Retirement planning means taking into account a whole host of factors. You have to navigate tough questions like, ‘What will the impact of inflation be?’ or ‘When will interest rates start to creep up?’

This year Chancellor Philip Hammond delivered his autumn budget a few weeks earlier than usual. Normally the budget is released in mid-November, but this year he gave the budget on 29 October.

In the run up to Brexit, Hammond didn’t release any huge announcements. Perhaps he wants to leave plenty of room to accommodate for any Brexit inconveniences. However, there were some important takeaways.

In the UK, we are faced with the challenge of an ageing population. Many of us will live longer than we might have expected. Already, 2.4% of the population is aged over 85. Because of improvements in healthcare and nutrition, this figure only looks set to rise.

You may well have seen the headlines that victims lost an average of £91k each in pension scams last year. Worryingly, in a recent survey, 32% of pension holders aged 45-65 said they were unsure how to verify if they were speaking to a genuine pensions adviser. Scammers are becoming increasingly sophisticated. They can be articulate and sound highly knowledgeable. They will have designed seemingly attractive offers to try and persuade you to transfer your pension pot or release funds from it, which they will then invest in high-risk investments like overseas property, renewable energy bonds or forestry – or simply steal it directly.

It’s well known life begins at forty. Doesn’t it?

It should be an exciting decade, full of plans and aspirations. It’s also likely to be a time of optimum earning potential.

What’s more, it’s a crucial decade to take a step back and make sure your finances are on track to meet your goals.

financially, which is why many parents continue to support their children well into adulthood. Instead of being ‘empty nesters’, many parents discover that their offspring return to the family home straight after university (that is if they ever left in the first place!) due to the problems of getting a foot on the property ladder.

With Halloween on the horizon, it’s time to be prepared for scary movies on TV, ghosts and ghouls trick-or-treating at your door and listening extra carefully for things that go bump in the night. But whilst these fears might be unfounded, it might be a good time to think about what frightens you in your finances and, more importantly, how to overcome those concerns. Keep reading for our top financial fears and what you can do to banish them this October.

It’s one thing to travel with your children or grandchildren and help them realise an appreciation for seeing the world. To prepare them to navigate that world on their own and to take control of their own adventures, is another thing entirely, but it’s not impossible.

In 2007, there were 254,000 older people living in private rented accomodation. According to research by the Centre for Ageing Better, over the last decade that figure has skyrocketed to 414,000. If things continue the way they’re going, they estimate that over a third of those over 60 will be privately renting by 2040.

Holidays can be expensive, that’s for sure. Getting everything organised for your trip can be quite a challenge, too. So we’ve compiled these simple tips to save you money and allow you to enjoy your time away to the full.

‘Stock market closing at an all time high’; ‘The bubble’s burst’; ‘The stock market is crashing’; ‘Shares have gone through the roof – how could they go any higher?’; ‘House prices plummet by 30%’; ‘UK economy in weakest growth’; ‘The end is near for the bear market’; ‘Stocks dangerously close to unique kind of bull market’; ‘Not seen such market volatility since the 1987 crash’; ‘Warnings of market correction ahead’.

A marriage or civil partnership can be a beautiful union of minds and hearts, but there’s no reason why it should end there. There can also be financial benefits to being with your partner, and one of these is the Marriage Allowance. In the 2018-19 tax year, the Marriage Allowance lets you transfer up to £1,190 of your Personal Allowance to your partner, meaning a tax reduction of up to £238, as long as you meet a few requirements.

As one of the most successful investors of all time and currently the third richest person in the world with a net worth of over $88 billion, it’s likely that you’ll know Warren Buffett’s name. You might even have visited his website at WarrenBuffett.com, perhaps giving particular attention to the page entitled ‘Warren’s 10 Ways To Get Rich’. What you might not know, however, is that Buffett has another website – one which is aimed not at you, but at your children and grandchildren.

In Britain, we love our pets and often consider them part of the family. In fact, 27 per cent of UK dog owners plan to take their pets with them on holiday in 2018, on average spending £114 per pet. That might sound like a small outgoing, but across the UK it adds up to a total of £227,538,186 to be spent on canine holidays in just this year.

Recent figures released through a Freedom of Information Request have revealed that payroll investigations last year led to HMRC collecting £819 million of additional tax, a figure that represents a year-on-year jump of 16%.

At the beginning of March 2018, HMRC published figures on personal taxation and income throughout the UK for the 2015/16 tax year. The full report offers some interesting insights into the nation’s finances.

We all have bucket lists of one form or another and high up on a lot of people’s lists are various travel experiences. Travel allows us to experience other cultures, other climates, to meet new people and generally broaden our horizons. Especially now that you are in or approaching retirement and you have time to make your travel ambitions a reality.

Whether you’re someone who prides themselves on having their accounts in order every year, or you’ve just had yet another last-minute scramble to submit your tax return before the deadline at the end of January, the start of a new calendar year is a great time to review your books and ensure they’re all in order for the twelve months ahead. Here are our top four tips for 2018 in terms of your accounts, ensuring your bottom line is secure and most likely giving it a bit of a boost too.

You’ve lived a full and rewarding life, settled down, had a family, and are now reaping the benefits of working hard and investing in your future. But has the world got smaller since back when you first began to make your mark? Now, through using social media on your tablet or smartphone, you can find that schoolfriend that emigrated halfway across the world or have a video chat with your grandchildren even though they live some distance away, or perhaps you use your smartphone or tablet to manage your portfolio while you are on the go.

Talking about money with your parents can be difficult. However, these conversations can also be some of the most important ones you will have with those you love. It doesn’t need to be a full examination of their financial records, as you clearly don’t want to overstep any boundaries or cause offence. But there are also questions you need to ask to ensure your parents have prepared for the next stage of their lives, as well as helping you to know about any areas where you might need to provide support in the future, as early as possible. Here are five important questions you should be asking: