How many pensions do you have? In pre-retirement, that might be more difficult to answer than you anticipate; career aspirations have changed over time and culture (rightly or wrongly) no longer applauds a dedication to one employer. Old company and personal pensions might be dotted around numerous providers. Factor in automatic enrolment in recent years and you could have more pensions than you realise! Tracking them down can be the first challenge. Dig through the important paperwork drawer and you could find a long-lost statement from 1992. For simple administration, consolidating your schemes has obvious benefits; often you can log in to a provider’s website to check the progress of your investments. More importantly, you should benefit from a coherent,... Read More

Over the years I’ve found that the best way for me to stay fit and keep up a regular exercise routine is to set myself a goal. Back in 2010 I set myself a goal of completing my first triathlon. So I’d done a bit of running over the years, nothing serious but I felt I could manage that aspect. I had next to zero experience of riding a bike – I mean I could ride a bike (of course!) but had no experience of riding any further than the distance of my teenage paper round on my knackered BMX! As for swimming, I’d actually been trying to improve on this a few years before, having had a few coaching sessions to... Read More

With rising rent and the average student in England graduating with £50,000 of debt, the last consideration for some might be pension contributions. However, recent research has found the average person will need to accumulate £260,000 to enjoy a basic retirement income. Worse still, the report from Royal London suggests that for the estimated one in three retirees living in private rented accommodation, the amount needed is an astonishing £445,000. The reality is that people are living longer and costs in later life are increasing. Couple this with historically low interest rates, and the sum needed to support later life increases exponentially. Assuming retirement at 65 years old, to meet the £260,000 target will require a significant level of commitment,... Read More

I’m lucky, I see the value of the advice I give to clients every day of my working life. That’s by no means the case for everyone though. Research from the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) shows that only 3.2 million people (equivalent to 6% of the population) had received regulated financial advice in the preceding 12 months. Worryingly, the same report showed that around four times as many people, 12.8 million, equivalent to 25% of the population, hadn’t received financial advice in the past 12 months but might have had a need for it. There are many reasons why those 12.8 million people aren’t taking financial advice; they might not recognise they have a need, they might not trust financial... Read More

“A lie gets half way around the world before the truth has time to put its pants on.” Winston Churchill might not have been talking about the common misconceptions of financial protection, but his statement applies just as well. What do we mean by ‘financial protection’? Insurance, emergency funds and the plans you have in place to keep you and your family afloat, should something go wrong, money-wise. These may include: Life Insurance: Pays a lump sum if you die while the policy is in force. Critical Illness Cover: Pays a lumps sum or income if you are diagnosed with a serious illness covered by the policy. Income protection: Provides a portion of your usual pay if you are unable... Read More