Article by Christina
October news from your local pension advisor Christina Clegg
- The FCA has issued a warning to investors about high-risk schemes. These are unregulated investments which offer no financial protection to the investor. Their main concerns are about investments into mini bonds and loan notes. These are often advertised on social media. The FCA reminds people that they should be prepared to lose all their money in any unregulated investment scheme.
- 90% of local pension advisors have seen an increase in Inheritance Tax enquiries as a result of concerns over the budget.
- According to Transact, over 5 million estates could fall into the inheritance tax trap once the government introduces the tax on pensions in 2027. Talking to your local pension adviser might be a good idea ahead of the tax changes.
- FCA and Law Society are cracking down on advertising for motor finance claims. So far, they have received over 200,000 complaints from people being cold called which is strictly against the rules.
- The wealth management partnership between Schroeders and Lloyds is to come to an end. It will be re-branded Lloyds personal Wealth. Launched back in 2019 the business had ambitions to become one of the biggest local pension advisor companies in the UK. But this hasn’t materialised.
- The FCA has dropped the requirements on firms to report 10% drops in portfolio values to clients. This was originally introduced as a warning mechanism. But it was suspended during Covid because of the administration. Now it’s been dropped altogether.
- Warnings issued over Winter Fuel Payment scams. HMRC has reported an increase in scams being reported over the last few weeks. These are mainly text and WhatsApp messages asking people to click a link to make their applications. Remember the government performed a U Turn on their Winter Fuel Allowance policy and all pensioners will continue to receive the allowance so there is no need to make an application. It will be paid automatically.
- HMRC are starting to look more closely into capital Gains tax (CGT) declarations made by individuals. With the CGT allowances cut from £12,000 in 2022 down to £3,000 now, a lot more people have fallen into the tax trap. Failure to Notify penalties are on the increase as a result. Make sure you don’t get caught out because the penalties are 100% of the unpaid tax.
- According to their figures over 270,000 people have called the government’s Pension Tracing Service over the last four and half years. Over 50,000 people a year. Quite a lot of people ring us to see if we can help with pension tracing but it’s not something we do. The government website can be found here.
- The average untraced pension is worth £9,500 with over £31 billion unclaimed. National Pension Tracing Day was on Sunday 26th
- The Office for National Statistics forecasts that the state pension will rise by 4.8% next year.
- Inflation remained at 3.8% in September. For the third month in a row.
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If you need a local pension adviser then why not contact Christina today. She offers a free initial meeting to discuss your requirements and explain how our service works. You are under no obligation to use us after that if you don’t want to and we won’t pester you.
So why not call us today on 01282 614444 or e mail us enquiries@ccfps.co.uk or use our contact form online.
