Birkett Long is delighted to announce that Paul Chilver, an Independent Financial Adviser at the firm is celebrating 20 years of service this year. Birkett Long IFA is part of the wider Birkett Long group, meaning that clients have the advantage of their...
The last two years have been stressful and uncertain, however, it’s important to ensure that you’re in control of your finances as we approach the end of the 2021/2022 tax year. The tax year will, as usual, finish on 5 April and people all over...
This year sees the 30th anniversary of BLIFA. In November 1989, it was an innovative move by the solicitors to launch a separate financial services department. The synergy between legal and financial advice, and providing both services under one roof, has...
At Birkett Long, financial advice goes hand in hand with legal advice to give you a joined up service. One of our team will meet with you and your family to obtain the full picture regarding your existing financial arrangements and your future, or...
In the UK in 2016, there are 23 million people aged 50 and over. We all know that in recent decades life expectancy has increased and it is expected that over the next 17 years the number of people aged 65 plus will rise by 40%. In Age UK’s...
Following the implementation of the pension freedom rules in April 2015, tabloid headlines have given us the impression that pensions now operate like a bank account. Although pensions have become more flexible, the reality is that they cannot be...
Following the 2015 summer Budget, those earning more than £150,000 will no longer qualify for an annual allowance of £40,000 (the annual allowance is the maximum that can be paid into a pension in a single tax year). Instead, high earners...
The future can seem a long way off; however, the reality, of course, is that it’s not! This is why planning ahead and making the right decisions today will give you peace of mind, knowing that your personal and financial affairs are organised in...
On 19 March 2014 in the Government’s 2014 Budget the Chancellor, George Osborne, surprised the Financial Services industry by announcing major changes to the Individual Savings Account (ISA) rules. It was announced that ISAs would be reformed...
If you are looking for good ideas about how to invest and grow your money, Birkett Long, legal and independent financial services firm, is staging a free seminar in Colchester and Stock. Paul Chilver, a financial planner with the firm, says people...
With the Bank of England base interest rate held at a record low level of 0.5% for over four years, bank and building society savings account interest rates remain unattractive. Investors with bank and building society Cash Individual Savings Accounts...
Over the next few years all employers will have to auto-enrol all “eligible” workers into a workplace pension scheme. The biggest employers started doing this in October 2012, when the Pensions Act 2008 came into force. An employer must...
Gifts that mitigate tax As you may have seen on page 1, four brave members of Birkett Long entered the Trailwalker UK 2012 in aid of Oxfam and the Gurkha Welfare Trust. This gruelling walk involved trekking 100km across the South Downs in less than...
Mike Cracknell from Birkett Long examines how you can make the most of tax efficient financial planning opportunities before the current tax year ends on 5 April 2012 and the new year commences 6 April 2012. 1. Make the most of Individual Savings Accounts...
The fact that you will need a funeral is one of life’s inevitabilities. However, the cost of even the most basic funeral is out of reach for many people. Funeral costs have risen, on average, by 7.32% per annum over the last five years...
Background The 2003–2005 Pension Commission reviewed the UK pension system and concluded that: i. up to 12 million people were not saving enough to provide for their retirement, ii. the State Pension could not meet the financial commitment of...
One of the negatives for pension savers is the new annual £50,000 limit on contributions, and this is already causing high earners to look for alternative forms of tax-efficient investment, such as Enterprise Investment Schemes (‘EIS’),...
The new tax year marks a new era for pension saving in which the keynote is flexibility. With effect from 6 April 2011, the obligation to crystallise pension savings in the form either of an annuity or a restricted type of pension drawdown called...
New pension rules - giving greater flexibility to individuals taking retirement benefits - are expected to be operative from 6 April 2011. Historically, individuals have had to set up a lifetime annuity or move into an Alternatively Secured Pension (ASP)...
Employers should utilise salary sacrifice for their employees making pension contributions to an employer's pension scheme to contra rises in both the rate of Primary and Secondary Class 1 National Insurance. Third party pension contributions -...
For individuals with a "relevant income" of £130,000 or more (i.e. effected by the "anti-forestalling rules") for the 2010/2011 tax year, to make gross pension contributions to the value of £20,000 or £30,000, as...
The maximum value of the pension pot which can be accumulated during an individual’s working life without incurring a tax penalty (the “Lifetime Allowance”) will be reduced from the current level £1.8m to £1.5m from April 2012....
The maximum pension contribution on which tax relief is allowed is also changing. With effect from 6 April 2011 a new limit of £50,000 p.a. will apply to personal pensions and other defined contribution schemes, whether the payments are made by the...
In another major pensions concession by the coalition Government, the requirement that pension savings must be 'secured' by the purchase of annuities is to be scrapped as from April 2011. Savers will be able to maintain their pension policies in...
The new coalition Government indicated that it is committed to simplifying pension schemes and granting tax relief on contributions paid. Although subject to possible further amendments, the most significant rule changes are: Permitted contributions The...
