Christmas Holiday Office Hours

The office will be closed for Christmas from 24th December 2010 and re-opening again on Tuesday 4th January 2011. May I take this opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas.

Safer Deposits

Good news for savers (finally) in that the FSA have confirmed that the deposit security (the compensation scheme) will increase from £50,000 to £85,000 from 1st January 2011.

Further changes coming into effect on 31 December 2010 are:

•Fast payout rules, with a target of a seven day payout for the majority of claimants and the remainder within the required 20 days.

•Gross payout, which protects customers by ring fencing their deposits if they have savings and loans with the same firm. Currently, any outstanding loan or debt would be deducted from any compensation.

•This new pan European requirement replaces the existing UK arrangement which has been in place since 2009, and which allowed for separate compensation cover for customers with deposits in two merging building societies.

5 Traps to Avoid with the New NHS Pension

If you are one of many people that have worked within the NHS prior to April 2008 you will be shortly recieving information (if you haven't had it already) about your options to join the newer version of the scheme. This is one of many instances, where newer does not mean better. I have published a quick guide which I have called 5 Traps to Avoid - so please have a look at this article about things to consider - easy to read and if you have any questions come back to me. Every bit of advice needs a context of course, so you should seek this for your own circumstances.

Please pass it on to colleagues and friends within the NHS.

Changing Roles

As one of our senior members of staff - as a seasoned gentleman that turns 68 next month, Arthur Wynyard will no longer be advising clients. He will remain as a very valuable part of the team, bringing his experience to help me serve our clients even better by becoming a paraplanner. See my full press release here.

Taxing Times

There is little to get festively jolly about at the moment as the Government continue to review tax reliefs. Today the Office of Tax Simplification (which certainly does sound rather good!) and formed in July, published its interim report. The 109 page document is published for "public scrutiny and comment, the methodology we have used. We would particularly welcome your assessment as to whether you think this approach would be effective if applied to the full list of reliefs and allowances." (Rt Hon Michael Jack).

The main allowances being considered within this document are

Reliefs under review:

Potentially retain
Capital gains tax relief on disposal of private residence
Income tax relief for players in the UEFA Champions League Final 2011
Income tax relief for repair and maintenance of work equipment

Potentially simplify
VAT: supplies to charities/ sales by charities
Gift aid
Lease premium relief
Capital allowances – enhanced capital allowances for energy and water efficient
technologies
Research and development tax relief

Potentially abolish
Exemption from benefit charge for late night taxis
Vaccine research relief
Millennium gift aid
Income tax exemption for National Savings Bank Ordinary Account interest
Luncheon vouchers – daily income tax relief for first 15p

However the list keeps growing and there is a pledge to review lots of other allowances and deferrals such as:

Enterprise Investment Schemes

Entrepreneurs Relief

Venture Capital Trusts

Film Tax Relief

Life Assurance Premium Relief

Life Assurance Bonds - 5% rule

Life Assurance Bonds - top slicing rule

Literary & creative artists relief

and many others - all making it considerably harder for me and every other IFA and a few Accountants to do some proper tax planning. We will obviously have to wait and see the next report, but in short- this may well pose a threat to many "normal" tax allowances.

The Joy of Stats - BBC4 i-player

Here's an interesting programme from the BBC - The Joy of Stats. An amusing and interesting look at the importance and relevance of statistics within our lives. I'm reminded of a quote that one of my team (Arthur) likes to requote - "there are lies, damn lies and statistics".

You will find a helpful reminder of one of the many statistical graphics that I use regularly - the normal distribution curve. Its perhaps an unusual recommendation - but do have a look, I challenge you not to be intrigued. There is an amazing graphic (truly!) showing the development of global health and wealth over the last 200 years.

Christmas Shopping in Paris with Bulgari

Bulgari is celebrating its 125th anniversary with a fabulous exhibition in Paris at the Grand Palais. The show runs from tomorrow (1oth December) until 12th January. There are over 600 pieces, many owned by the good, the great, the rich and the famous over the last 125 years. As Christmas is coming and well, who needs an excuse to visit Paris?.. perhaps you could combine a visit with some shopping for a few Christmas presents - which I'm sure would be very appreciated by the recipient.

What to do when you leave an employer's pension scheme

If you have an employer that pays into an investment based pension you need to take a couple of easy steps.

