Review your mortgage interest rate. If you find that you are on the Standard Variable Rate with your lender (4.25% to 5.0%), contact us for quotes as you should be able to save 1% to 2% and that can mean quite a bit of savings each month. Lenders are having to compete more for business now and that means a better deal for the borrower. 3 and 5 year fixed rates are looking very competitive. As independent mortgage brokers we can help you find the best deal.
Review your pension. By survey almost half of the working population have never reviewed their pension plans, even though the majority of those contacted did say that they considered it important to know how their pension funds were invested. A failure to review your pension can leave you exposed to inappropriate investments and also prevent effective planning for your retirement income when you reach your 60s and 70s. It is also valuable to get a State Pension Forecast. We are available to help with this.
Get rid of any credit card debts that are hanging around. The temptation to pay just the minimum payment is intense and the credit card balances then do not go away. It is much better to organise a loan over a few years with fixed payments and pay off the credit cards. That is not to say that a credit card cannot be a useful tool, but you need to be disciplined and pay the full balance off each month.
If you are a 40% taxpayer. Do take the maximum advantage of your pension contributions to reduce how much you pay in tax.
Take advantage of your Individual Savings Account Allowance – Particularly the Cash ISA, so that you build up a cash cushion (and generally get a better rate of interest on your savings).
If you have an interest-only mortgage - Review it carefully to ensure that it will not become a problem when you reach the end of the mortgage term. It is wise to act early rather than ignore the problem until it is close upon you.
Review your insurances. If your circumstances have changed since you last took out life assurance, you may need more, or less, life assurance to meet your needs. One immediate benefit, however, is that the minimum technical requirement for those advising on investment, pensions and annuity has been increased. While examinations are not necessarily a true measure of understanding and ability, they can have value. Another change is that investment, pensions and annuity advice will now be charged for on a fee basis, rather than being paid by commission, as was generally the case before.
The intention is to bring the profession in line with other professions such as solicitors and accountants. We will need to see how the public responds to this major change. Advisers in 2013 will also be split into two groups –those who provide independent advice from across the market and those who provide advice restricted to certain parts of the market. Sovereign will continue to provide independent advice.
For speedy, impartial advice, contact us on 01342 313302.
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