HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is bringing forward legislation to stop an unauthorized charge of up to 55% being imposed on clients who transfer their pension to another provider. On 6^th April 2010 the minimum age to draw your pension changed from age 50 to 55. This meant that those who wished to draw their pension but were not 55 would incur a charge of up to 55%. HMRC said clients and providers wishing to conduct pension transfers in the meantime before the legislation comes into force will not be charged.

Exemptions from the charge are;

• Sums and assets of an income drawdown fund are transferred to a new income drawdown from with another provider.
• Sums and assets underpinning an existing lifetime annuity are transferred to another provider to provide a new lifetime annuity.
• Sums and assets underpinning an existing short- term annuity are transferred to another provider for a new short-term annuity.
• Sums and assets underpinning an existing scheme pension are transferred to another registered pension scheme to provide a new scheme pension.

Please contact our office in Chatham if you require further details.

Workers will no longer be forced to retire at age 65 from next year. Ministers want to end the idea that people are ‘past it’ once they hit the existing retirement age of 65. It will be illegal from next October, for firms to get rid of staff when they reach age 65, allowing millions who are facing retirement to stay on. Employees will have the option of staying on after age 65, working into their 70′s or 80′s.  The Government has decided to tear up the existing rules as people live longer, healthier lives. Ministers also believe the move will help boost the economy. The National Institute of Economic and Social Research estimate that extending working lives by an average of 18 months would earn Britain £15billion.

Buryfield Grange have today published their latest Client Newsletter and a Guide to the Emergency Budget.

Financial Planning topics covered include the new rules on Capital Gain Tax, Investing for Income, Business Taxes and Protecting Your Wealth.

Download your free copy here Buryfield Grange Client Newsletter July / August

If you would like to receive a regular copy of our Newsletter, then please complete the enquiry form opposite and we will add you to our mailing list.

A detailed guide to the Emergeny Budget can also be downloaded here Emergency Budget 2010

Please do get in touch with us at our Medway office should you wish to know more about our services or how we can help you Create, Build and Protect your wealth.

Happiness, wellbeing and overall self esteem are influenced by our sense of financial control and not by what money we earn. Studies have indicated that there is a strong link between behaviour and self esteem- but proves money doesn’t buy you happiness. In other words, those with sensible financial plans in place are happier. At this time 2/3 of the UK have high self esteem, 85% of those people also feel in control of their money situations. In contrast 70% of those suffering from low self esteem do not feel in control of their finances.

• Around 2/3 of people with high self esteem are good at planning their day to day finances and have set themselves clear financial goals for the future.
• Over ¾ of people with low self esteem fail to plan for the long term and a high 69% worry about their finances on a daily basis.
• 5% of UK adults admit they do not have any understanding of financial products, rising to 15% of those with low self esteem.
• Nearly 1/3 of people who have a pension do not feel confident that they have the correct pension provisions in place.

If you worry about your finances we can hopefully pave your way to a happy future, please call our office in Chatham, Kent on 01634 281145.

Due to the rise in Capital Gains Tax following the Emergency Budget last Tuesday, Venture Capital Trust and Enterprise investment scheme business could rise sharply.

VCT’s are already attractive but the rise in CGT could make them even more attractive because they have not been changed. There are very good tax breaks attached to VCTs. If this sounds attractive to you please contact our office in Chatham, Kent on 01634 281145.

Did you know that a year’s care home fees can cost almost as much as a world cruise? The actual national average cost of a year in a care home is approximately £36,000 rising to £50,000 in counties such as Kent, Surrey and East Sussex.

If you have assets of more than £23,250 then you will have to fund your own care- this includes your primary home. The local authority offers everyone a care needs assessment so you might as well sign up for one. You will be able to talk about what kind of care is available and how much money you might need one day. Make sure you ask about funding- and whether you are entitled to getting any.

When funding for a care home you have 3 options;

1. Sell your home and use the money to pay for your care fees.
2. Pay the fees from investment income.
3. Purchase an immediate needs annuity. You hand over a lump sum at the time of purchase in return for a fixed regular income; the only difference is the money is paid directly to your care provider tax free. You have security knowing that the money you need will be paid until you die.

If you do end up in care, make sure you do claim state benefits, everyone over the age of 65 who needs help caring for themselves can claim an attendance allowance. This is £47.80 or £71.40  a week tax free.

The new Government has confirmed that it intends to end the rules requiring an annuity to be purchased by age 75 at the latest. Details have yet to be confirmed, but more information should come in this month’s budget, due on the 22^nd June. It may involve pushing the threshold back to either 80 or 85 years, giving individuals much more flexibility on how and when pension benefits can be taken. Very significantly, this may also mean far greater death benefits prior to full annuity purchase giving further opportunity for wealth to be passed on to future generations. Watch this space for further details.

The Buryfield Grange team recently attended a Horse Whispering event at Hadlow College, near Tonbridge organised by the Kent branch of The Institute of Directors. We worked together on getting a horse to follow our instructions without any physical contact! This proved to be much more difficult that it would at first seem and some valuable lessons were learned along the way about communication, patience and working as a team. Great fun was had by all.

If you would like to experience our outstanding teamwork then please do get in touch.

A Wrap Account works by unifying various assets, including pension and investments, within a cost effective central point of command and control, whilst at the same time providing complete investment freedom. They differ from conventional products offered by insurance companies in that the wrap itself is simply an administration platform i.e. they have no investment funds or products of their own to sell. Their function is to provide the administration and associated functionality that goes with holding pension and investment assets such as on line valuations, same day dealing, capital gain tax calculations, fund switching, portfolio valuations etc. An individual, corporate body or trust can hold a very wide range of assets all controlled and administrated under one umbrella.

Buryfield Grange is pleased to announce that as of 1^st of January 2010 we have entered into a strategic alliance with Alchemy Financial Management Ltd. All Financial Services and ongoing servicing responsibility for Alchemy Clients will now be the responsibility of Buryfield Grange.

We are also pleased to confirm that Alchemy’s existing Practice Manager, Georgia White, has joined our team in The Historic Dockyard, Chatham, Kent and will continue to provide the high level of service that all of our Clients have come to expect.

The additional staffing capacity means that Buryfield Grange is now providing a complete mortgage service, something that we have not done directly for many, many years. The launch of our new mortgage service coincides with a considerable loosening of lending criteria and at a time when interest rates are incredibly low. There has never been a better time to check the competitiveness of your mortgage arrangement! Please do get in touch if you would like to speak about a remortgage, new mortgage, buy to let, or equity release arrangement.