasing. A new study by Confused.com suggests insurance costs for younger driver have gone up by 5.7 per cent [...]
ATOL scheme updated to protect online bookers
ATOL, a financial protection scheme managed by the Civil Aviation Authority, is being extended to protect up to six million more holidays a year. The scheme ensures that holiday makers do not lose out financially if a travel company collapses, and that they are not stranded abroad. An increase in the number of holidays booked [...]
Home repossessions lowest for four years
The number of UK homes repossessed fell to 36,200 in 2011, significantly below the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ forecast of 40,000, and lower than 2010 when 37,100 homes were repossessed. With interest rates remaining low and lenders adopting a sympathetic attitude to customers in financial difficulty, repossessions fell to their lowest level since 2007. However, [...]
Monthly pay lasting just 17 days
Workers are running out of money just 17 days after receiving their monthly pay, according to new research by the Halifax bank. This means that the average UK worker spends half the month worrying about money. The study, based on the responses of more than 2,000 adults, found that 10 per cent of workers start [...]
Women disadvantaged by auto-enrolment changes
Government proposals to increase the auto-enrolment threshold to £10,000 could put 1.8 million women at risk of missing out on a pension, the TUC has warned. Under the auto-enrolment scheme, which will be phased in from October, private sector employers will automatically enrol workers between the age of 22 years and the state pension age, [...]
Emergency household repairs company Homeserve is taking longer than expected to get back on track after its operations were suspended last October. The company expected customer numbers to fall by 5% this year but it has increased this estimate to 8% and announced the loss of 200 jobs. It estimates that renewal revenue in 2013 [...]
Sale rumoured for Yorkshire and Clydesdale banks
There is growing speculation that National Australia Bank (NAB) may sell Yorkshire Bank and Clydesdale Bank after the Australian parent company announced a strategic review of the two banks’ operations. The Australian economy is performing well and NAB reported strong profits for the final quarter of 2011 but with the UK economy at a virtual [...]
More women experiencing debt difficulties
Women in Debt, which offers female-focused debt advice, has warned that the number of UK women facing serious debt has grown significantly over recent years. The organisation believes that more women will need advice on solving debt problems in the future because they are building up an unsustainable level of indebtedness. Women in Debt’s director, [...]
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