Stealth Tax continues to rise

Thursday, September 24th, 2009 | View from the Top | No Comments

You could argue that the recent proposals from Vince Cable are far from “stealthy”, but they underline the point that all parties are seeking ways of spanning the enormous deficit the next Government faces.

Whether it’s appropriate to coin some additional revenue from those with more valuable houses or, indeed, persons with a phone line is hotly debated across the country. The point is more whether the beleaguered UK citizen is suitably prepared in their financial affairs generally, which makes a rise elsewhere easier to absorb.

There is a wealth of information on the web available to DIY-your-finances, but it is often inconsistent or not specific enough to an individuals circumstances.

With Pension reforms around the corner employers and employees alike would be wise to have a Financial “Healthcheck”. You may be surprised how much better off you can be and how quickly you can feel those benefits.

Tags: Adviser, Budget, save money, stealth tax, tax, vince cable

Pensions Act 2008 – What it means to you.

Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009 | Financial Digest | No Comments

Allow me to bore you for two minutes regarding Pensions.

We all know that there is a looming pension crisis in this country and all the major political parties agree that pension reform is essential. In the past decade we have had various initiatives to try and stimulate more pension contributions such as Stakeholder pensions and the 2006 Pension Tax Simplification reforms. There have also been reforms introduced to the State Pension schemes with more to follow.

However, perhaps the biggest and most important reform is just around the corner. The above mentioned initiatives have largely failed to encourage the Great British public to contribute to a pension scheme and so the Government are going to the next obvious step. From April 2012, pension contributions will be compulsory for all employees and employers. For employees who do not have an employer’s pension scheme available to them, a new scheme (largely based on the existing personal pension rules) called Personal Accounts will be introduced to accept their pension contributions. A new body has been formed, PADA (Personal Accounts Delivery Authority), and they will be responsible for delivering this new scheme. However, whilst the topic of Personal Accounts has been the source of most discussion over recent months, I believe that it will be Auto Enrolment that should and will focus most Employers minds.

Under Auto Enrolment rules, employees will be automatically enrolled into a pension plan – it will not matter whether that scheme is a Personal Account, a personal pension or a group personal pension. If the employee does not want to join a pension scheme they will have to elect to ‘opt out’ of pension contributions (this decision will be reviewed periodically with the objective to ultimately auto enrol all employees). If an employee does not elect to opt out the employer will also have to make a pension contribution. It will be the employers’ responsibility to deduct contributions from their employees and make sure the contributions go to the relevant pension scheme and it will also be Employers who are saddled with the task of ensuring that their employees are enrolled or opted out. Not only will they have to find extra revenue to make an employer pension contribution to their employees pension fund, they will also face the prospect of fines and even the threat of a prison sentence if they or their employees breach the rules.

Many employers and business owners will not be aware of any of this, and as these rules will be with us with in 3 years it will have a major impact on their business plans.

If there’s any moral to the tale of Auto Enrolment, it’s seek advice at the earliest opportunity.

Please call us on 0845 30 50 222

Tags: Adviser, Budget, Capital Gains Tax, CGT, emloyee, employer, Family, finish work, Higher Rate, Interest Rates, Investments, ISA, isa allowance 2010, legislation, over 50, pension, Pensions, Redundancy, retirement, retiring, save money, tax, Tax Relief

New Arrivals…

Thursday, September 17th, 2009 | Company News | No Comments

Where a number of financial establishments are being forced to reduce levels of staffing, Lansdown Place is working against the trend by undergoing a period of modest expansion, and has been fortunate enough to attract the following individuals since January of this year:

Graham Lewis BSC (Hons)

Graham is married with three children, two of whom are teenagers. He graduated from Kings College London in 1990, joining Nat West Life as a Financial Adviser in 1992.  In 2002 Graham moved into the Independent sector as an Independent Financial Adviser.

Graham is an holistic planner, specialising in Personal Investment, Pensions and IHT planning. He carries the Advanced FPC.

In what little spare time he has, Graham enjoys Amatuer Dramatics, and runs a local Youth Club.

Mike Jeffrey

Mike has worked in financial services for 14 years, the past 6 in an advisory capacity, firstly with Lloyds TSB and subsequently as an IFA.

He operates the dual functions of paraplanner and adviser, and will shortly achieve both Chartered Financial Planner under the CII and Certified Financial Planner under the IFP. Mike already holds the certificate, diploma and advanced diploma in financial planning and is an associate of the PFS and IFP.

When not studying, Mike enjoys playing golf, spending time with his wife Rachel and 16 month daughter Neve, cooking and reading. Mike avoids extreme sports.

Robert Pierce

Bob is married with two children aged 25 and 18.

He has previously worked for the same IFA practice for over 31 years.  As a business owner he was subject to take over and merger, the company later becoming a major IFA practice in the UK.   Bob released his equity holding within the company some years ago and moved into a senior management role with very limited client work.  As the company grew and restructuring followed, Bob felt the time was right to return to his first love, that of conducting client work only.

Bob was previously a director of the LIA (the Life Insurance Association), now the Personal Finance Society.  He has also worked a for a major political party in his spare time.

Barry Pearce

Barry is married with two sons, and has been in the Financial Services Industry for over 20 years. He holds the qualifications AFPC, G10, G20, G80, JO5 and MAQ, and has specialised in Retirement and Redundancy planning. Barry has also been working extensively in the areas of Inheritance Tax Planning and Wealth Management, and as such will play a valuable part in the future of Lansdown Place.

Alison Hill

Alison is married with a son (2) and daughter (4) and has 17 years experience in the Financial Services Industry. She holds the full ACII qualifications, including the specialist pension transfer examination, together with CF9, G60, K10 and K20. Alison has previously managed her own consultancy practice, providing advice and support to IFA businesses, before deciding to join Lansdown Place.

To speak to any of our team please telephone 0845 30 50 222

Tags: Adviser, Financial News, Financial Services, Lansdown Place, New