A survey by Scottish Widows has found that the squeeze on household incomes, as a result of the economic downturn, has hit pension savings with nearly half of people in the UK saving less. According to the Edinburgh-based life and pensions provider, 41% of people saved less for their pensions – many of them blaming [...]
Many parents are too busy working to spend time with their children, a new survey has found. Research by Scottish Widows found that one in three (34%) of parents want to spend more time with their family. One fifth of parents and grandparents said they are not prioritising their children or grandchildren enough. Busy working [...]
Nearly half of UK consumers believe that buying property is the best way to invest money. In a study by Scottish Widows, 48% of those polled said investing in property is the best way to maximise returns on hard earned cash. This figure is a significant increase on 12 months ago, when just 28% of [...]
Scottish Widows Bank this week launched a fixed-rate deposit account paying 5.25% interest over a five year period. Customers can invest between £10,000 and £5 million in the account, and choose to have interest paid monthly, quarterly, or annually. “We are delighted to be bringing a strong 5 year fixed rate savings account to the [...]
Many women over 50 have ‘given up’ saving for retirement due to the recession, according to research by Scottish Widows. In research for its fifth annual UK Pensions Report, the pensions provider found that one in five (22%) women over 50 are now saving nothing towards their pension. This is up from 14% a year [...]
Scottish Widows has added two new enhancements to its corporate pensions packages to give financial advisers and employers more flexibility in adjusting pension schemes to meet individuals’ needs. The Salary Exchange tool enables advisers and employers to calculate different ways to take advantage of National Insurance savings resulting from salary exchange agreements. The second enhancement, [...]
Research from life insurer, Scottish Widows, has discovered that one in three Britons is unable to save for their retirement. The survey, which monitors the retirement provision of people aged 30 and over, highlights the fact that many people are worried about how they will manage financially when they retire. The survey, which was carried [...]
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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