You may have heard about the financial problems of Santander Bank on the news, and worried about deposit savings you may have with them. The following link to the BBC news website will hopefully put your mind at rest…….read more 

If you would like advice centred on your own financial planning circumstances, please contact us >>

Concerned About Savings In Santander Bank ?

Sean O’Shea of Mantle Financial Planning discusses the effect of the recent announcement by HSBC that they are to make several hundred Financial Advisers redundant.

Click here to view the embedded video.

HSBC Announces Financial Adviser Redundancies

“Mantles have been advising me on my financial planning for over 10 years now, and I find them very professional and trustworthy. I would have no hesitation in recommending them as Independent Financial Advisers”

Damian Lewis | Actor and Producer

Damian Lewis is an English actor and producer. His acting roles include Soames Forsyte in the ITV remake of The Forsyte Saga, Detective Charlie Crews in the NBC drama Life and Major Richard Winters in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers. He currently stars as Marine Sergeant Nicholas Brody in the award-winning showtime series Homeland.

Very Professional and Trustworthy

From 21 December 2012, product providers will have to provide unisex rates for annuities and life assurance following the announcement last year by The European Court of Justice. It ruled that basing the price of insurance on gender would be classed as discrimination.

The effect of this is that there will be an expected premium price-rise on protection contracts for women, and a small reduction in annuity terms, as it is not expected that insurers and pension providers will cut male rates to match their female counterparts.

If you believe you will be buying long term contracts such as life cover or a pension annuity soon, you may wish to commence the plan before December to take advantage of potentially lower costs. However, December should not be seen as the cut off date as certain cases will still need to be underwritten and this could take some time.

If you would like us to prepare illustrations on a personal basis, or provide you with a protection planning review, please contact us >>

The Race To Protect Women Is On

Then It Invariably Means It Is………

You may have read in the national press that a very large scale fraud scheme based on investing in land has been uncovered. The companies involved offer a substantial opportunity to make money simply by investing in land that is about to get planning permission. The idea is that the value of the land will dramatically increase once the permission is granted.

The FSA is contacting over 76,000 people who may be targeted by this type of scheme. These people have been found on mailing lists at companies the FSA believes are or were operating such investment schemes fraudulently. FSA Head of Unauthorised Business, Jonathan Phelan, says: “If you get a letter or email from the FSA over the next five or six weeks, please read it, it could save you tens of thousands of pounds. If you have already been contacted by a firm offering you a ‘once in a lifetime’ investment opportunity or have already invested, then tell us. The information you have could help us catch criminals and shut down their scams.”

Sadly, we live in a time where criminals will go to great lengths to set up businesses based on fraudulent schemes, but it is always worth remembering that ‘if something is too good to be true, it invariably means it is.’

If you would like more information or advice, please contact us >>

If Something’s Too Good To Be True,….

The First quarter of the calender year is always an exceptionally busy time for us at Mantles.

This year, in addition  to the Budget that has caused a bit of a political backlash in the House of Commons (maybe they all eat pasties for lunch?), we have had to work with volatile investment markets, the on-going Eurozone crisis, and pension rule changes.

We have also been advising our clients how to manage their income requirements in a period of prolonged low interest rates, as well as deal with the end of tax year rush. In short, we have been busy helping our clients, their families, their friends and their work colleagues.

Our company, and our reputation, continues to grow on the back of support from our existing clients, and referrals from an increasing number of those clients. So, we would just like to say ‘Thank you’ for your continued support in these difficult times and to let you know that we are here to help secure your financial future, and for anybody else who you feel may benefit from our services.

 If you, or a friend or colleague, would like more information on financial planning opportunities centred on personal circumstances, please contact us >>

Thank You

Average fixed rates have recently crept up and borrowers on SVRs should be wary of future rises and look to fix sooner rather than later.

The warning comes from comparison website MoneySupermarket after a number of lenders announced hikes to SVR rates which come into force on May 1.

Analysis by the site found that the average rate for two-year fixes hit a low last October, falling to 3.82%, but has now risen to 4.15%.

This means a difference of £27.31 per month or £327.72 over the year for repayments based on a £150,000 mortgage.

Similarly, five-year fixed rates hit a low in January this year with an average rate of 4.57% but this has crept up to 4.72%, adding an extra £12.81 per month or £153.72 over the course of a year.

For two-year trackers, the average rate was at its lowest in August 2011 at 3.37% but now stands at 3.63%, hitting consumers with an extra £20.91 per month payment or £250.92 over the year.

About one million customers could be affected by these SVR increases in May including Lenders such as Halifax, Co-Operative Bank, Bank of Ireland and RBS/NatWest.

Overall, the average increase to SVRs is 0.62% which will add an extra £52.58 to a £150,000 mortgage or £630.96 over the year.

Clare Francis, mortgage spokesperson at MoneySupermarket.com, said: “Mortgage rates are nudging upwards, so anyone looking for a mortgage or whose mortgage deal will end in the next few months should act sooner rather than later to secure one of the current rates in case they rise further.

