The Long-term outlook If the outlook for sterling is largely to be determined by the direction of interest rates, and rates are to be largely determined by inflation rather than the economic outlook, then what is the outlook for UK inflation? Recent data around both grocery and energy prices indicates that at least some of the…
On 18th July the UK government announced a consultation on pension taxation linked to the abolition of the Lifetime Allowance. It also considers other aspects of tax linked to pensions and proposes a significant change. Currently where pension member dies before age 75, benefits received by a beneficiary are generally outside the scope of income…
Despite the gloom that currently surrounds the UK’s economic outlook, the pound sterling has performed strongly, up around 23 per cent (as at July 14 2023) versus the US dollar since September 2022, and 5 per cent relative to the euro. Economic textbooks theorise that the principal determinant of the relative strength of one currency to…
In the previous article we started talking about planning your pension to ensure you have enough money to sustain your lifestyle throughout your retirement. Here are a couple more things to consider when organising your finances today. Consider other sources of income. It’s worth considering whether you have other sources of income that could let…
Your pension plan is there to help you fund your life in retirement. But how can you make your pension savings last for as long as you need them to when the cost of living has gone up so much? We have some tips that could help you prolong your retirement income while costs are…
If you’re approaching retirement, you’re probably thinking about how you’d like to access your pension savings. There will be lots of options available to you – but, as many households struggle with the cost of living crisis, the benefit of having a guaranteed, regular income may be increasingly difficult to ignore. Is now the perfect…
We ended last week with a slate of hawkish comments from central bankers – a reminder that they aren’t done tightening interest rates just yet and that market expectations for rate cuts later this year are probably much too soon, given the inflation outlook. From the ECB, Isabel Schnabel and Francois Villeroy de Galhau both…
China’s Central Economic Work Conference took place last week and this is one of the most important events of the year in terms of giving the public an indication of future plans. Beijing promised to “forcefully revive market confidence” in contrast to last year’s “revive the confidence of market entities” – so a little more…