Could you survive on £110.15 a week? This is the full Basic State Pension amount for 2013/14. In reality, the State Pension probably won’t be enough when you retire. Nowadays people aren’t saving enough money to give them a sufficient income in retirement to maintain the lifestyle they’re used to. This has meant that people [...]
Apart from a saving of £10 on 1000 pints of beer, this year’s Budget lacked any suprises, as most of the potential headline grabbing changes were announced in the previous Budget or Autumn statements. There were no changes announced to the headline rates of income tax suffered by individuals but there was a focus on [...]
E-books have been added to the basket of goods used to calculate the UK’s rate of inflation, but Freeview set-top boxes are out. The latter has been replaced in the basket by digital television recorders, signalling the changing face of technology. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) updates the basket each year so the contents [...]
Under current legislation The Pensions Regulator will be writing to you advising of your staging date, 12 months in advance of that date. From that date you will be obliged to contribute to employee pensions and adhere to rigorous new legislation. Armed with this information Financial advisers can start the program of working with you to assess [...]
The three year long review by the Financial Services Authority has been completed and Hughes Financial Services, like most mortgage advisers, have welcomed the findings. Rather than simply lending a multiple of a the borrower’s salary, lenders will now have to apply an affordability test. It is fair to say that many lenders have already [...]
This month marks the one year anniversary of the introduction of the Junior ISA, a tax free wrapper for children’s savings. The accounts are open to under-18s who do not have a CTF (Child Trust Fund), that is children born before September 2002 or after 3rd January 2012. The take up of these “J’ISAs” has been [...]
At Hughes Financial we work with employers throughout Northern Ireland to provide quality locally based Independent Financial Advice. This process also involves collaborating with other professionals to provide a holistic service, covering all company financial needs. We align ourselves to quality local professionals, providing national standards of service without the associated costs and restrictions. Against [...]
Just a reminder of the benefits of our service: To protect your family, To help plan your spending and saving, To help you plan for retirement, To secure your home, To help meet your investment goals, To find the right combination of assets, To obtain an objective assessment, To save money, To keep you on track, and [...]
Many savers will have been horrified to see recent headlines speculating that the Bank of England may drop interest rates. This would reduce further the interest savers are getting on their deposits. Most probably won’t believe this is possible as the returns offered by many of our High Street banks and Building Societies are shocking. [...]
Some questions business owners may want to ask themselves to see if covering a key person for life and/or critical illness is a good idea – providing such cover may cost less than you think? • If gross profit fell, would the business be able to meet its fixed costs? • If yes, then what would [...]