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Use this budget planner to make a note of your monthly outgoings.

Mortgage repayment or rent - - - - - - - - - - - £
Household bills (council tax, utility bills) - - - - £
Supermarket bills (food, drink) - - - - - - - - - - £
Telephone (landline, mobile) - - - - - - - - - - - £
TV licence/Satellite/Cable - - - - - - - - - - - - - £
Travelling costs (fuel, MOT, tax) - - - - - - - - £
Insurance (car, home, contents) - - - - - - - - £
Clothing - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - £
Childcare or school fees - - - - - - - - - - - - - £
Credit cards or loan repayment - - - - - - - - - £
Pension - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - £
Savings (regular, holiday, rainy day) - - - - - £
Other - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - £

The state will help, but could you survive on less than £100 a week?

If the worst happened, many people think they could rely on their savings, their employer or the State, but is it really enough?

Now you know how much your monthly outgoings come to, have a look and see how much you may actually receive from your employer or the state. You might be surprised to find there’s quite a difference:

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Weekly Amount - - - - - - - - - Monthly Amount - -

Employer
Statutory Sick Pay (up to 28 weeks)* - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - £79.15 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - £316.16 - - - - -

State
Employment & Support Allowance - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - £91.40** - - - - - - - - - - - - - - £365.60 - - - - -

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
*Your employer may pay more than this under a company sick pay scheme
**Based on a single person aged over 25 in the Work Related Activity Group


So, if the worst happened to you, would it really be enough for you to survive on? How would you make up the difference?

An income protection policy could help give you some peace of mind. Put simply it works when you can’t.

It will pay you a monthly income if you can’t work because of long term sickness or accident which you can use to pay your bills and living expenses until you recover and are ready to go back to work.

These types of policies have no cash in value at any time. If you stop paying your premiums your cover may stop.

To find out more and to get a no obligation quote please contact us .
]]> Protection http://www.jewellpearce.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry110224-102705 Jewell Pearce Davy and Co Thu, 24 Feb 2011 10:27:05 GMT http://www.jewellpearce.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry110224-102604 Individual Savings Account (ISA)?

And did you know that, unlike other forms of investment, with an ISA you won’t pay income or capital gains tax on any growth? *

This tax year you have an ISA allowance of £10,200. This can be invested as a lump sum, monthly payments or a combination of both.

As from 6th April 2011 the ISA allowance will be increased to £10,680.

Finding the ideal investment for you.

There are over 2000 funds to choose from and we can help you to find the ideal combination to meet your needs.

It’s important that you feel comfortable with your investment and that’s why we will only recommend funds that fit your investment risk profile.

For more information or to set up a meeting to discuss your needs please contact us .

* Please bear in mind that tax treatment depends on your individual circumstances and may change in the future.
]]> Investments http://www.jewellpearce.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry110224-102604 Jewell Pearce Davy and Co Thu, 24 Feb 2011 10:26:04 GMT http://www.jewellpearce.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry110224-102451
- Both employer and employee NI contribution rates will increase by 1%.

- The personal tax allowance will increase to £7,475 but only for those whose earnings are below £100,000.

- Higher rate tax of 40% will apply to earnings in the £35,001 to £150,000 band whilst the additional rate of 50% will continue to apply to earnings over £150,000.

- A new tax regime on pension contributions (both employee and employer pension contributions) will be introduced. The Annual Allowance will reduce to £50,000.

- Any contributions built up above this Annual Allowance will incur a tax charge at the employee’s full marginal rate of tax. The Annual Allowance includes all tax-relievable contributions you may be making to a registered pension scheme including the Company’s pension contribution.

- If the total payments to all your pension plans are less than £50,000 in one tax year, you will be able to carry forward any unused allowance from the previous three tax years. You will be able to carry forward unused allowance from the years before 2011 i.e. a deemed unused allowance can be determined for 2008/09, 2009/10 and 2010/11 treating the Annual Allowance as if it has always been £50,000.

- Alternatively Secured Pension (ASP) will be abolished on 6th April 2011.

- Unsecured Pension (USP) will be allowed to continue for life, will be referred to as drawdown pension and will be available in two forms:

- - - Capped: as current USP but with income limits equal to 100% of rates set by HMRC and reviewed every three years before age 75 and every year from age 75.

- - - Flexible: from which unlimited drawdowns can be taken subject to a Minimum Income Requirement (MIR).

- The MIR has been set at £20,000 p.a. for individuals.

- - - There will be no capital alternative to the MIR.

- - - The level of MIR is to be reviewed at least every five years.

