Equity release has long been a fallback for “asset rich, cash poor” pensioners, and the first nine months of 2019 saw £2.8bn borrowed in this way against the value of people’s homes – a record. But while they are popular, do they actually represent good value? And are they always the best option? New analysis […]

Sailing comfortably towards early retirement? Unfortunately, the journey may not necessarily be as smooth as you might wish – if statistics are anything to go by. New research by Just Group shows that early retirees are three times more likely to be forced to give up work than choose to – and only one in […]

A new type of pension is on the cards for UK savers which, if it passes through the parliamentary process, could offer something of a “half way house” between defined benefit (DB) and defined contribution (DC) pensions. The potential advantage of the proposed Collective Defined Contribution (CDC) schemes is that they will be more affordable […]

Financial security in later life is not what it was… according to new research, more than a third (35%) of the UK, over the age of 55-years-old are living beyond their means.  Equity release provider more2life, which commissioned the research, say many respondents blamed rising costs of living them going into debt, leading to 68% of those […]

University researchers are warning that the UK Government’s Pension Wise website is negatively influencing savers’ decisions – encouraging them to abandon long-term financial security and cashing out lumps sums that they should be conserving for their retirement. The dire warning comes from academics at the University of Scotland, whose study with over 2,000 participants has […]

New figures from HMRC show that in the third quarter the year, 327,000 people accessed their retirement savings using pension freedom rules – a whopping £2.4bn. This is a 27% hike in the number taking cash from their pensions compared with Q3 of 2018 and a 21% increase in the value of those payments. Since […]

New figures have highlighted the huge difference between the amount men and women can expect to earn over their lifetime – a gap that is widest when women are in their fifties: the time when many people are saving the most for their retirement. The latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows […]

  A new report researched by Loughborough University on behalf of the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) will help people understand how much they will need for a minimum, moderate or comfortable quality of life once they retire. Importantly, it will inform them how much they need to save on top of their state […]

New research from financial services provider Sanlam UK has thrown up some alarming statistics about how unprepared many of us are for retirement, and just how much (or little) many of the population know about their retirement finances. Their latest “What’s Your Number?” report found that more than half of UK adults doubt they’ll be […]

Sainsbury’s recently reversed their decision to make one of their stores till-free only. Thank God, says Tony Watts OBE I like to think that – despite the advancing years – I haven’t yet turned into Victor Meldrew. OK, I have the odd rant about overloud car stereos and young men displaying disturbingly large expanses of […]