UK parents spend £28 billion on nation’s under-fives each year

UK parents spend around £35,000 on their children by the time they reach their fifth birthday, according to research released by Aviva. This adds up to a total of more than £28 billion[1] spent on the nation’s 4 million under-fives each year. Read the rest of this entry »

Two-thirds of people aged 55 and over believe financial advice should be compulsory at retirement

Two-thirds (65%) of people aged 55 and over who are not yet retired believe that it should be compulsory to receive financial advice at retirement according to findings from Retirement Advantage. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s never been more important to plan whom you’d like to inherit them

Your pension is your life savings you’ve built up to give you the retirement you want. Since new pension rules came into effect from 6 April this year, pensions have become more flexible – including a cut in tax when a pension is passed on. Read the rest of this entry »

How to give them a financial head start in life as they grow up in the modern world

Anyone with children knows there will be lots of demands on the household finances, but when it comes to long-term saving, perhaps for university or a first home, even a small sum can give your child a financial head start in life over a long period of time. With this in mind, the Association of Investment Companies (AIC) has taken a look at long-term investment company performance, and what to consider when investing for children. Read the rest of this entry »

Over-50s retrain for later life retirement funding

Nearly two thirds of over-50s workers would consider retraining so they could work longer in retirement, research from MetLife[1] shows. Read the rest of this entry »

Inside the minds of savers and investors

Now in its third edition, the latest BlackRock Investor Pulse survey takes an in-depth look at Britons’ attitude to money and provides a fascinating insight into the minds of savers and investors. Read the rest of this entry »

Focusing on the long term for a more secure future

The UK is becoming a nation of savers, with three quarters (74%) of people saying they are currently saving, research from Scottish Widows has revealed. Read the rest of this entry »

Rewarding investors in UK-listed companies

Investors in UK-listed companies will be rewarded with an £85.8 billion payout in 2015, significantly better than last year, where investors suffered little or no growth in income according to Capita Asset Services’ ‘Dividend Monitor’. Dividend payouts from UK-listed companies made a strong start to 2015, prompting analysts to hike their forecasts for the year.  Read the rest of this entry »

Grappling with a number of significant headwinds

Unlike the rest of the world, the European economy has been hit by not one, but two major crises in the last decade. A few years on, we consider whether Europe is set on a path to recovery. Read the rest of this entry »

Will the pension reforms have an effect on retirement planning?

Just under a third (30%) of people believe the recent pension reforms will affect their plans for retirement income. Responding to a Schroders survey, of the people who said pension reforms will affect retirement, a significant proportion (45%) said they are likely to consider taking some money as cash and putting the balance in an investment fund. Read the rest of this entry »