- - - To meet the MIR, income must come from a lifetime pension: this pension can be level.

- Individuals in ASP or USP on 6th April 2011 will become subject to the new drawdown pension limits from their next review date.

- Lump sum benefits such as Pension Commencement Lump Sum (tax free cash) and Value Protection will not have to be taken by age 75.

- On death of a pensioner in drawdown current options continue to be available.

- The tax recovery charge on death benefits taken as a lump sum will be 55% at all ages once benefits have been crystallised or if death occurs after age 75.

- Contributions to pensions will not receive tax relief after age 75 and there will be a test against the Lifetime Allowance at age 75 regardless of whether benefits have been crystallised at that point.

For further information or if you feel that you will be effected by these changes please contact us .]]> Pensions, Corporate http://www.jewellpearce.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry110224-102451 Jewell Pearce Davy and Co Thu, 24 Feb 2011 10:24:51 GMT http://www.jewellpearce.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry110224-102301
Between October 2012 and 2017, depending on the size of company, all UK employers will be required to contribute a minimum of 3% of each employee’s eligible earnings into a pension, assuming the employee does not “opt out”. This is intended to incentivise them to start saving towards their retirement. Employees will need to pay a personal contribution of 4% with a further 1% tax relief being added to make the minimum contribution 8%.

Compulsory employer and employee contributions will be phased in.

What is the definition of a ‘Qualifying Scheme’?

Those employers that offer pension schemes which are equivalent to, or provide more generous benefits, than NEST will be allowed to automatically enrol their employees into those schemes rather than NEST.

For an existing or new scheme to be classed as a qualifying scheme it must meet the following minimum criteria for contributions:

FINAL SALARY PENSION SCHEME (contracted out) - Accrual rate of at least 1/80th of pensionable pay

FINAL SALARY PENSION SCHEME (contracted in) - Accrual rate of at least 1/120th of pensionable pay

MONEY PURCHASE, STAKEHOLDER or GROUP PERSONAL PENSION PLAN - Minimum contribution of 8% of all qualifying earnings. (between £5,715 and £43,875 pa in 2010/2011 terms) with at least 3% paid by the employer. Schemes must offer a default investment option but will be able to offer an additional choice of funds if they want to.

Are all employers affected?

Self-employed and single director companies will be unable to use auto-enrolment, however they will still be able to use NEST accounts.

Every other business with eligible employees will need to comply with the regulations, even if there is only one employee who meets the criteria.

How attractive is the state scheme for its members?

Currently, there are plans to levy a two percent charge on contributions to pay for the start-up costs of the pension. This is for the repayment of a rumored 600 million pounds that the state is spending to set up the scheme. This is in addition to the 0.3 percent annual management fee.

As long as the two percent contribution charge is in place the potential returns of investors will be eroded.

Should we set up our own scheme rather than go down the ‘NEST’ route?

If you want to attract the best people to your company you will need to offer a pension scheme that offers a choice of good quality funds and low charges.

If you do not already have a pension scheme now is the time to start planning for one.

We can help your company set up a ‘qualifying workplace pension scheme’ that will provide more choice and better results for you and all your valued employees. Contact us today.

]]> Pensions, Corporate http://www.jewellpearce.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry110224-102301 Jewell Pearce Davy and Co Thu, 24 Feb 2011 10:23:01 GMT http://www.jewellpearce.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry100923-164854 annuity.

An estimated 55%-65% of people could have conditions that might qualify them for enhanced terms based on combinations of conditions.

It's easy to see if you may qualify, just by asking yourself three simple questions:

> Do you smoke?
> Are you taking prescription medication?
> Have you ever received hospital treatment for a medical condition?

If the answer is 'yes' to any of these, then it's well worth completing a short medical questionnaire. It's a straight-forward, tick box format which is easy to complete.

Enhanced annuities can provide an increase in pension income of up to 30% each year!

Whatever your circumstances, we are specialists in this field and we would be more than happy to assist you in your retirement planning, to ensure you maximise your retirement income.

Remember, annuities are more competitive than ever, and you stand to lose out if you simply take what's on offer from your existing pension provider.]]> Pensions http://www.jewellpearce.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry100923-164854 Jewell Pearce Davy and Co Thu, 23 Sep 2010 15:48:54 GMT http://www.jewellpearce.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry100923-164739
People who are approaching the point when they take benefits from their pension plans may wish to avoid the risk of any short term falls in the stock market or the impact of movements in interest rates. These factors can adversely affect the size of your pension fund at retirement and the levels of pension income you are able to receive.

