Whilst subject to consultation until 10 February 2012, the Finance Bill 2012 provides draft legislation on many areas of finance that have been consulted on since the last budget. Some of the key areas that might affect our clients are detailed below. The following is by no means exhaustive but should give a flavour of some of the changes to come:
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For the second year running, Evolve has been named as one of the top 25 IFAs by Private Client Practitioner magazine.
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A number of newspapers have recently run stories on the National Savings & Investments index linked savings certificates. These are tax free and returns are linked to changes in the Retail Prices Index (RPI). These have always been popular, particularly for higher rate taxpayers, but were very attractive in early 2008. Many savers therefore now have 3 year certificates coming up to maturity.
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According to Prudential's Class of 2011 survey, the average person retiring this year expects to have an estimated total annual income of £16,559 including any private pension and State Pension, with 19% of 2011’s new pensioners expecting to live on less than £10,000 a year.
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The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has confirmed that the new deposit compensation limit for the UK will increase from £50,000 to £85,000 per person, per authorised firm, from 31 December 2010.
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There was an interesting piece on BBC Breakfast this morning, with Sarah Pennells of savvywoman.co.uk discussing the impact of high inflation on savings account returns. With CPI at 3.3% p.a. and RPI inflation at 4.7% p.a. for November 2010, only a very small minority of savings accounts are currently keeping up with inflation.
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The most pleasant surprise from the Emergency Budget, in respect of personal financial planning, was the lack of tinkering and additional complication. In particular, recent budgets have made the pensions landscape even more complicated than it already was and the fact that the Chancellor has announced an intention to simplify pensions rather than complicate them further is to be welcomed. We were also pleased that the changes to Capital Gains Tax (CGT) were less onerous than some commentators had predicted.
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Evolve were recently selected as one of the top 25 IFAs according to Private Client Practitioner magazine. Evolve Managing Director Antony Williams accepted the award on behalf of the team at a reception in London's West End.
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After a period of negative inflation in 2009, Retail Price Index (RPI) figures for January, February, March and April 2010 have been 3.7%, 3.7%, 4.4% and 5.3% respectively. There are no guarantees that this level of RPI will continue over the longer term but given the current high level, it is worth re-examining National Savings & Investments’ Index Linked Savings Certificates.
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Now that the Finance Act 2009 has received Royal Assent, there are three key areas in relation to income tax and pensions that need to be understood and planned for:
- Pension contributions in 2009/10 and 2010/11
- Income tax planning from 2010/11 onwards
- Pension contributions from 2011/12 onwards
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On 06/04/2010 the minimum age at which pension benefits can be taken will increase from the age of 50 to 55. According to a recent survey by AON Consulting, just under 25% of respondents (and less than a third of workers aged 45 – 54, i.e. those potentially most affected by the changes), said they were aware of the increase to the minimum retirement age.
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As of 6th October 2009, the over 50s have the opportunity to make use of the higher ISA allowance announced in the 2009 Budget. Those under 50 will have to wait until 6th April 2010 before they can make use of the higher limits.
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Friday, 20 January 2012 17:04 |
