The Office for National Statistics has taken a fresh look at our mortality. Source: ONS Roughly every two years, stories in the media tell us how many children will live to the age of 100. The latest projections are that 11.5% of boys and 17.9% of girls born in 2023 will become centenarians. The prompt for these biennial tales is the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which publishes updated tables of UK life expectancies every other year. The ONS work draws on the latest

The government is showing no signs of changing its plans to levy inheritance tax (IHT) on pensions. Sometimes what creates the most noise in the wake of a Budget is not what will hurt the taxpaying population most in the future. A perfect example from last October’s Budget is the set of measures aimed at increasing IHT receipts. The changes to agricultural relief and business relief, which have brought tractors out in force around the UK, is projected to add £520 million a ye

There were no tax increases in the Chancellor’s Spring Statement (upgraded from an initial Spring Forecast), but that might just be pain deferred. Before becoming Chancellor, Rachel Reeves set out a new goal for the public finances, now badged the ‘Stability Rule’. In simple terms, this requires the Government should at least match its day-to-day expenditure with what it receives in tax and other revenue. In 2024/25, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) projects there

The start of the new tax year warrants as much planning as the end of the old tax year. While the end of the tax year on 5 April is a major focus of tax planning, it doesn’t e nd there. The following day may require much less immediate attention, but there is an argument for considering it to be just as important. For example: Personal allowances The personal allowance for 2025/26, the new tax year, remains at £12,570, the same as it has been since 2021/22. Above that level

The government has confirmed that there will be no revisions to automatic enrolment in workplace pensions for 2025/26. For a government facing an investment shortfall following a £40 billion tax increase, the figure of around £3,000 billion represented by pension assets would appear a very tempting source of capital. That is why Chancellor Rachel Reeves has followed her predecessor, Jeremy Hunt, by consulting on reforms aimed at “Unlocking the UK pensions market for growth”.

If anything happened to you tomorrow, how much does your partner know about your finances and how easy would it be for them to find out? It’s been five years since the pandemic turned the world upside down. The experience provided lessons in many aspects of life, not least its potential fragility. During the lockdowns, many people became suddenly aware that they had no will or, if they did, it was woefully out of date. The realisation came at a time when making an appointment