Articles by Ruth Jackson-Kirby:
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How to Pay Off Credit Card Debt
Credit card debt can quickly mount up, leaving you wondering how to pay it off. Read on to learn how you can pay off your credit card debt and the steps to take if you can’t afford the repayments.
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Pension Tracing: How to Find Old or Lost Pensions
Finding an old pension can give your retirement income a welcome boost. What you need to do to trace it will depend on how much you remember about your lost pension. But your old pension provider, previous employer and the Pension Tracing Service might all be able to help.
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How ethical pension funds work
Ethical pension funds bring socially responsible investing to retirement planning by ensuring the underlying investments meet Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) criteria.
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Cashing in a Pension: Your Options at Retirement Explained
Cashing in a pension usually only becomes possible at age 55. At this point some or all of your pension funds can be used to buy an annuity, set up a drawdown arrangement, accessed as cash, or you can opt for a combination of these options.
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PayPal Scams: How to Protect Your Money
Don't get duped by urgent-sounding emails or texts, and learn how to sidestep all the tricks up fraudsters' sleeves.
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15 ways to improve your credit score
Improving your credit score can help boost your chances of getting financial products such as loans, credit cards and mortgages. Here, we run through 15 simple tips and tricks that could help you improve your credit rating.
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Help to Save: Accounts for Low-Income Workers
If you claim the working tax, child tax or universal credit, you may be eligible for the Help to Save scheme that pays you a bonus of 50p for every £1 you save.
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Card Declined: Why Has My Card Been Declined?
Although it may leave you a little red faced, cards can be declined for a number of reasons, these could include reaching spending limits, being abroad or getting your information wrong. Learn what it could mean if your card has been declined.
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Should I Consolidate My Credit Card Debts?
If you have credit card debt with multiple providers you could consolidate it into one place. Read on to discover more about credit card debt consolidation and the pros and cons of it.
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What is Credit Card Debt?
Money borrowed from a credit card provider is credit card debt. As long as you pay your monthly repayments in full, you will not accrue interest on the amount borrowed. Learn more about credit card debt, including how it compares to other types of debt and the consequences of building it up.
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What is pension savings credit?
Anyone on a low retirement income may be eligible for pension credit. There are two forms: guarantee credit and savings credit. Here we look at savings credit, who is eligible and how to claim it.
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What is guaranteed pension credit?
The government’s guarantee credit forms part of pension credit. It ensures that anyone on a low income gets a guaranteed minimum retirement income.
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Understanding your pension statement
A pension statement is an annual summary of your pension pot. It shows how much you have built up so far and gives you a projected retirement income. Your state pension forecast is different and highlights whether you have paid enough national insurance to get the full weekly payment.
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Widow’s pension: the bereavement support payment explained
In the distressing period after the death of a spouse or partner the last thing you want to worry about is money. You may be entitled to government benefits to stop you from falling into financial hardship.
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State Pension Forecast: Check Your Retirement Income
A pension forecast will help you estimate how much state pension income you could receive when you retire. For personal and workplace pensions your annual statement will provide a projection of your likely retirement income.
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State Pension Triple Lock Explained
The triple lock protects the income that retirees receive through the state pension from inflation. Usually payments increase in line with the highest of either earnings, Consumer Prices Index inflation, or 2.5%. But for the next rise in April 2022, the earnings measure won’t be considered.
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How to get pension credit
Pension credit is a tax-free government benefit available to people over state pension age who are on a low income. There are two main forms: savings credit and guarantee credit.
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How to Defer Your Pension
If you are not ready to retire, want to build more retirement savings, or simply don’t need to claim your pension yet, you may want to defer taking your pension. Your state pension can also be deferred in return for increased payments in the future.
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It is never too late to set up a pension
Feel like you’ve left your pension too late? Don’t panic, it is never too late to set up a pension and start saving for retirement.
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8 ways to boost your pension
Treat your current income like it is spoken for - today’s pension contributions will be more valuable during retirement.
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How to start a pension
Ready to start pension savings for retirement? First, choose which type of pension and how much you will need to set aside less each month.
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How pension funds can set you up for retirement
A pension fund is a collective investment designed for people saving for retirement. It includes a range of assets to build your pension pot and set you up for retirement. There are two main approaches to pension funds: the default pension fund approach and the self-select pension fund approach.
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What to know about defined contribution pension schemes before you retire
A defined contribution pension can be a private pension or a workplace pension and is a way to save for retirement that can combine your contributions, employer contributions, investment returns and tax relief. Once you retire, you can turn that lump sum into an income.
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What is a Final Salary Pension, and How do Defined Benefit Pension Schemes Work?
A final salary pension, or defined benefit pension scheme, is a type of workplace pension that will pay you a retirement income for life. The amount you will receive in retirement is calculated using your salary when you retire or your average salary.
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Are you paying too much for your pension? Learn how to minimise the fees
Pension providers charge for their services with pension charges and fees. Pension charges can include annual management charges, platform fees, underlying fund fees, inactivity fees and exit charges. While they may be unavoidable, some costs can be minimised.
