Note that from 1st January 2016 the Deposit Protection limit under the Scheme is reducing from £85,000 to £75,000.
In the event of your bank failing this is the maximum amount you would be paid out.
Therefore you might be advised to consider reducing deposits with any bank to the new lower limit.
The Government have introduced new legislation to force all businesses with employees to create pension schemes, with few exceptions.
Following a long period of pressure from many sectors of industry and commerce the chancellor, George Osborne, has been forced to retract, or at least dilute, the oppressive and controversial "Direct Recovery of Debt" provisions that he announced in the Budget.
HMRC are continuing to chase property owners who they believe have not declared the
correct tax on their rental incomes. They are including long-term lets,holiday lets, student lets
and workforce lets.
The campaignis expected to last 18 months during which time taxpayers can come forward to disclosure any undeclared income from rented properties.
This area is replete with opportunities for information for HMRC; from records from other
government agencies and local authorities such as the stamp office, the rating authorities, HMRC surveillance, tip-offs from the public, and disgruntled tenants.
As is usual, lower penalties can be negotiated for those who come forward voluntarily.
If you have any fears about your current position contact us for advice.
If you go to the Government's website https://www.gov.uk/state-pension/eligibility
it clearly states that if you have 30 qualifying years you will be eligible for a full state pension. There is no qualification to this, so many reading that would assume that if they have those years to their credit, all is well.
But the Government is committed to a single tier state pension to be introduced for those who become pensionable after 6th Aporil 2016. And if that is introduced the small print makes clear that you will need 35 qualifying years to get the full pension.
And no mention of how to bridge that gap on their site.
And all HMRC's site states is that: "Until these changes are implemented in 2016, it will be more difficult for you to decide whether paying for any gaps in your record will improve your future State Pension."
It seems that a lot of people will be thrown into confusion at best, and financial hardship at worst, as a result of this unpublicised change. The very least the Government's website could do, surely, is to put a warning on the current data that a significant change may be about to cause hardship for which pensioners should be warned.