Latest News
Financial Ombudsman Service publishes its 2023/24 Plans and Budget
The Financial Ombudsman Service has published its 2023/24 plans and budget which sets out their ambitions for the next financial year. You can access it here. In 2023/24, the Financial Ombudsman expects to receive 184,000 complaints and resolve 204,000 complaints. The...
“Too fast” plan to raise State Pension Age has been shelved but not scrapped
The pace set by the government’s plan to bring forward the rise of State Pension Age to 68 by seven years was seen as “too fast” by half of UK adults compared to a quarter who thought it “about right”. State Pension Age will rise to 67 between 2026-28 and legislation...
Aegon welcomes calls for Government to investigate early access to state pension
Written by Steven Cameron, Pensions Director at Aegon We urge the Government to follow Baroness Neville-Rolfe’s recommendation to explore introducing a State Pension early access scheme for individuals meeting certain qualifying criteria. Currently, while there is...
The role of annuities in improving retirement outcomes
Written by Cecilia Furner, Distribution Director, Legal & General Retail Annuities To anyone keeping an eye on the news right now, it comes as no surprise to hear that the retirement landscape has changed. From the decline of “gold-plated” DB pension schemes to...
Business & Development
The European Pensions & Investments Summit
The European Pensions & Investments Summit provides a platform that helps Europe’s leading pension investors evaluate and partner with...
Government Statement – UK unveils world leading approach to innovation in first artificial intelligence white paper to turbocharge growth
The UK Government have released a press release announcing the launch of their AI white paper to guide the use of artificial intelligence...
Global Returns Project partners with Mindful Wealth
The Global Returns Project (GRP), a UK registered charity connecting investors with the world’s most impactful climate philanthropy,...
Business optimism abounds as advisers contemplate challenges in the months ahead
The majority of financial advisers, paraplanners and business owners feel optimistic about business in the coming months, despite concerns...
3/4 NHS staff want to quit
The brutal reality of working in the NHS today is revealed with 78.5% of NHS workers considering leaving the NHS, according to new...
Economy
ONS retail data: “UK economy is proving far more resilient than many thought” – reaction
Following the stronger than expected retail sales data published this morning, Simon Jones of InvestingReviews.co.uk and Samuel...
Bank tightens again, but the end of the rate-hiking cycle nears – Laith Khalaf, AJ Bell
Laith Khalaf, head of investment analysis at AJ Bell, comments on the latest decision by the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy...
Bank of England hikes base rate to 4.25% – reaction
The Bank of England has just increased the base rate to 4.25%. Wealth managers, mortgage brokers, investment and property market...
Interest rates hiked to 4.25%: What this means for savers and mortgage holders – AJ Bell
Laura Suter, head of personal finance at AJ Bell, comments on the Bank of England interest rate hike. She said: “This has to be the first...
Bank of England announces 0.25% UK base rate hike to 4.25% – investment and finance experts share their reactions
After yesterday's shock rise in the rate of UK CPI inflation to 10.4% and the US Federal Reserve Bank (The Fed) rate hike of 0.25%...
Insurance and protection
PGP Adds medical analysis function to compare critical illness policies
Protection Guru Pro announced today unprecedented additional functionality allowing advisers to review their clients existing critical...
LifeSearch announces range of digital partnership solutions to support wealth advisers
LifeSearch is continuing to expand its offering in the UK, enabling wealth advisers and other partner brands to offer digital protection...
Developing proficiency and building expertise – Legal & General helps advisers support clients during turbulent times
In this online web series for IFA Magazine, Legal & General highlights 5 key ways they are helping advisers support clients during...
SimplyBiz announces PMI referral partnership with Usay Compare
SimplyBiz has announced that it has partnered with Usay Compare, the UK’s largest PMI specialist, to offer a referral service to its...
Consumer Duty and ensuring better client outcomes – Legal & General helps advisers support clients during turbulent times
In this online web series for IFA Magazine, Legal & General highlights 5 key ways they are helping advisers support clients during...
