Last month’s Autumn Statement marked another future tax increase for buy-to-let. “Frankly, people buying a home to let should not be squeezing out families who can’t afford a home to buy.” Those words from Chancellor George Osborne heralded the announcement in the Autumn Statement of an increase in Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) for the […]

The basic state pension will rise by nearly 3% next April. The Autumn Statement confirmed that the basic state pension will rise by £3.35 a week to £119.30 a week from next April. The increase of 2.9% is the result of the ‘triple lock’, which requires the basic state pension to increase each April by […]

The Autumn Statement revealed more evidence that the government is counting the cost of tax relief on pension contributions. When auto-enrolment into workplace pensions started in October 2012, the legislative intention was that the level of contributions as a percentage of qualifying earnings (those between £5,824 and £42,385 in 2015/16) should rise from the current […]

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has been looking at attitudes to private savings. Which one of the options below do you think would be the safest way to save for retirement? Paying into an employer pension scheme Paying into a personal pension scheme Investing in the stock market by buying stocks or shares Investing […]

The first Thursday in November – coincidentally Guy Fawkes’ Day – was a “Super Thursday” for the Bank of England. These now occur once every three months and see an avalanche of information emerging from the Bank. The Monetary Policy Committee’s decision on interest rates is accompanied by both the meetings’ minutes and the Bank’s […]