CamOuse Blog
Tax on your savings in bank and building society accounts
Posted on: 15th May 2013 by: James Honey
You pay tax on your savings interest in the tax year that the interest is paid to you, or credited to your account, even if you’ve earned part of it in previous tax years. Savings income normally has 20 per cent tax taken off before you receive it.
This is confirmed by the entry ‘net interest’ on your bank or building society statement. Your bank or building society should send you a ‘Certificate of Tax Deducted’ or a statement containing this information after the end of each tax year (5 April). If you need one but haven’t received one, just ask. You can also often get the figures you need from your passbook or from your statements of account.
Quick House Sale Investigation
Posted on: 29th Apr 2013 by: James Honey
In April 2013, the Office of Fair trading (OFT) launched a study into the activities within the ‘Quick House Sale’ market, where providers offer to buy a house or find a third party buyer very quickly, usually at a discount from the full market value. The OFT is concerned that while providers may offer a valuable service, some practices might lead to homeowners receiving much less for their property than it is worth – any losses could be very high.
Don’t Fall in Love – the Most Common Mistakes Investors Make
Posted on: 24th Apr 2013 by: James Honey
This is the first part of a two part article, where we’ve taken a look at some of the common mistakes investors make when they’re buying and selling stocks and shares and other investments. We’ve identified ten mistakes – and this month, we take a look at the first five.
Could you be losing a pension down a ’black hole’?
Posted on: 18th Apr 2013 by: James Honey
A shift in the UK working culture and confusion around retirement planning is creating a pension ‘black hole’, with almost a quarter (23%) of UK adults stating they have lost track of at least one of their own pension schemes, according to a new poll for Age UK.
Auto Enrolment
Posted on: 15th Apr 2013 by: James Honey
In 1901 there were ten people of working age for every person who’d retired. A hundred years later, the ratio was three to one – and by 2050 the Department for Work and Pensions estimates that there will only be two people of working age for every person receiving a pension.
Investment fraud – don't be fooled!
Posted on: 9th Apr 2013 by: James Honey
Common investment scams include “boiler room” operations where salespeople who are usually based abroad, cold call investors and offer them worthless, overpriced or even non-existent shares, and ‘land-banking’ scams where people are persuaded to buy agricultural land at vastly inflated prices.
April Market Commentary
Posted on: 4th Apr 2013 by: James Honey
On March 20th Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, would deliver his Budget – and with the UK in very real danger of slipping into a ‘triple-dip’ recession and the Conservatives trailing in the opinion polls, it was simply going to be the most important speech the Chancellor had ever delivered.
Five steps to a successful ISA transfer
Posted on: 4th Apr 2013 by: James Honey
This is the season to check that you are making the best of your tax free Cash ISA opportunities. There is very little time left to check that you have used your 2012-2013 allowance and it is the first opportunity to invest your 2013–2014 allowance in April.
The Budget Summary 2013
Posted on: 21st Mar 2013 by: James Honey
To say that George Osborne faced a difficult task when he stood up to deliver his Budget speech on 20th March was one of the year’s major understatements. Both economically and politically, the backdrop to his Budget was bleak, particularly with an increase of 48,000 in youth unemployment announced barely three hours before he stood up to speak.
March Market Commentary
Posted on: 11th Mar 2013 by: CamOuse
Politics seems to impact more and more on economics – and somehow, always at the end of the month.
December ended with the last minute deal which averted the Fiscal Cliff in the US; January with Spanish premier Mariano Rajoy denying allegations of secret payments and at the end of February there were yet more problems in the US – and an election in Italy.
The New Proposals on Long Term Care and what they mean for your Financial Planning
Posted on: 11th Mar 2013 by: James Honey
In the Spring of last year retirement specialist LV= produced a report looking at the future of long term care in the UK. With increased life expectancy, LV= predicted that the number of people needing care – either in their own home or in specialist retirement homes – would surge by the year 2025, reaching 1.1 million, an increase of 30% on the current figure of 840,000.
The growth of the private rented housing sector
Posted on: 27th Feb 2013 by: James Honey
The English Housing Survey 2011 to 2012, published in February 2013 by the Department for Communities and Local Government, showed that more households are renting their homes privately in England than living in social housing for the first time since the 1960s.
Don’t let your pension be ‘liberated’ before time
Posted on: 27th Feb 2013 by: James Honey
Don’t let your pension be ‘liberated’ before time – you won’t be! A hard-hitting multi-agency information campaign for consumers and pensions professionals, led by the Pensions Regulator, has been launched to crackdown on predators claiming to be able to release pensions cash as a loan or lump sum before the law allows.
Could you run your own business?
Posted on: 12th Feb 2013 by: James Honey
Thinking of starting and running your own business? If you have are satisfied that there are good reasons for you to do this, the next key set of questions to ask yourself and think about are about yourself and your potential to be a successful business-person.
February Market Commentary
Posted on: 5th Feb 2013 by: James Honey
January opened with the USA economy – if not the whole world – having been saved from tumbling over the Fiscal Cliff thanks to a last minute deal between Barack Obama and the US Congress.
Financial planning for the end of Tax Year
Posted on: 1st Feb 2013 by: James Honey
The nights are finally starting to get a little lighter – maybe we can start looking forward to Spring after all. In financial services, Spring means two things; the Budget (on March 20th this year) and the end of the tax year on Friday April 5th.
Financial planning in your twenties, thirties and forties
Posted on: 28th Jan 2013 by: James Honey
This is the first of two articles where we look at ‘financial planning through the decades:’ how your financial planning needs change through the various stages of your life.
UK inflation at the end of December 2012
Posted on: 22nd Jan 2013 by: James Honey
The latest figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) show that the headline rate of inflation remained unchanged for the third month in a row.
Aviva reports on the Unpaid Work of Retired People
Posted on: 19th Jan 2013 by: James Honey
It is estimated that 10.4 million over-65s give up 10 hours each per week..
Retiring at 55 is becoming a luxury of the past…
Posted on: 18th Jan 2013 by: James Honey
According to Aviva’s latest Real Retirement Report, the over-55s in the UK are increasingly working past the traditional retirement age as larger numbers fall back on their savings in later life to meet living costs.
How successful is the amateur investor?
Posted on: 17th Jan 2013 by: James Honey
A minority of off-course punters who regularly put bets on race-horses make a living doing this, and some are very good at it..
