The Pensions Regulator is to relax the rules governing 300 UK company pensions to help deal with funding shortfalls. The schemes, with around 600,000 members, are to be given extra leeway to help them survive until they can be topped up by employers. The regulator fears the investments the schemes use are yielding so little… Read More

Standard & Poor’s has cut the long-term credit rating of Spain by two notches from A to BBB-plus citing deteriorating government finances as a result of a contracting economy and ailing banking sector. The ratings agency has also placed the country in negative outlook, meaning there could be further downgrades to come. The move means… Read More

Barclays has set aside an extra £300m for settling claims of mis-selling payment protection insurance, but says it made an “encouraging” start to 2012. A £2.62bn accounting adjustment and the extra PPI provision meant the bank reported a statutory pre-tax loss of £475m in the first quarter, compared with a £1.66bn profit a year ago…. Read More

Britain’s tax agency, HMRC, has announced in its latest Isa Bulletin (42) that capital guaranteed products offered under an individual savings account (Isa) wrapper may not be eligible for the tax-free allowance after the Retail Distribution Review (RDR) is implemented next year. HMRC said the removal of commission from initial and ongoing charges by fund… Read More

Poor annuity rates and a bleak outlook for future improvements mean retirees should delay their purchase for as long as possible, an adviser has warned. IFA firm Almary Green said the negative effects of quantitative easing, upcoming Europe-wide regulation under Solvency II and the introduction of unisex annuity rates in December will all constrain future… Read More

LEAVING Kilkeel in 1999 to travel and explore the world, Thomas Keown never thought a month’s holiday to Kenya in 2007 would change his life forever. While visiting Kenya, Thomas thought he would spend his time taking pictures of safari animals and lying on the beach, but this holiday became something different altogether. “On the… Read More

The law that protects the pension savings of bankrupts has been thrown into doubt by a landmark High Court judgement. Experts are warning that those of the ‘right age’ – aged over 55 – may now have to hand over their nest egg to creditors. A High Court ruling, made last week in the case… Read More

Pensions are no longer a “safe hiding place” for debtors to keep money after a bankrupt has lost a court case to keep creditors from raiding his pension. The figure they are entitled to has not yet been decided, although he may be forced to draw down the maximum amount (25% of his pension) to… Read More

Labour leader Ed Miliband has repeated calls for pension relief for higher rate tax payers to be capped at 26 per cent with the extra revenue spent on reversing cuts to tax credits. Last month, Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls said by reducing the annual allowance from £255,000 to £50,000 instead of reducing relief for those… Read More

House prices increased by 2.2 per cent in March, the Halifax House Price Index shows. It follows a monthly fall of 0.4 per cent in February and a drop of 0.1 per cent in the three months leading up to March. The average UK house price is at the same level as in July 2011…. Read More