In a bid to encourage people to save for their retirement, the Government has announced that all UK businesses should offer a company pension scheme or enrol members of staff into the new National Employment Savings Trust (NEST). Employees will be enrolled automatically in the scheme unless they opt out, contributing 4% of their salary. [...]
A report published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed pensioners are not as poor as they were once believed to be. According to the report, pensions who opt to work in their retirement years are wealthier compared with the rest of the population. The study established that working in retirement provides a [...]
Government plans to scrap the default retirement age are “great news” for those approaching retirement, according to pensions provider Aviva. Research by Aviva found nearly seven in ten (68%) of over-55s would like to continue working when they reach 65. Last week the coalition government said from October 2011 employers will no longer be allowed [...]
The assumption that downsizing from the family home as old age approaches can help fund a comfortable retirement has been challenged by Standard Life. The insurer has recently conducted an “extensive analysis” of the UK property market to calculate how much retirement income downsizing can generate, and is warning those whose retirement dreams are dependent [...]
The traditional practice of leaving an inheritance is being replaced with a “pre-inheritance”. Nearly half (46%) of British adults have received a pre-inheritance, money given to them out of the estate of a benefactor who has yet to die. However, the new trend could already be on the wane, with just 17% of over-55s saying [...]
Self-employed people are failing to put enough money aside for their retirement, Standard Life claimed this week. The pensions provider said half of self-employed people aged 35-44 have saved less than £3,500 towards retirement. This is compared to an average of £73,000 in pensions savings for employed people of that age. “The recession has created [...]
Paying off the mortgage in full before they reach age 50 is the goal of nearly two thirds of Brits. Research by the Co-operative Bank found 62% of UK consumers aim to be mortgage free by their 50th birthday. Once their mortgage is paid off, the main goal of those surveyed was to take more [...]
The Personal Accounts pension scheme, which is aimed at encouraging low to middle income workers to save for their retirement, is to be re-branded as the National Employment Savings Trust (NEST). NEST will be one option open to employers who will have to enrol workers into a workplace scheme. Employees will be enrolled automatically in [...]
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 [...]
More than a third of UK consumers believe their pension savings have been depleted by the recession, new research by Aviva has discovered. Thirty five per cent of the 1,200 people polled - all of whom are nearing retirement - said their retirement funds have fallen in value because of the credit crunch. Over one [...]
Everyone in the pensions industry knows the retirement age must be increased to 75 if a pensions crisis is to be averted, an industry expert has claimed. Robin Ellison, pensions consultant at international law firm Pinsent Masons, said the retirement age needs to go up to match an increase in life expectancy. “When state pensions [...]
A High Court judge has today ruled that employers are still able to dismiss workers when they reach the age of 65. Currently, the law means that a British worker can have their employment terminated at the age of 65 without redundancy payments - even if they do not want to retire. Furthermore, an employer [...]
British workers who fail to save for their retirement could end up working until they reach 86 if they want to be paid a decent pension. Research by Standard Life found the real retirement age of people not currently saving for retirement could be between 74 and 86 if they want to retire on two-thirds [...]
Brits approaching retirement should do their utmost to pay off debts before they leave employment, a consumer advice charity warned this week. Anyone aged over-50 should strive to pay off debts as soon as possible to ensure they have a comfortable retirement, the Money Advice Trust (MAT) said. The MAT made the remarks following reports [...]
A survey by pension advisers MGM Advantage has revealed that around 35% of people over 55 who are still working said they would put off plans to retire. Meanwhile, a further 23% of people in this age group are expecting to work past the state pension age of 65, while a third (32%) confessed to [...]
Better financial advice could help keep more people out of poverty during retirement, the Government’s Pensions Commission claimed this week. The Work and Pensions Committee said it is “unacceptable” that two million pensioners still live in poverty, and called on the government to commit to ending pensioner poverty. Giving pensioners access to better financial advice [...]
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 [...]
Nearly one and a half million pensioners are continuing to work to fund their retirement, according to new research from Key Retirement Solutions (KRS). In the past decade, the proportion of pensions receiving income from earnings has increased from 12% to 17%, with 1.4 million pensioners now continuing to work during retirement. Pensioner couples are [...]
New research has unveiled that in order to live a comfortable retirement, Britons may find themselves working until they are 77 years of age. According to fund management group, Fidelity International, those depending on company pensions, linked to stock market growth, will need to top up their pension considerably if they wish to retire at [...]
The Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) has warned of a “worrying gap” in the availability of affordable financial advice for people approaching retirement. People over 50 are often asset rich, but cash poor, and cannot afford to pay for the financial advice they need, the CAB said. Many people in this age group have complex questions [...]
European equities markets were higher Tuesday as banks came back from big declines on Monday, helped by a statement from Societe Generale’s (Euronext: GLE) CEO that his bank is healthy. The FTSE 100 was up 0.87 percent to 5,174.25 in London, while the FTSE 250 added 0.27 percent to 10,011, with banks the best performers [...]
Rics: Housing market remains in the doldrums
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) has today reported that the UK housing market remained weak in August with house prices falling further. According to the Institution, homeowners remain reluctant to put their properties up for sale, while buyers continue to struggle to secure a mortgage and remain uncertain about the economic climate. The [...]
CML: Mortgage lending edges higher in July
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has reported the number of loans for house purchase rose in July. According to the Council, there were 48,400 loans advanced for house purchase in the month – up by 1,000 from June’s figure but almost 7,000 lower when compared with July 2010. Commenting on today’s figures, Paul Smee, [...]
UK inflation edges higher in August
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) today announced Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) rose to annual rate of 4.5% last month from July’s rate of 4.4%. However, the figure was in line with analysts’ expectations. Higher inflation continues to be led by rising food costs but the main reason behind last month’s rise was a 5.1% [...]
Fresnillo down on silver prices
European equities markets were lower Monday on the possibility that Greece could default soon and on speculation that Moody’s Investors Service could cut its rating on several big banks with holdings tied to Greece. The FTSE 100 was down 1.63 percent to 5,129.62 in London, while the FTSE 250 dropped 1.65 percent to 9,983.75 as [...]
IFS warns of tough times for UK households
A report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has warned that households will be squeezed for the next decade as they suffer from the harsh spending cuts introduced by the Government. It said households are suffering one of the worst attacks on their finances since the Second World War and that the impact of [...]
ICB final report recommends ring-fencing
The Independent Commission on Banking’s (ICB) final report has been published today and is recommending that UK banks should ring-fence their retail banking operations. According to the report, ring-fencing would protect banks from riskier investment banking divisions and would “make it easier and less costly to resolve banks that get into trouble”. The ICB, which [...]
Tullow Oil leads 100 in London
European equities markets were significantly lower Friday on an increased possibility that Greece could default on its debt as soon as this weekend, raising the concern level over the European region’s debt problems and ratcheting up worries that the economic recovery is faltering. Additionally, markets reacted to the resignation of European Central Bank board member [...]
SMMT: UK car sales rise in August
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) have revealed UK car sales saw their first rise in 14 months in August. According to the trade body, car sales rose by 7.3% in August compared with the same month in 2010, with sales of smaller cars rising by more than 30%. The Ford Fiesta remained [...]
Factory gate inflation higher than expected in August
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed UK producer output prices held steady in August – remaining at the highest annual rate since October 2008. According to the ONS, output prices (factory gate) annual inflation for all manufactured products held steady at July’s upwardly revised reading of 6.1% in August. The figures were [...]
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