The Top 5 flexi-access pension income drawdown mistakes

Back in April 1998 – I was a bit younger! Weren’t we all? Apart from that, I set up (so I’m told) the UK’s first ever ‘pension drawdown’ plan via insurer Skandia Life. This is where, instead of buying a guaranteed income for life (annuity) with your pension fund, you withdraw (drawdown) the funds direct from your pension pot(s).

Newer pension ‘drawdown’ since April 2015 is now called flexi-access drawdown. That method of delivering retirement income may (or may not) be a good idea – depending on your attitude to risk, overall income needs and other criteria. Continue reading →

Post Covid-19, Do You Want to Return to ‘Normal’?

During these strange locked-down times, do you really miss the stress of your daily commute and the ‘same old’ routine?  Travelling to and from work including trains, cars, traffic jams, delayed flights and attending endless ‘meetings about meetings’? Financially, do … Continue reading →

SSAS pensions – still alive and kicking for business owners

SSAS is short for Small Self-Administered pension Schemes. They are generally set up to provide retirement benefits (and other options) for a small number of a company’s directors and/or senior or key staff.

Much has happened in recent years to both SIPP and SSAS pension products.

SSASs have come out of the shadows as a serious player for the owners of small business looking to buy commercial property to expand their operation and/or as a potential source of funding for the business. Continue reading →

What Happens When You Fail at Market Timing?

Market timing is the strategy of making buying or selling decisions of financial assets by attempting to predict future market price movements. It is the stuff of crystal ball gazing. But how good is your crystal ball? The impact of … Continue reading →

10 Key Principles to Improve Your Odds of Successful Investing

10 Key Principles to Improve Your Odds of Successful Investing
There have been countless books and articles written about the subject of investing.
Google ‘investing’ and you’ll find over 1,950,000,000 articles in under 1 second!
There is so much white noise and confusion – aided and abetted by the financial media (bless them) – it is hard knowing who to trust and where to start.

Dimensional Fund Advisors have done a great job of distilling the 10 Key Principles to help your chances of investment success:
Continue reading →

Essential Steps to a Sustainable Retirement Income

Are you one of the 400,000 people in the UK whom will turn aged 60 this year?If so, you’ll soon have to make some of the most important financial decisions in your life. Continue reading →

Why You Shouldn’t Search on Google for a Pension or Investment Plan!

Are we typing the ‘wrong’ things into Google when we need help with money matters? Many of us think of a financial product when we think of money. That is reflected in Google searches. Google Search Mortgage searches dominate followed … Continue reading →

My Final Salary Pension: Should I Stay Or Should I Go Now?

Since the recent April 2015 introduction of new pension freedoms and flexibility, we’ve noticed a rise in enquiries from those holding all types of pension schemes seeking greater clarity over what is now on offer. We are not alone. Final … Continue reading →

Key Times to Review Your Financial Situation and Get Professional Advice

As part of being human, we celebrate and commemorate the special times in our lives. Pivotal moments, rites of passage and life-changing situations are the times when we look at ourselves, review our lifestyle and determine the path onwards. As we … Continue reading →

8 ways to save tax and money

With the end of the tax year is looming fast on 5th April – there may still be time to make sure you’re not paying too much in tax. According to professional services search website Unbiased.co.uk every year, UK taxpayers give … Continue reading →