One way of reducing these risks is to switch all or part of your portfolio into Cash Funds, Gilt Funds or Fixed Interest Funds. If you are contributing to your pension fund on a monthly basis you may also wish to change your current investment instructions.

If you would like us to help you review your current pension funds please do not hesitate to contact us. We do not charge a fee to review your existing investments and pensions.]]> Pensions, Investments http://www.jewellpearce.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry100923-164739 Jewell Pearce Davy and Co Thu, 23 Sep 2010 15:47:39 GMT http://www.jewellpearce.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry100923-164546 Individual Savings Account (ISA) is one of those things. Introduced in 1999, it has now become the primary savings vehicle, with more than 17 million people – about 1 in every three adults – now owning one (source: www.hm-treasury.gov.uk).

There are just two types of ISA - the Cash ISA and the Stocks and Shares ISA – and the combined allowance for both in 2010/11 is £10,200.

Within this, the limit for Cash ISAs - or for the cash element within a Stocks and Shares ISA – is £5,100. However, there is flexibility over how these limits can be used - you can, for example, put the maximum £5,100 in a cash account and £5,100 in a stocks and shares account. Alternatively, though, if you place just £2,000 in cash, you can use the entire remaining balance – £8,200 in this case - to invest in stocks and shares. If you don’t need cash at all, you can put the full £10,200 into stocks and shares.

In addition, you can transfer existing Cash ISA holdings to a Stocks and Shares ISA without impacting on your current tax year allowance. So, if you have £10,000 already sitting in existing cash ISA plans then this amount can be moved to a Stocks and Shares ISA, yet leave your entire current tax year allowance still available for new investment.

Once invested, you have no further liability for income or capital gains tax on any profits you receive. There are also thousands of different investment options available – from cash and bonds through to property, equities and even overseas companies – so you can be confident that, whatever your aims and objectives, there is a suitable home for your money.

You should always seek advice when investing in a Stocks and Shares ISA in order to ensure that the investments you choose match the amount of risk you are willing to take.

If you would like us to send you a guide which takes you through the basic principles of ISAs and the different savings options and tax benefits please contact us.]]> Investments http://www.jewellpearce.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry100923-164546 Jewell Pearce Davy and Co Thu, 23 Sep 2010 15:45:46 GMT http://www.jewellpearce.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry100324-150910 annuities . Never sign any pension annuity papers you receive without seeking advice. You could easily get up to 30% more each year and over a 20 year period this means you could get 6 times as much as you would have done.

The annuity offered by your existing provider is rarely the best rate you could obtain and you should shop around for the best annuity rate based on your circumstances.

It’s a sad fact that around 2/3rds of people do not shop around to find the best annuity rates. Most people could receive extra income, in some cases, up to 30% more than the original annuity offered. This increase could be worth thousands of pounds each year for the rest of your life.

And if that’s not enough, more and more people are eligible for even higher annuity rates nowadays due to their lifestyle, health issues and even where they live. If you’re a smoker, are under or overweight, or you have been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure or high cholesterol, you may qualify for a higher annuity rate. Its astonishing that over 1,500 medical conditions are now considered for higher annuity rates.

Annuities have a number of important and valuable options that allow you to tailor the income received… click here to read more about these options.

You should also consider your other Options at Retirement.

Most annuity providers will pay your finanical adviser a commission for the advice provided… but did you know that the annuity you receive will be the same whether or not your seek financial advise?

The annuity provider will allocate a commision for the case and if no financial advice is given the provider will simply keep the commission allocated for the case.

Remember, the difference between the best and worst annuity rates can be up to 30% , and possibly more in certain cases.

If you’re about to make one of life’s major financial decisions you really can’t afford to get it wrong. Contact us now and get the best advice which will make a real difference to your retirement income.]]> Pensions http://www.jewellpearce.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry100324-150910 Jewell Pearce Davy and Co Wed, 24 Mar 2010 15:09:10 GMT http://www.jewellpearce.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry100324-150822
Along with the many benefits quitting smoking has on your health it may also have additional finanical benefits you may not have thought of.

If you have a life insurance policy that was set up when you were a smoker, you will be paying ‘smoker rates’.

If you quit smoking more than 12 months ago you may be able to reduce the monthly premiums you are currently paying by taking out a new policy based on ‘non-smoker rates’. Once the new policy is in place you can simply cancel your existing policy.

Here’s a typical example:

James took out a 20-year, level term, life insurance policy when he was a 40 year old smoker, two years ago. He is currently paying a premium of £19.68 a month.