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What is a Tracker Mortgage?
A tracker mortgage is a type of variable rate mortgage where the interest rate tracks another rate. Usually this will be the Bank of England base rate, though the rate you pay typically has a margin added on top.
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What is a Standard Variable Rate?
A standard variable rate (SVR) is the interest rate set by your mortgage lender. After your tracker, fixed, or discount rate mortgage is over, you will likely switch to a SVR mortgage unless you can remortgage for a better deal.
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Retirement Interest Only Mortgages: How RIO Mortgages Work
A retirement interest-only mortgage (RIO) is a type of home loan available to borrowers over 55. With a RIO, you repay interest monthly. Capital does not have to be repaid until you die or go into long-term care.
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How Repayment Mortgages Work
A capital repayment mortgage lets you pay back some of the capital you borrowed along with interest charges. It is one of a few repayment options.
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Pension Annuity: Retire with a Guaranteed Income
Buying a pension annuity with some or all of your pension pot means you can rely on a certain level of retirement income. There are different types of annuity that can provide for your loved ones after you die, pay a higher income if you’re in ill health or smoke, and keep pace with inflation.
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Pension Drawdown: How to Take a Flexible Retirement Income
Using pension drawdown to access the money in your pension can provide you with a flexible retirement income. Your pension funds can stay invested to hopefully grow further after you retire. How pension drawdown works means retirement income decisions are firmly in your hands.
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The Pension Tax-Free Lump Sum Explained
Pension tax-free lump sum is the name given to the amount of your pension pot that you can withdraw when you access your pension without needing to pay income tax. It might also be referred to as your pension commencement lump sum.
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What is a Current Account?
A current account is a type of bank account to help you manage your everyday money and expenses. This can include things like bills, wages, standing orders and direct debits. Read on for what you need to know about current accounts, including the different types and how to open a current account.
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What is Money Claim Online?
Money Claim Online is one of the ways you can make a claim for any money you are owed, up to £100,000, and it can often be a cheaper and quicker alternative to going to court.
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What is a Building Society?
Building societies are mutual organisations, which means they are owned by their customers. They offer current and savings accounts and mortgages so they can be an alternative option to a traditional bank.
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What is the Financial Conduct Authority?
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is an independent public body that regulates the financial services and markets in the UK. It aims to protect consumers, maintain the integrity of the industry, and promote competition.
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What is the Financial Ombudsman Service?
The Financial Ombudsman Service, also known as the FOS, is an independent organisation that can help you resolve any disputes you may have with a financial company, after unsuccessfully trying to resolve the matter with the company first.
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Pension contributions and the annual allowance explained
Pension contributions are the payments that you, your employer, and the government make into a pension, but there are caps and other considerations to bear in mind. So how much should you contribute to a pension and what does the pension annual allowance allow?
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Pension Withdrawals: Limits, Rules and Taking a Pension Early
If you are 55 or over and have a defined contribution pension, you usually can start making pension withdrawals. Sometimes you can do this before age 55, but you may have to wait until you’re 65 if you have a defined benefit scheme.
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What is a salary sacrifice for pension?
These schemes allow you to give over part of your salary in order to make more contributions to your pension.
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What Will Happen to My Pension When I Die?
What happens to your pension when you die depends on the type of pension you have, your age when you die and whether you’ve started taking money from your pension. Nominating a beneficiary is important if you want a certain person to get your pension after you die.
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What is Pension Tax Relief? How Tax Relief on Pension Contributions Works
Pension tax relief is a government top-up to your pension contributions that aims to encourage people to save for their retirement. The amount of tax relief you can claim will depend on the income tax that you pay.
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Pension advice: everything you need to know
Whether you're approaching retirement or want to understand the funds you’re investing in, you might consider getting some advice about your pension.
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What is a pension transfer?
When you bring all of your pension pots to one provider, that's a pension transfer. Learn what you need to know about the risks.
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Pension planning tips to maximise your savings
Start early, assess what you have and how much you'll need, and if you need to, bridge the gap.
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Auto-enrolment: everything you need to know
Auto-enrolment is the initiative by which you are automatically enrolled in your workplace pension scheme (unless you opt out).
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What is a SIPP, and how does a self-invested personal pension work?
A self-invested personal pension (SIPP) gives you more control over your retirement savings, enabling you to make your own investment decisions. Contributions into a SIPP are eligible for tax relief and existing pensions can be transferred into a SIPP too.
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Workplace pensions explained
A workplace pension is a pension that is organised by your employer. Your workplace is required by law to offer one.
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Personal pension: arranging your own retirement saving
A personal pension is a private pension that you can set up for yourself, outside any workplace scheme. Open a personal pension plan and your contributions could be boosted by tax relief too.
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Don't Be a Prime Target for Amazon Scams
From alerts about a lost package to promises of having won a prize, there are myriad ways scammers use Amazon to try to pry away your money.
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