Your NHS pension 'health-check'
2022 will be an important year for members of the NHS Pension Scheme to complete a ‘health-check’ of their membership.

When is it best for me to retire?
Firstly, that’s a great question. The simple answer is that you can retire when you have adequate wealth to do so. This can be a mixture of pensions, savings, investments, and property.

Investors need to keep a calm head in the light of market volatility caused by the Ukraine crisis, says Robin Carnaby, director at Lovewell Blake Financial Planning
After two years of uncertainty due to Covid, most of us hoped that 2022 would bring a little calm and stability to the world. As we now know, world events have rather overtaken this wish, and once again we are plunged into a time of uncertainty and turmoil.

Bank of England raises interest rates for the third time in four months
Following our articles in December and February, the Bank of England (BoE) has responded to the likelihood that the war in Ukraine will push inflation to around 10% in autumn by raising interest rates to a level last seen in March 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic took hold.

How can you teach teens about money?
It’s never too early to start teaching young people about money, says Trazer Farnese of Lovewell Blake Financial Planning.
What is the Lifetime Allowance freeze?
For pensions, the Lifetime Allowance (LTA) is the overall limit of pension funds a member can accrue during their lifetime, and which will benefit from favourable tax treatment before an LTA tax charge applies.

What do the tensions between Russia and Ukraine mean for investors?
Over the last few days, tension has intensified between Russia and Ukraine. We wanted to take some time to position what’s happening between the two countries and what this could mean for investors.

Pensions, Protection and Investments
In conjunction with Matthew Harrington, financial adviser for Lovewell Blake Financial Planning.

Bank of England announces back-to-back interest rate rises
Following our article in December the Bank of England (BoE) has tightened the squeeze on household finances with its first back-to-back interest rate rise since 2004, as the central bank forecast inflation will increase to north of 7% in April.

What is an Exchange Traded Fund (ETF)?
Diversification is of paramount importance in investment success, and one way to achieve it is by buying ‘Exchange Traded Funds’, or ETFs

What is the UK's inflation rate and why is the cost of living going up?
Recently published figures showed that the cost of living rose by 5.1% in the 12 months to November, its highest rate in 10 years.

Bank of England raises interest rates to 0.25%
The Bank of England (BoE) has raised interest rates for the first time since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, despite growing concern over the ‘Omicron’ variant.

Charity Investments
The results of the Charity Commission 2021 Covid-19 Survey indicated that 49% of charities have lost income from fundraising activities, whilst 35% have lost income from trading and other income sources.
COP26 shines light on ethical investment
As the COP26 summit gets underway, the world’s attention is focussed on what action we must all take to secure the planet for future generations.

Trust Registration Service (TRS) – Action now required
Following the implementation of the EU Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (5AMLD), there is a requirement for certain trusts to be registered on a central government list. This is called the Trust Registration Service (TRS), and when it was initially introduced in 2018, many non-tax paying trusts were exempt from registering.

Understanding 'Pension Freedoms'
Pension Freedoms was introduced in April 2015 and significantly changed the landscape of pensions and retirement. Ever since its introduction, there remains some misconceptions about what this really means, and the practical implications it has for individuals.

More investors looking at benefits of EIS and VCT investing
A growing number of investors are seeking ways to invest tax-efficiently in places other than their pensions and ISAs, usually because they have already fully used their ISA allowances, and significant pension contributions have compounded over the years.

Tax Increases and Reform in Social Care
Taxpayers in the UK face an increase in taxation from April 2022 to fund long awaited reforms in social care and additional support for the NHS.

What is Inheritance Tax?
Many of us could be caught out by Inheritance Tax (IHT). Contrary to popular belief, you do not need to be mega-rich to owe HMRC a chunk of money when you die. I think most of us would prefer as much as possible to go to our loved ones, rather than HMRC.

State Pension 8% Predicted Rise
In 2020, the state pension age officially increased to 66; however, recently there has been several news articles and commentary around the government’s triple lock promise and that this could mean an 8% increase in the state pension from April 2022.

What is pension tax relief?
Pension tax relief can seem like an alien concept, but it pays to understand what it is and how you can make the most of it, up to certain limits.

