The value of Income Protection

We work hard to provide for ourselves and our families and enjoy spending our monthly earnings on holidays and leisure – as well as the more mundane (but essential) things like bills and mortgage payments of course. So you’d think we’d place huge importance on protecting an asset as valuable as our income.

According to research from Zurich, however, this is sadly not the case. In fact, only 20% of the people surveyed had protected themselves against a loss of earnings in the event of illness or disability....

Managing your money as a freelancer or contractor

Research carried out by the Small Business Research Centre at Kingston University revealed there are an estimated 1.9 million freelancers in the UK, representing 36% growth over the past eight years.

Almost two thirds of all freelancers work in four main industry groups:

• Education, health and social work (21%)
• Professional, scientific and technical (20%)
• Arts, entertainment and recreation (12%)
• Information and communication (10%)

In terms of age profile, 25% of freelancers are ag...

Help to Buy schemes proving successful

Over 160,000 people have been able to achieve home-ownership thanks to the government’s Help to Buy housing schemes.

Of those, 118,000 were first time buyers, the average house price was £189,795 (significantly under the national average of £292,000), more than half were for new build homes and all but 5% of completions took place outside of London.

Supporting first time buyers

The Help to Buy schemes were primarily designed to support first time buyers and began with th...

Risk vs reward

While homeowners can still benefit from low mortgage rates, savers will be struggling to enjoy any kind of growth on money they have on deposit, leading some to consider a riskier investment.

If you're considering investing in the stock market, one crucial and very personal issue is how you feel about the prospect of putting money at risk and your ability to accommodate any loss in value.

What's your appetite for risk?

It's a fact that risk and the potential for reward go hand in hand: Investments that are low in risk ar...

Pension freedom – the headlines

Today's pension savers can enjoy far greater freedom over how they access their pension savings, but it could lead to some making wrong decisions and paying unnecessary tax.

That’s why it’s important to understand what the changes mean to you and take professional financial advice so that you can make the right decisions with your pension.

Power to the people

Since April 2015, people over the age of 55 have had greater power over how they take their retirement savings and more choice in terms of...

Is your home winter-proof?

With the year coming to an end and winter just around the corner we can start to expect colder, wetter, stormier weather conditions instead of the brighter, warmer days of summer.

This makes it a good time of year to assess how well protected your home and possessions are against the potential damage winter may cause. Take action now and ensure you have the relevant home insurance, check your property over and make a plan to protect it against bad weather.

The following preventa...

A financially-rewarding retirement

A financially-rewarding retirement is not the only contributor to a satisfying, healthy and enjoyable life, it’s still a pretty important one.

For most, during working life, financial wellbeing will depend on whatever they do to earn money. However, as well as securing the living standards you want when you’re working, it’s also important to think carefully about putting some of that income aside for your future.

Generally speaking, the more you save and the earlier you start saving, the better shape y...