THE YEAR OF THE PENSION!

There are a number of changes to pension rules due to take place from April 2015. They include removing many of the access rules to pensions so that most individuals will be able to reach into their pension and take out as much as they want. Another major change, people dying before age 75 will be able to leave their pensions to anyone they want – and the beneficiaries will receive the lump sum or income free of any tax!



Pensions in 2015 will be the focal point of many smaller businesses as they feel the hot breath of The Pension Regulator on their neck. Tens of thousands of businesses will have to deal with the compulsory Auto-Enrolment Workplace Pensions as they hit their Staging Date (start date) in 2015 and hundreds of thousands of small businesses in 2016 and 2017!



As always we are happy to use our experience and expertise to help you unravel the mystery that pension changes sometimes bring.

EXPERIENCE AND EXPERTISE

Although we are no longer as young as we would wish, over 3 decades of experience does give us the know-how and expertise to use in assisting our clients. We aim to achieve maximum customer satisfaction and we are happy to receive client feedback such as:

“Your service has never been anything short of excellent.” Mr IB of Leeds

 “Thank you very much for the helpful advice you have provided. I feel a lot better now understanding more about the pension side of life – very important.” Mrs ACL of Canterbury

“Thank you for your time and patience today. It was most helpful.” Mr JR of East Grinstead

Best wishes, Tom Shuster

ATTACK THE PLASTIC

One of the unhappy after-Christmas and New Year “surprises” is the arrival of the credit card bills for the Christmas spending. Of the various financial tools available, the one we find most misused and most destructive are the credit card and store cards. If you then pay the credit card balance off in full, you will have 4 to 6 weeks free credit and will have avoided the “honey trap”. If you do not pay it off in full, it is all too easy to fall into the habit of just paying minimum payments. Paying minimum payments of 2% or 3% will not pay off the debt and you will end up having paid an enormous amount of interest and the credit card balance still unpaid. If you need credit and are not going to be able to pay it off in full, use a loan. They are structured to ensure that the amount owed does really get paid off.

MERGER – AVIVA AND FRIENDS LIFE

Two of the largest UK life assurance companies – Friends Life and AVIVA are planning to merge. Their strategy is to increase efficiency and savings by economy of scale. What the real result will be is more uncertain. Each of them already have commitments from having absorbed a number of earlier life companies. For example, Friends Life took over Friend Provident, F&C (Foreign and Colonial), BUPA, Resolution and others. While AVIVA have General Accident, Commercial Union, Norwich Union and others. Each of their subsidiaries brings past responsibilities and contracts to honour. At the moment the Stock Market considers it a good idea for Friends Life and a not-so-good one for AVIVA and their share prices have reacted accordingly.