Looking to the futureSuccessful life planning also requires a significant degree of financial planningWe spend our lives planning for our next holiday, for a family, buying a property, funding a child’s education and for the day we retire. So then why is it that some...

Time in the market, not timing the market Don’t get distracted from staying focused on your investment goals Investment market swings can be unnerving, but they shouldn’t distract you from staying focused on your financial goals. Periods of market volatility, like...

Hurting from home Is the ‘new normal’ having an adverse effect on your health? More than half of office workers believe their employer should do more to help them work from home during the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis. This has lead to millions of Britons suffering...

Presenteeism during lockdown Levels reach record highs in organisations as stress at work rises Unlike absenteeism, presenteeism isn’t always apparent. You know when someone doesn’t show up for work, but you often can’t tell when or how much illness or a medical...

Planning a move abroad? Undertaking what is required takes a great deal of thoughtful consideration You’ve always dreamed about living aboard, but how do you make that a reality? The first practical step is to think about where you are in your life and weigh up which...

Family finances Traditional spending and saving habits have been turned upside down Household finances, including spending and saving patterns, have deteriorated drastically since the coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown, despite unprecedented Government support....

Freeing up extra money Home is where the heart and tax-free wealth is! Preferring to remain in their own homes for as long as possible is, for many people, increasingly becoming an important part of how they view older age. There may be several reasons for this: to...

Mind the knowledge gap Some people still struggle to make informed retirement decisions The decisions made at retirement are big ones and have long-term consequences. Many spend years accumulating a large amount of money in pensions and other savings, but really don’t...

Protecting your retirement plans Don’t let coronavirus derail your financial future The COVID-19 pandemic has touched virtually every aspect of our lives, not least of which is how we save for retirement. And while the number one priority is keeping our families and...

Rise of the female breadwinner Women now earn the most in one-in-four households The proportion of female breadwinners is steadily rising but the trend could be knocked off course by the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis. Women out-earn male partners in almost a quarter...

Top 10 countries to retire abroad Living in a place where the lifestyle and cost of living matches your financial situation Are you ready to spend your golden years in comfort, style and maybe even a bit of luxury? As a retiree, you’ll want to be able to live in a...

Financial fallout from COVID-19 Impact on the nation’s wealth and financial security It is becoming uncomfortably clear that while not everyone has been physically affected by coronavirus (COVID-19), every single one of us will be impacted financially. During the...

Retirement freedoms Ensure your future income will allow you to enjoy the lifestyle you want Preparing for retirement is like getting ready for a journey – it never goes quite as planned. But the better the plan, the better the outcome. When things go wrong, you want...

Thinking ahead How our retirement plans may change in response to the coronavirus pandemic The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has touched virtually every part of our lives and is having a widespread impact across all aspects of financial life, including retirement...

How sustainable is your portfolio? Increased investor focus on environmental, social and governance considerations Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues continue to be a priority for many investors. Your values define you. But do your investments reflect...

Preserving your wealth Developing a clear plan for your wealth and property Whether you have earned your wealth, inherited it or made shrewd investments, you will want to ensure that as little of it as possible ends up in the hands of the taxman and that it can be...

Building a strategy that meets your financial needs Preparing ourselves for life to be really strange for some time The only constant in life is change, which is why individual financial life planning should not be a one-off exercise. Reviewing your finances regularly...

How would you cope without an income? Make sure you’re ready should the unexpected happen Mental health conditions might not be as easy to pin down as physical health conditions, but insurers are increasingly recognising the need to provide cover and support to people...

Retirement matters Staying invested and giving your money the greatest chance to grow Perhaps the most common investment advice is to stay invested. But with markets being so volatile, the ease of sticking to that advice has been sorely tested in 2020. Even though...

Inflation-proofing your portfolio One of the biggest threats to the health of your investments The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has had a dramatic effect on the global economy. Around the world, economic activity has dried up. Fewer consumers are buying and fewer...

Risk of retirement longevity Maximising investment returns over a longer life expectancy There are lots of variables in retirement: how long people will live for, the costs of goods and services they will need, interest rates available on their accumulated savings,...