Fairstone Independent Financial Adviser Ian Morris explains why tax advantages such as this are vital to an individual’s overall financial planning.
You can shelter returns from tax
ISAs are a way of saving tax-efficiently that were introduced by the Government to encourage more of us to save and invest. Each tax year, the Government sets a limit on the amount you can contribute in an ISA (currently £20,000).
Each tax year, we are each given an annual Individual Savings Account (ISA) allowance. The ISA limit for 2018/19 is £20,000, and anyone wishing to utilise their allowance should do so before the deadline at midnight on Friday 5 April 2019.
Faced with the task of caring for elderly parents alongside your children, being in the Sandwich Generation can be a testing time. Finding yourself squeezed between – and often by – these two generations can be very stressful.
As a parent, guardian or grandparent, you’ll want to provide the best future for your children or grandchildren that you can. Christmas is an excellent time to encourage children to start thinking about the value of money. Many children have hundreds of pounds spent on them at Christmas. But could that money be put to better use? Rather than buying yet more toys for your children or grandchildren, why not consider setting up a tax-efficient Junior ISA for them?
Despite house prices continuing to climb, Britain remains a country obsessed with home ownership.
Among many potential first-time buyers are Joseph Burrows, who works in public relations, and his girlfriend Rhianna Bowe, who is in marketing, both 24. The pair, who live and work near Leeds, have recently started saving to buy a home.
DURING A DIVORCE, SORTING OUT THE FINANCES CAN BE THE MOST DAUNTING ASPECT FOR SEPARATING COUPLES. FINANCIAL DISPUTES CAN BE A MAJOR STUMBLING BLOCK IN THE DIVORCE PROCESS AND COULD TAKE LONGER THAN THE DIVORCE ITSELF.
WHILE THE RISING COST OF ESSENTIALS IS THE MOST COMMON PERCEIVED THREAT TO OVER-55s’ STANDARD OF LIVING OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS, CONCERNS OVER FALLING RETURNS ON SAVINGS HAVE RISEN TO THE HIGHEST POINT IN ALMOST THREE YEARS, AVIVA’S LATEST REAL RETIREMENT REPORT REVEALS.
FALLING RETURNS
The ISA limit for 2016/17 is £15,240, rising to £20,000 in 2017/18. Anyone wishing to utilise their allowance should do so before the deadline at midnight on Wednesday 5 April 2017. The date marks the end of the 2016/17 tax year. It is a ‘use it or lose it’ allowance, meaning that if you don’t use all or part of it in one tax year, you cannot take that allowance over to the next year.
Half of women (52%) are now saving adequately for their retirement compared to 60% of men, according to the latest scottish widows women & retirement report. But while this maintains the record high levels achieved in 2015, the gap between men and women has widened since 2014 when 50% of women were saving adequately compared with 55% of men.
