If you, or your partner, have been providing childcare during term-time or school holidays, you may be able to qualify for a State Pension top up that will typically boost payments by more than £6,000 over a 20-year retirement period. The top up (known as the Specified Adult Childcare credit) can plug gaps in your […]

Did you know that an estimated £89 billion is currently going unclaimed in some 28 million forgotten bank and savings accounts, premium bonds, pensions, insurance policies and Child Trust Funds? But how do you go about checking one of them is yours or a relative’s? A recent ITV report, using data from the asset tracking service […]

What is the average income in retirement for today’s retirees… where is the income coming from, which regions are doing best and what trends can we see emerging? New data from the ONS reveals all. The Family Resources Survey (FRS) for the financial year ending (FYE) 2023 has just been published by ONS and it […]

March marked the tenth anniversary of the announcement of “Pension Freedom and Choice” reforms which, along with Auto-Enrolment, represented the two major shifts in pension policy enacted under George Osborne. What have been the long-term impacts for savers? asks Tony Watts OBE. Up until then, savers reaching retirement were all channelled down the annuity route. […]

It’s not just how much you earn that helps individuals enjoy a “resilient retirement” as a new survey has just revealed… While how much you earn will play a big part in helping individuals and couples enjoy a comfortable retirement, other factors do come into play according to new research from Hargreaves Lansdown, published as […]

A new study, from the Pensions Management Institute (PMI), shows that almost a quarter (24%) of people think they will have to delay their retirement and a further 23% have reduced their pension contributions. One in 20 people questioned (5%) say they have stopped making pension contributions entirely. The PMI is the professional body that […]

A new report has laid bare the gap in pension pot sizes between men and women at retirement – and how many more years women would need to work to make up the shortfall. New research from the Now Pensions and the Pensions Policy Institute (PPI) shows that, on average, UK women need to work […]

Being able to work for as long as you need in order to secure a financially secure retirement could become a lot easier after new employment laws come into force in April, writes Tony Watts OBE. But it will require flexibility from employers as well as employees. “The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men […]

New figures released by the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) show that the amount we need to save for our retirement has shot up in the last year, as rising food prices and energy bills drive increases in the cost of living during retirement. The PLSA says that income required for the “minimum” Retirement Living Standard […]

New figures show only 30% of high earners are on track for a comfortable retirement. New statistics from the HL Savings and Resilience Barometer show that less than a third (30%) are on track for a “comfortable” retirement. This compares to only 13% of households overall. Even when it comes to achieving a “moderate” retirement […]