“Borrowers paying their lender’s SVR should also reassess their mortgage arrangements. One of the consequences of the low base rate has been the fact that SVRs have been similar to the rates on new mortgage deals and in some cases the SVR has been even lower.

“As a result, an increasing number of people have opted to stick with their existing lender and move on to the SVR when their fixed or introductory tracker or discounted period ended, as opposed to remortgaging elsewhere.

“However, as around one million borrowers are about to find out, many SVRs can rise even if the base rate doesn’t.”

If you would like more information or advise on your current mortgage, then please contact us >>

Mortgage Rates Increase

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has published a report on life expectancy and the impact this will have on retirement planning.

Whilst the report looks at the long term financial impact on retirement income (post 2050) there is no escaping the fact that we are all going to live longer. However, this also means that we will all need to save more towards our retirement. But that is only part of the solution. A very high percentage of retirement annuities do not allow for inflation. Consequently, with the passing of the years, the real value of your income will reduce. Thankfully, we have a wide range of options designed to help deal with the effects of inflation. At Mantle Financial Planning, we fully understand these important issues and can help our clients choose the most appropriate option when it comes to turning their pension fund into an income. For further details, please contact us >>

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Report On Life Expectancy

From 6th April if 10 per cent of your estate is left to charity, the tax due may be paid at a reduced rate of 36 per cent instead of 40 per cent.

HMRC explained in order to qualify for a reduced rate of inheritance tax you must leave at least 10 per cent of the net value of your estate to a qualifying charity. The net value of your estate is the sum of all the assets after deducting any debts, liabilities, reliefs, exemptions and the nil-rate band (currently £325,000).

A qualifying charity is an organisation that is recognised as a charity for tax purposes by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). The status can be checked by asking the charity to confirm it has an HMRC charity reference number.

According to HMRC, to see how much you need to leave to charity to qualify or whether your estate can pay a reduced rate of inheritance tax because of a charitable donation left in a will, you have to work out the value of each of the separate parts of an estate - known as components.

According to HMRC, it is possible that one part of your estate may pay inheritance tax at 36 per cent and another could pay tax at the full rate of 40 per cent.

If assets have not been left to a qualifying charity, or if the donation in a will does not pass the 10 per cent test when someone dies, the beneficiaries of the estate can arrange a ‘deed of variation’ to make or increase a donation to charity. Doing this may mean that the estate can then qualify to pay inheritance tax at 36 per cent (however, this does not apply to those who benefit from a trust).

If you would like more information on financial planning opportunities centred on your personal circumstances, please contact us >>

HMRC Reveals How To Reduce Inheritance Tax Rate

All the small print has now come out for George Osborne’s Budget to Parliament delivered last week. The key pension points are:

No changes to pension tax breaks
In a rebuff to recent speculation, the pension tax regime has survived the Budget completely unscathed. The annual allowance stays at £50k, ‘carry forward’ of unused allowances is untouched and tax relief on contributions still applies at up to 50%. This is welcome affirmation of the Government’s commitment to private pension saving.

The announcement cutting the upper rate of income tax to 45% from April 2013 presents a window of opportunity for high earners to benefit from 50% tax relief on their pension contributions. The rate cut was accompanied by the news that tax relief on pension contributions was to remain unchanged. With careful planning those who have not made any recent pension provision could make contributions of up to £200,000 before April 2013 by using carry forward. Similarly, employers looking to fund pension shortfalls might want to do so before Corporation Tax drops any further.

State pension reforms set stable framework for private saving
The Government has also reaffirmed its plans for state pension reform, giving a clear view of future state provision and a strong steer on the need to save privately to retire earlier or enjoy higher retirement income. Details of the next step towards a flat-rate £140 a week state pension will be released in the spring. And in the summer, proposals will be put forward for automatic reviews of state pension age to reflect increasing longevity. Ultimately, this could mean younger people waiting until they are 75 or more before they can draw their state pension

Door closed on ‘spouse’s pension’ funding loophole
HMRC will close the door on a loophole that allowed highly paid employees to sacrifice salary or bonus to fund a pension for their (often non-working) spouse or other family members. Changes will be made in next year’s Finance Act to stop companies, or employees, from making tax or NI savings on such payments to pensions for non-employees.

No movement on income drawdown limits
Despite clamour from the pensions industry and consumer groups for a review of income drawdown limits to address income poverty resulting from the drastic falls in gilt yields, the Chancellor made no concessions on this in today’s statement. This is extremely disappointing, leaving many drawdown pensioners in a difficult position. We’ll continue to press for change in this area, in the interests of fairness for our clients.

Final details of new ‘QROPS’ regime confirmed
As expected following the consultation kicked-off last December, there will be a tighter regime for transferring UK pension rights overseas from 6 April 2012 to clamp down on some of the more exploitative arrangements currently used. These offshore plans (known as QROPS) will have stricter qualifying rules, broadly mirroring the core requirements for UK registered pension schemes, and there will be new reporting obligations on both the transferring and receiving pension schemes. Further fine tuning is expected in next year’s Finance Act.

If you would like more information on pension planning opportunities centred on your personal circumstances, please contact us >>

Budget 2012 – Effect On Pensions