With base rates so low, the deals being offered by the banks mean that savers putting money away now are in fact making a loss, because few, if any saving accounts, give a better rate than inflation.
Savers who lost money in the Equitable Life pension company should start receiving compensation payments in the middle of 2011, the government has announced.
Equity release is clearly a useful tool to ease financial pressures in later life, but anyone considering it as an option should first seek good quality information and advice, why not read our other article, Equity Release – A Good Option?
‘If a client has already let their 75th birthday pass then the best they can hope for is that the new rules in April allow them to take a lump sum”
ISA transfers to speed up from January 2011, creating £14.5bn in interest for the 17.5 million ISA savers in Britain.
Excluding the state pension and pension credit, from 2011 benefits, tax credits and public service pensions will rise in line with the Consumer Price Index, rather than the, generally higher, Retail Price Index.
The basic state pension will be linked to earnings from April 2011, with the pension guaranteed to rise in line with earnings, prices or 2.5%, whichever is the greater.
The government will also consult on phasing out the default retirement age – to ensure those who want to work past 65 are able to do so.
The highest ratio of debt to income peaked for those aged 66 owed in credit card balances and unsecured loans.
The government today confirmed it would be setting up an independently-designed compensation scheme for Equitable Life policyholders that was “swift, simple, transparent and fair”.
The basic State Pension is a pension paid to you by the government when you reach State Pension age. It is based on the number of qualifying years gained through National Insurance contributions you’ve paid, are treated as having paid or have been credited with throughout your working life.
Do you qualify for the basic State Pension?
