Mar 27
Another year guaranteed for the higher £250 Winter Fuel Payment for pensioners and £400 for the over 80s thanks to the Budget. However, is the Government really doing enough to curb the fuel poverty battle?
Mar 24
Each year, just under 300,000 male pensioners are unwittingly denying their wives a comfortable retirement when they die because they are not taking the right advice when purchasing an annuity with their pension savings.
Labelled a ‘ticking time bomb’ by leading pensions campaigner Dr Ros Altmann, the shocking revelation could leave thousands of widows in financial difficulty in retirement. (more…)
Mar 20
The future role of equity release as a possible means of funding social care for pensioners has been welcomed by trade body Safe Home Income Plans (SHIP) in response to recent Lib Dem research.
Interrogating Conservative plans for a residential social care scheme that would cost pensioners £8,000, the Liberal Democrats have called proposals “unworkable, unfair and unaffordable”. (more…)
Mar 17
A report by Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee into the way that older people, especially pensioners, are taxed has worryingly shown they could be on the receiving end of a very raw deal.
Constituting 18% of taxpayers, older people are more likely to abide by tax rules but are less likely to understand them, which means they will often pay more tax than is necessary. (more…)
Mar 13
A key source of retirement funding could come from Equity Release says a well known All Party Parliamentary Group.
The group, led by Baroness Hollis of Heigham, suggested that the Government should provide better support to an industry that could offer a solution to the financial issues caused by a progressively ageing population. With additional Government backing, says the group, the equity release process could appear safer and more understandable for the nation’s older population. (more…)
Mar 07
On 6 April 2010, new rules on qualifying for the full state pension will kick in.
Currently, women need to have worked 39 years to clock up enough National Insurance contributions to be entitled to the full state pension and men for 44 years. However, a change in the rules on 6 April this year will see both dropped to 30 years. (more…)
