Smart Money (NOV/DEC 2019)
Welcome to our latest edition for 2019. Inside this issue, we look at a number of the topical financial planning stories making the news agenda.
Creating and maintaining the right investment strategy plays a vital role in securing your financial future. But we live in the era of the 24-hour news cycle, and ‘bad news sells’. The investment world can be unpredictable and investors currently have plenty of bad news to process, with a plethora of events making the daily and even hourly news headlines – from the US-China trade conflict and oil price volatility, to Britain's exit from the European Union. On page 06, we consider why it’s important to stay positive and focus on your investment goals.
Once we enter January, the end of the 2019/20 tax year will be just over three months away on 5 April. As this date approaches, the window of opportunity reduces if you want to make the most of valuable allowances, reliefs and exemptions that could help reduce your tax bill and make sure your finances stay tax-efficient. Read the full article on page 04.
On 3 October, campaigners lost a significant legal battle against the Government's handling of the rise in women’s State Pension age. The retirement age for women has increased from 60 to 65, in line with men, and will go up to 66 by 2020, and to 67 by 2028. Nearly four million women have been affected by these changes. On page 08, we consider the impact of the High Court's decision.
Also inside this issue, we look at whether some people are ‘sleepwalking’ into retirement and how much you will need to save to afford a comfortable retirement. We assess, too, how the financial implications of divorce, added to the emotional upheaval, can be difficult to deal with. A full list of the articles featured in this issue appears on page 02.
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