Mortgage & Property
Latest Levelling Up plans could boost house prices by as much as £18,000 in these areas
Analysis by peer to peer real estate investment platform, easyMoney, reveals that Levelling Up projects could add as much as £18,000 to local house prices in those areas of the nation identified in the Chancellor’s recent Spring Budget. In the Spring Budget,...
England’s out of kilter property market – rental stock accounts for just 5% of available homes in some areas of England
Research by the Gradual Homeownership provider, Wayhome, has highlighted the imbalance of the property market across England when it comes to the current level of rental stock versus that available to homebuyers, with rental properties accounting for just 5% of...
Less than a third of people who plan to downsize make the leap
While a third of over-45s (29%) say they have plans to downsize in the next five years, just 13% of over-75s have actually made the leap reveals new data from the UK’s leading equity release adviser Key Later Life Finance shows. While the ideal age to downsize is seen...
The UK regions spending the least on rent, data reveals
As the cost of living crisis surges, renters are facing the possibility of increased rental costs. But with rent costs differing considerably across the UK, which areas are the most affordable for renters? In light of this, Alan Boswell Landlord...
The face of sustainable real estate investments in 2023
The real estate sector contributes around 40% of global greenhouse emissions, making them one of the largest environmental offenders. Of those total emissions, building operations are responsible for 27% of annual emissions, while building and infrastructure materials...
Help to Buy ends: First-time buyers account for 84% of homes bought in England through the scheme
On March 31st, the Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme will come to an end. This scheme proved to be particularly beneficial for first-time buyers seeking to climb the property ladder. According to analysis from Money.co.uk Mortgages, First-time buyers accounted for 84% of...
Regulation & Compliance
Aegon : Core investment advice should be first step towards more personalised guidance
Responding to the FCA consultation on Broadening access to financial advice for mainstream products, which closed yesterday, Aegon has...
The Pensions Regulator increases its focus on climate and ESG non-compliance
A new campaign to make sure trustees are meeting their environmental social governance (ESG) and climate change reporting duties is being...
SmartSearch: Agenda-setting campaign exposes AML loopholes
SmartSearch, the UK’s leading provider of digital compliance, has published an agenda-setting whitepaper to highlight the anti-money...
Don’t ignore FCA priorities says B-Compliant
The flurry of ‘Dear CEO’ letters being issued by the FCA emphasises the hard line the regulator is taking on Consumer Duty warns financial...
How social media can support firms’ Consumer Duty data strategies – Jamie Botha
Written by DataEQ's Jamie Botha The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) recently published a review of firms’ progress in implementing the...
Digest
Couples most likely to file for divorce in March – over 11,700 divorces filed on average every March
The month in which couples are most likely to file for divorce is March, with an average of 11,700* applications for divorce filed in that month versus an annual average of 10,600, shows a new study from leading private client law firm, Forsters that looks at divorce...
Discover the Mental Health Benefits of Walking in Nature: New Data Unveils the Power of Parks
The powerful impact of nature on mental health has been increasingly recognized in recent years, with a growing body of research highlighting the benefits of spending time in green spaces. Taking a walk in the park, for instance, has been shown to reduce stress, boost...
Five ways employers can support employees with endometriosis
With March being Endometriosis Awareness Month, employers have an opportunity to improve their understanding of how the condition can affect their employees and how they can support them. With one in ten women and those assigned female at birth suffering with the...
A third of Brits have never switched broadband, ahead of April’s price hike
Over a third of Brits admit they’ve never switched broadband providers, despite this potentially leading to them paying more than they should to stay connected. That’s according to Uswitch cheap broadband, which investigated the demographic differences in...
Experts warn of WhatsApp ‘family emergency’ scam targeting Brits across the country
Online safety is increasingly important, even for popular platforms like WhatsApp. With over 2 billion users worldwide, WhatsApp has become a favourite target for fraudsters and tactics have become more ingenious and effective than ever. The majority of users are...
Facing grief together this National Day of Reflection – practical tips to help employers put the right support in place
Written by Adrian Matthews, Head of Employee Benefits at MetLife UK Marie Curie’s National Day of Reflection takes place this year on 23rdMarch and is an opportunity to remember loved ones no longer with us. Everyone’s experience of grief is different, but for many it...
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