The additional benefits of EIS and VCT investing
A growing number of investors are seeking ways to invest tax-efficiently other than through their pensions and Individual Savings Accounts (ISA). The reason being that those investors have fully used their ISA allowances and have significant pension contributions have compounded over the years. Pensions have a tax-efficient lifetime allowance, above which clients question why they should keep adding if they are going to get taxed later at a higher rate!

Re-joining the NHS Pension Scheme
Changes to pension annual allowance rates that were announced in this years budget, those who previously opted-out may now consider opting back in.

Pension fraud increased to £1.8 million in first quarter of 2021
Losses from pension fraud rose to £1.8 million in the first three months of this year, according to figures from Action Fraud.

An important role employers play in Defined Benefit Pensions
Employers that push staff into making unsuitable defined benefit transfers should beware the “Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA’s) gaze”, a director at the regulator warns.

How to make your savings work harder for you in a low interest rate environment?
As we enter a new tax year, many people will be wondering how they can make their savings work harder for them, with interest rates at historically low levels.

UK Pension Guide
A pension scheme is a savings plan to help you put money aside for later life. It has favourable tax treatments when compared to other forms of savings.

Coronavirus and the markets, a year on
I don’t know how many of us thought that we’d still be adhering to so many restrictions after all this time, but here we are, over a year on and the pandemic is still having a big impact on all of us.

Lovewell Blake Financial Planning Limited can help you and your employees plan for the future
Would you like to know more about the ways in which Lovewell Blake Financial Planning could help your charity?

Time running out for ‘covid savers’ to make the most of pensions allowances
Covid savers should be making the most of their pensions allowances, says Sharon Mattheus of Lovewell Blake Financial Planning.

Is it too early/late to start investing in a pension?
For some, retirement might feel miles off, but the sooner you can start saving for it, the better.

NHS pension reform
Following the Government’s consultation into public sector pension scheme reforms, they have now published their response, here, outlining their proposals for changes to schemes over the coming years.

The reality of investing today
We have seen some turbulent markets in the last 12 months, with the repercussions of COVID having a significant impact. Generally speaking, markets have partially recovered but remain extremely volatile.

When can I retire?
The simple answer is that you can retire when you have adequate wealth to do so.

Women's state pension
It has been recently highlighted that many women may be missing out on their full State Pension.

The Wealth Tax Commission
The Wealth Tax Commission was established in Spring 2020 to provide an in-depth analysis on proposals to introduce a UK wealth tax for the first time in almost half a century. The last was considered in the UK in 1974.

Gifting for children
It’s that time of year again when our thoughts come to gifting to our nearest and dearest. When it comes to the children in our lives this often means a new toy, or a new outfit. But what about those who already have everything they need?

Changes to pension access
Following our article in October, where we advised that the State Pension had officially increased to age 66, we wanted to take this opportunity to position further changes announced around private pension access – that were shared in September.

Suffolk Financial Adviser named UK Financial Adviser of the year
A Bury St Edmunds based financial adviser has been named as one of the UK’s most influential businesswomen by a leading business publication, carrying off the title of UK Financial Adviser of the Year.

Leading East Anglian Financial Planning firm appoints new Financial Adviser
Financial planners and advisers Lovewell Blake Financial Planning, which for the past three years has been listed as one of the Top 100 Financial Planners in the UK by the Financial Times, has appointed Sharon Mattheus as a Financial Adviser.

Attitude to Risk Vs Capacity for loss
The difference between a perceived attitude to risk and actual capacity for loss can often be confused.

Let's talk money
The extraordinary fundraising achievements by the 100-year-old Captain Tom Moore have shown just how long some of us will lead active lives, and also how much the quality of such a long and active life will depend on how well we have planned for it.

Retirement planning with redundancy payments
It is important that those facing redundancy understand how a pension contribution can have a positive effect on their overall wealth.

FT rates East Anglian Firm in top 100 financial planners in the UK for the third year running
An East Anglian firm of financial planners has been named as one of the UK’s Top financial advisers by the Financial Times for the third year running – achieving a rating of 28th in the country, up from 72nd in 2019.

Good Money Week 2020
Good Money Week, which runs from 24 to 30 October 2020, is ‘the campaign to raise awareness of sustainable, responsible and ethical finance’ in the UK.

Cash investments
Returns for those holding money in cash savings accounts took another fall a fortnight ago, when the government-backed savings provider slashed their interest rates.

State pension age hits 66
The age you can start drawing your state pension has now officially increased to 66, for most people.

