Client questions

Gold would have been a fantastic investment in 2009. Should I move some of my portfolio into it now?

With final salary pension schemes all but extinct in the private sector (for new joiners at least), savings ratios at historically low levels and household incomes stretched, early retirement might seem an impossible dream for most people.

What you need to be aware of is that there are two main types of pension scheme, namely “occupational” and “personal” pensions. Confusingly, many employer sponsored pensions are now “personal” pensions. Nothing is ever straightforward with pensions!

If you are thinking about making a gift to charity, you should consider the benefits of tax-efficient giving. This can either make it cheaper for you to donate to charity or can mean that your chosen charity receives more money, at no additional cost to you.

Statistics from the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) website show that the aggregate funding position (total assets minus total liabilities) of around 7,400 Defined Benefit funds is estimated to be a deficit of £188.5 billion at end-April 2009. This is a staggering figure. The total deficit of schemes in deficit in April 2009 is estimated to be £204.8 billion whereas total surpluses of schemes in surplus rose to ‘just’ £16.4 billion. With these sorts of figures, it is no surprise that people are worried about the security of their final salary pensions.

When personal pension plans came into being in the late 1980’s, many individuals decided to "contact out" of what was then the State Earnings Related Pensions Scheme (SERPS). Most should now consider contracting back in.

We believe that high-quality, professional financial planning advice can only be achieved through a transparent, fee-paying relationship, which is free of the stigma and potential for bias associated with a commission driven service. The key to reducing your tax burden is good, ongoing advice, not a one off "product" sale.

There is a general misconception that retirement planning means paying money into a pension. The key to a financially secure retirement is simply having enough money. It doesn’t really matter whether it is in a pension, an ISA, an investment portfolio or even cash under the mattress, although we wouldn’t necessarily recommend the latter!

These were originally known as the All Employee Share Ownership Plans and allow a company to offer its employees tax favoured acquisition of shares. For example, employees can purchase shares of the employer from their gross salary prior to deduction of income tax and National Insurance, via payroll deduction. This is a big advantage.