He quit smoking 18 months ago and even though he is now two years older, he can get the same cover for the remaining 18 years, for just £12.29 a month... a saving of £7.39 a month (£1,596 over the remaining term!).

If you would like us to provide you with a no obligations quote based on your current circumstances please contact us.

For further information on life insurance visit our life insurance page. ]]> Protection http://www.jewellpearce.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry100324-150822 Jewell Pearce Davy and Co Wed, 24 Mar 2010 15:08:22 GMT http://www.jewellpearce.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry100324-150716
Make sure you earn a good return on your savings and make sure you protect this money from the taxman by placing it into an easy access Cash ISA.

Some of the best rates on easy access Cash ISAs are currently offered by Alliance & Leicester (3.5%), and Barclays (3.1%). These accounts include bonuses for the first year so make sure you review your Cash ISA regularly, at least once a year. These accounts do not allow transfers from previous years’ ISAs.

If you are looking to transfer Cash ISA funds that you have built up over previous years, you may wish to consider First Direct (2.75%) or Nationwide (2.75%). You must open, or have, a current account open with these banks in order to qualify for these top rates, which are available online.

Alternatively if you have more than £9,000 of previous years’ Cash ISA funds you may consider Alliance & Leicester who currently offer 2.75%AER for an online-only Direct ISA.

For more information on ISAs please see our ISA page.]]> Investments http://www.jewellpearce.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry100324-150716 Jewell Pearce Davy and Co Wed, 24 Mar 2010 15:07:16 GMT http://www.jewellpearce.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry100324-150357
* 69% say losing a key individual would have the biggest impact on their business.
* 29% say they would cease trading within 3 months – and 44% within a year.
* 47% have nothing in place to establish what would happen in the event of the death of a business owner.

Death of a Business Partner

On the death of one of the partners in a firm, the beneficiaries of that partner (usually a spouse or family member) may wish to withdraw his/her share of the partnership’s value. This can cause problems for the remaining partners because it might mean that they will have to sell partnership assets to pay the deceased partners family. One solution would be for the partners to insure against the death of each partner – in order to buy out their share.

Death of a Key Employee

The death of an important employee, especially in a small company, may have a devastating effect on a company’s profits. A company may wish to insure against the death of such key employees.

Death of a small Business Shareholder

Small businesses usually have a small number of share holders (often family members, relatives or friends). Surviving shareholders in a small business will probably thus want to buy shares of a deceased shareholder to prevent the shares from going out of the close circle of existing shareholders.

Business Protection helps businesses carry on trading if a key member of staff, shareholder or director dies or contracts a critical illness during the term of the plan.

Contact us if you want to ensure that your business is fully protected. ]]> Protection, Corporate http://www.jewellpearce.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry100324-150357 Jewell Pearce Davy and Co Wed, 24 Mar 2010 15:03:57 GMT http://www.jewellpearce.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry100115-104640 Richard & Hayley’s Story

Richard and Hayley had been married for many years and each had estates which, when valued together, were worth £780,000 in 2007. Hayley and Richard were both UK domiciled.

Richard died in May 2007 having made no lifetime transfers, so all of his assets passed across to Hayley. As the transfer of assets were between spouses, they were exempt from IHT.

Hayley died in June 2009 with an estate valued at £1.3m, again having made no lifetime transfers. Because of transferable nil rate bands, Hayley’s executors can now claim an increase to Hayley’s nil rate band (the nil rate band is £325,000 for the 2009/10 tax year). Since Richard hadn’t used any of his nil rate band the increase would be 100%. Hayley’s estate therefore has a total nil rate band of £650,000.

When this is applied to the value of her estate of £1.3m, the liability to IHT reduces
significantly.

WITHOUT NIL RATE BAND TRANSFER
£1,300,000 - £325,000 = £975,000
40% of £975,000 = £390,000

WITH NIL RATE BAND TRANSFER
£1,300,000 - £650,000 = £650,000
40% of £650,000 = £260,000

In this example, even when making use of the transferable nil rate band an IHT liability of £260,000 arises.

Unfortunately Richard and Hayley had not looked into IHT mitigation and as a result their heirs were faced with a rather large IHT bill.

A simple Whole-of-Life Protection Plan, written in Trust, could have provided the necessary funds to cover the IHT bill.

Various other IHT mitigation strategies could have removed the bulk of their assets from their estate, either immediately or over a seven year period, without depriving them and their beneficiaries of flexible access.

For further information see our Inheritance Tax Issues page .

If you would like us to calculate your potential IHT liabilty and discuss what options are best suited for your particular circumstances please contact us .