1. Ensure that you and your employer cease paying to the pension

2. Obtain a current fund value and statement from the pension company and ideally a breakdown of the payments made into it over the current tax year (starting from 6th April)

You then have 4 main options:

If you have a new job lined up - the new employer may offer a pension scheme if so you could:

1. Transfer the old pension into the new employers pension


2. Leave the old pension alone to grow


3. Add to the old pension - either by paying into it yourself or possibly also getting the new employer to pay into it.


4. Transfer the old pension into a better new pension (but not the employers pension)

An adviser will help guide you through the pros and cons of each. The key things to consider are the charges involved in any new arrangement and the investment choice. The most important thing is that you continue to build retirement benefits if you are able to do so. The more you put into a pension and the longer you do so, the better your pension ought to be.

Of course the pension should be reviewed carefully and you need to ensure that you have an investment strategy in place that works for you, suitable to your attitude to risk and your plans for retirement.

Treasury sets MIR for flexible drawdown at £20,000 | News | Money Marketing

Treasury sets MIR for flexible drawdown at £20,000 News Money Marketing

Today's news has the potential to reduce income taken from pensions in "draw down" to 100% of annuity rates. Prompting the question... why bother then? the answer (well, one simple/quick one) - Draw Down offers flexibility of income which can be helpful for income tax planning, though ever case must be considered on its own merits and within a context of what a client wants. The new rules will apply from April 2011.

The Markets - White Noise

The December Monthly Market Report is now available for downloading in our news section, this reflects data to the end of November and includes each year from 2001. I find this a helpful tool in reminding clients about the hard numbers of market movements with many markets falling over 50% in 2008. Yet it is all about timing - if you observe any of the previous versions we have made available you will note very different numbers. The one pattern that emerges is that nothing lasts, but some things linger.

Paying Too Much for Home Insurance?

Here's a natty calculator that I have come across - use it to work out the level of contents insurance that you really need... then go and find the best quote or use a broker that knows their stuff and can get cover that will pay up.

We don't provide this sort of insurance - but obviously it is something that anyone with a house will need. If you need the details of a good broker let me know.

L&G techy marketing guys have done a decent job on this. Let me know what you think of it - send me an email or post a comment.

The Big Meltdown

Here's some useful tips to ensure prevent dire consequences of melting snow and thawing ice. If you need home insurance, its not something that we provide, but we can put you in touch with a very good broker. Insurance brokers are invariably more expensive than telephone or online comparisons, but don't forget that they have years of real life experience of claims which is really what the cover is for. I believe that this is money worth paying.

One of the dangers that exist in the home during winter weather is burst pipes. The “ escape of water” ,as insurers term it, only happens when the pipes thaw. Many of us are still in the grips of the freeze part of the equation, so now is the time to check those pipes in the loft and those outside taps. Often it’s the joints in the pipes that will be forced apart by the ice so it’s worth a quick look now.

With most, if not all, home policies you will find increased excesses for “escape of water” (usually £250). The following steps should be taken to ensure that the property and its contents are not seriously damaged due to an escape of water.

(If you rent out property why not ensure your tenants have taken suitable precautions otherwise unfortunately you will be the one picking up the bill for the water damage not them?):

• Ensure that pipes and water tanks are well-lagged. Lagging is relatively inexpensive and will frequently cost less than the policy excess charged by your insurer in the event of a claim.

• If the property is unoccupied, even a relatively small leak, if undiscovered, can cause catastrophic damage. Either drain the water systems or if thermostatically controlled, the heating system should be left to operate at a minimum temperature of 15 degrees Celsius.

• If there is a gravity fed water or heating system, one vulnerable area may be the tank in the loft space. If the heating is left in operation it should ensure that some warmth circulates in the loft space.

Talking Money

Hard copies of our magazine were mailed yesterday, depending on where you live you may get a damp copy due to the snow. If this is the case, don't forget that you can view it online in our news section.

Today the snow won

It seems that local transport has suffered badly today and so we have been hit by a reduced team today and have had to reschedule client meetings. Sorry - I obviously spoke far too soon!

Snow? We're here at the office..

One of the advantages of working locally is that the snow problems that most of London experiences generally don't bother us. All of my team are at work, busy for our clients today. I'm very thankful that I don't get caught in the commute each morning.

That said, I collected one of my daughters from the O2 Millennium Dome last night - by car and I've never had a quicker journey there, clear roads all through the city.