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Reading Time | < 1 min 03 Jun 2016

Workers fail to plan for retirement

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A third of workers do not have a retirement plan, research by Aegon has found.

The survey of 14,400 employees and 1,600 retired people across 15 countries found that workers are not setting up a financial plan for their retirement.

Findings show:

  • 38% of workers globally do not have a retirement plan
  • 42% of women don't have a retirement plan
  • 58% said they would include savings in their financial plan.

Across all countries surveyed, people expect the 46% of their retirement income to come from a government retirement scheme – such as the state pension in the UK.

When asked for solutions to improve retirement funding, 31% said that the government should increase funding through taxes while reducing the value of individual payments.

Talks to us today to discuss retirement planning.

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Reading Time | 6 mins 03 Jun 2016

Taxbreaks – June 2016

Reading Time • 6 minsAdvisory fuel rates for company cars   New company car advisory fuel rates have been published which took effect from...
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Reading Time | < 1 min 02 Jun 2016

Trade credit insurance pay outs increase

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Around £150 million was paid in trade credit insurance claims in 2015, an increase of 41% compared to the previous year.

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) found that almost £36 million was paid to small businesses due to late payment or customer insolvency.

Trade credit insurance provides cover for businesses if their customers pay late or fail to pay.

ABI findings show:

  • 4,400 claims were made by small businesses, accounting for 40% of total claims made to trade credit insurers
  • 7,000 trade credit insurance policies were taken out by SMEs in 2015, nearly 60% of policies sold.

Mark Shepherd, ABI manager for general insurance, said:

“Trade credit insurance is crucial for all businesses to help them navigate potential risks. In particular, SMEs looking to grow can have confidence that a trade credit insurance policy will help them to do this whilst guarding against the unexpected.”

Contact us today to discuss your business.

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Reading Time | 2 mins 02 Jun 2016

The Impact of Brexit on UK Tax: Holiday Home Owners

Reading Time • 2 minsTo stay in or opt out. There is so much noise surrounding the June referendum, it’s hard to know who to listen to. But for the one million people who own holiday homes in Europe, how the move will affect their tax status is fundamental to the way they cast their vote.
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Reading Time | < 1 min 01 Jun 2016

Landlords return to property market

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Activity in the buy-to-let property market is slowly rising following changes to stamp duty land tax (SLDT), according to research by Paragon Mortgages.

A survey of more than 1,000 landlords found that while buy-to-let activity remained subdued in Q1 2016, landlords are slowly returning to the property market.

Findings show:

  • 19% of landlords say they expect to purchase a property in the coming year, up from 17% in Q4 2015.
  • 16% say they want to sell a property, down from 19% in Q4 2015.
  • 39% of landlords reported an increase in tenant demand, up from 34% in the previous quarter.

Stamp duty rates for people investing in buy-to-let property increased from 1 April 2016. Landlords purchasing a second home or investment will have to pay a 3% surcharge on additional property over £40,000.

John Heron, director of mortgages at Paragon Mortgages, said:

“In the previous quarter we saw more landlords respond very negatively to the announcements on stamp duty and tax on rental income with more intending to sell rather than buy property, this trend is now reversed and purchase intentions have risen.

“Landlords are clearly taking the view that buy-to-let remains an attractive long-term, demand driven investment, which continues to outperform other asset classes.”  

Talk to us today to find out more about stamp duty.

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Reading Time | < 1 min 31 May 2016

Fuel advisory rates update

Reading Time • < 1 minAdvisory rates that apply fuel cost for company cars changed as of 1 June 2016. The new rates will only apply for the following: a company reimbursing employees for business travel in their company cars employees are required to replay the cost of fue...
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Reading Time | < 1 min 31 May 2016

Savers fail to review pensions

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More than a quarter (28%) of savers have never reviewed their pension, according to research by Aviva.

A further 19% said they only review their retirement savings once every 5 years.

Receiving an annual statement (35%), a pay increase (28%) and starting a new job (17%) were the most popular triggers for a pension review.

Other findings: 

  • 27% of people think that their current contributions into a company pension scheme will provide them enough income for retirement 
  • 32% of women never review their savings, compared to 25% of men.

Clive Bolton, managing director of Retirement Solutions at Aviva UK Life, said:

"The lack of engagement with pensions is frightening. Ask most people what they earn now and they’ll have a pretty good idea, sometimes down to the penny, but most people have no idea what their pension is worth. 

"A pension is your salary when you’re no longer working. Surely it deserves more than a glance at a statement once a year."

 Contact us today to talk about retirement planning.

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Reading Time | 3 mins 27 May 2016

How EU Membership Affects Your Business Tax

Reading Time • 3 minsJust like the actual outcome of the Brexit referendum, the impact on business tax for the UK is hard to predict.
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Reading Time | < 1 min 27 May 2016

Payroll fraud costs £12 billion per year

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SMEs are collectively losing a total of £144 billion a year through fraud, with £12 billion being lost through payroll.

According to a report by UK Fraud Costs Measurement Committee, payroll fraud is responsible for 8% of losses among private businesses. The biggest source of fraud is procurement, causing annual losses of £127 billion.

The total annual cost of fraud in the UK per year is as high as £193 billion.

Other types of fraud impacting businesses include:

  • charity fraud which accounts for losses of £2 billion per year
  • insurance fraud costing £1.3 billion a year through illegitimate claims.

Fraud in the public sector has resulted losses of around £37.8 billion, equivalent to just 5.5 % of the £694 spent annually. 

Tax fraud costs £15.4 billion per year which equates to 3% of the total tax revenue.

Chris Clark, UK&I CEO at Experian, said:

“Although 95% of the fraud taking place is not a direct to end consumer cost, those lost funds are passed on to individuals in the form of higher costs on products and services.”

Simon Dukes, chief executive of fraud prevention organisation Cifas, added:

“To avoid known fraudsters entering the workplace, we recommend HR teams conduct thorough vetting and check to ensure prospective employees have not been involved in fraud before.”  

Contact us today to discuss your payroll.

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