]]> Inheritance Tax http://www.jewellpearce.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry100115-104640 Jewell Pearce Davy and Co Fri, 15 Jan 2010 10:46:40 GMT http://www.jewellpearce.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry100115-104336 From 6th October 2009 anyone aged 50 or over this tax year can save an additional £3,000 in their Individual Savings Accout ( ISA ).

Up until now consumers have been able to invest a total of £7,200 each tax year within the tax shelter of an ISA .

As from 6th October 2009, anyone over the age of 50 can invest a total of £10,200 in an ISA (with up to £5,100 in a Cash ISA).

From 6th April 2010 this new allowance is extended to anyone aged 18 or over.

With 21 million eligible people in the UK and at a time of record low interest rates, this opportunity to shelter an additional £3,000 of savings from tax should not be ignored!

Remember you can hold up to two ISAs each year. One cash ISA and one equity ISA , which is used as a tax free wrapper for stocks and shares and fund investments.

Under the new rules and from the dates stated above, you can put up to £10,200 into an equity ISA , minus the amount you have put in a cash ISA. The most you can put in a cash ISA is £5,100.

For further information see our ISA page or contact us.

]]> Investments http://www.jewellpearce.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry100115-104336 Jewell Pearce Davy and Co Fri, 15 Jan 2010 10:43:36 GMT http://www.jewellpearce.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry100115-104131
As from 6th April 2010 the minimum age will increase to 55.

How will this change affect you?

The effect of this change will depend on your age and whether or not you have started to take benefits from the pension. The categories are as follows:

1) If on 5th April 2010 you are aged 49 or below, the earliest you will be able to take benefits will be age 55.

2) If you are between age 50 and 54 on 5th April 2010 and you have not yet taken benefits, you could draw benefits immediately (provided you are aged 50) or at any time up to 5th April 2010. However, if you decide not to take your benefits before 6th April 2010, the earliest you will be able to take benefits after 5th April 2010 will be on your 55th birthday.

3) If you are between age 50 and 54 on 5th April 2010 and you have partially or fully taken benefits and/or you continue to contribute to your pension policy, any benefits not drawn by 6th April 2010 will not be able to be taken until you reach age 55. This does not affect your pension income already in payment, just new lump sums and the corresponding income.

What if you don’t need an income from your pension just yet but would like to get hold of your Tax Free Cash entitlement?

If you are aged 50 or above there are ways of taking your Tax Free Cash lump sum now and taking the income at a later date when required. This may prove invaluable if you need your Tax Free Cash now. Remember after 6th April 2010 you will not be able to take any benefits from your pension until you reach age 55.
If you would like to learn more about your options at retirement click here .

Please contact us for further details and personalised illustrations.

]]> Pensions http://www.jewellpearce.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry100115-104131 Jewell Pearce Davy and Co Fri, 15 Jan 2010 10:41:31 GMT http://www.jewellpearce.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry100115-103257
Employees and employers will be forced to contribute to a NEST account on behalf of the employee, unless the employee chooses to opt out.

Under this new scheme, all employees will be automatically included in a NEST scheme unless their employer already offers a suitable alternative pension scheme. Importantly employees will be forced to contribute 4% of band earnings and employers will have to contribute 3%. A further 1% will be paid in the form of tax relief meaning that a total contribution of 8% of band earnings will need to be paid into the NEST scheme.

Employers must contribute 3% of band earnings, currently described as 3% of employee earnings between £5,000 and £33,500. Employers will be able to phase this in, starting at 1% in 2012, 2% between 2016 - 2017, and 3% by October 2017. In addition, each employer will need to offer an auto-enrolment facility for all members of staff which will need to be in place by the beginning of the 2012 tax year.

Employees will need to contribute 4% of salary, unless they elect to opt-out of the scheme, while HMRC will contribute a further 1% by way of tax relief.

Small employers with fewer than 50 workers will not have to take part in the scheme until sometime between March 2014 and February 2016.

Employers must give new staff basic information about the scheme and staff must be enrolled within a month of starting work. Employees will then be given a further month to decide whether to opt-out.

Employers who already offer employees a pension scheme will have to ensure that their existing scheme is a Qualifying Workplace Pension.

Employers that do not currently offer employees a pension scheme, or those whose schemes do not pass the scheme exempt test and are therefore not considered to be qualifying workplace pension schemes will have to act to comply.

Many details regarding NEST accounts are yet to be finalised and we will aim to keep you posted with the latest developments.
]]> Pensions, Corporate http://www.jewellpearce.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry100115-103257 Jewell Pearce Davy and Co Fri, 15 Jan 2010 10:32:57 GMT