In this edition of Clearmoney we look at the major talking points that could impact on your financial plans both today and in the future, especially as we enter a new financial year and take stock of the announcements from Budget 2016 – and then there’s the matter of ‘Brexit’.
With an increasing focus on Brexit, our investment clients will naturally be monitoring the impact on financial markets ahead of the referendum scheduled for Thursday 23 June. The nature of investment is long term.
We look at why constantly making changes to take into account short-term events often proves to be counterproductive in the long term. Movements in currencies and shares are often fairly short-lived, as the result of the Scottish referendum showed.
The State Pension changed on 6 April 2016. If you reach State Pension age on or after that date, you’ll now receive the new State Pension under the new rules. The aim of the new State Pension is to make it simpler to understand. But there are some complicated changeover arrangements which you need to know about if you’ve already made contributions under the previous system.
The introduction of the new Lifetime Individual Savings Account (LISA) next year is aimed at helping young people save flexibly for the long term throughout their lives, and simultaneously enabling them to save for a first home and for their retirement without having to choose one over the other.