Long Term Care
Long-term care in a care home is very expensive, and can quickly erode your savings (including the equity in your property).

COVID market volatility means imminent retirees may need to rethink plans
For those approaching retirement, timing when to take their pension has never been so important.

How have my investments performed during the pandemic?
In short, it depends where and how you are invested. Since the markets saw a dramatic fall in March, it has been a bit of a choppy ride in general.

Introduction to active and passive investment management
A tracker fund is a simple way of investing your money in company shares, bonds, and other assets.

Pension death benefits
In April 2015, the Government dramatically changed the taxation rules applying to pension scheme death benefits.

Structured Deposits
Stock markets have been volatile to say the least over the last few months, and in our opinion, will remain so until the Coronavirus pandemic is brought under control and the economic fallout assessed.

Income Protection
When considering the range of protection policies available, the most common policy is ‘life insurance’.

If it looks too good to be true...
It is fair to say that 2020 has been quite an extraordinary year in many ways, presenting new challenges for people from all walks of life.

How to avoid a pension scam?
In recent weeks’, we have seen an upward trend in media activity regarding pension scams in the UK. Fraudsters are using sophisticated ways to deceive savers to part with their retirement savings using various means of communication.

Ethical Investing - What is 'Greenwashing'?
You may have already seen in the financial press, news of the recent rise of ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) and Ethical Investing.

Introduction to investing
In March, the Bank of England unveiled its second interest rate cut in under two weeks, as part of a number of measures the central bank and UK government rolled out to help mitigate the economic impact of the Coronavirus.

Inheritance tax rules for married couples and civil partners
Without careful financial planning, you may find that much of the wealth you spent your lifetime creating may be taken in tax rather than being passed to your loved ones.

COVID-19 - Protecting your business
The COVID-19 pandemic has introduced a number of challenges for business owners to deal with to ensure the survival of their companies.

Protecting your loved ones
Over the last few months, many of us have had the change to reflect on our lifestyles and financial circumstances due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

How might the Coronavirus impact dividends and natural income?
Whether you are investing in funds purely for growth, or if your portfolio consists of funds which pay out a natural income to you, it is likely that dividends will play a big part in performance.

Make a financial plan for your family
Starting a family is undeniably, a life changing event. Every aspect of life will change, as you know it, and this means that your financial priorities will too. Children have a unique way of draining your energy, and indeed, your finances. Luckily, there are ways to plan for this.

Investors must not panic over coronavirus effect and need to keep long-term view
Despite headlines over the past few days about global stock markets suffering big daily falls, it is important not to panic.

New rules about how law firms refer clients to third party professional partners are changing
The SRA’s new rules aim to make it easier for the public to access legal services, and easier for solicitors and firms to do business.

6 most frequently asked retirement questions
As people begin to approach retirement, there are many things that they start to consider.

Would you like the taxman to give you some extra spending money?
If you are a non-taxpayer and your spouse/civil partner is a basic rate tax payer then the taxman may well answer, “Just contact me and we’ll sort it out”.

Basic financial planning
With an expensive holiday season now over, it is time to consider what the new priorities for your money should be

Keeping calm during market turbulence
If you watch the news, you’ll be aware that the world is going through a period of economic uncertainty. From President Trump waging a global trade war, through to a potential economic slowdown and of course Brexit, there are plenty of reasons for investors to be wary.

Life Insurance
With the season of goodwill nearing, now could be the perfect opportunity to consider the level of life insurance you have in place.

FT rates East Anglian firm in Top 100 Financial Planners in the UK
An East Anglian firm of financial planners has been named as one of the UK’s Top financial advisers by the Financial Times for the second year running.

What is Relevant Life Insurance
In an ever more competitive employment market, employers are looking closer at the overall benefits they offer, beyond just salary.

Pensions versus ISA
A common question amongst investors is 'should I invest in a pension or an ISA?' Here we run through the main features of each product.

Good Money Week 2019
We are living in a world where it is not unusual for individuals to actively look for ways to reduce their impact on the environment; for example, only last month we saw children leading protests against climate change all over the world, taking the lead on an issue that affects all of us.

10 things to do once you are retired
Yesterday, you were busy working and today you are retired, what’s next?

Retirement - An emotional journey?
Retirement has a habit of creeping up on you whilst you are busy getting on with your life, to the extent that we barely give it consideration until it is almost upon us.