“MPs warn thousands of middle-class mothers could lose up to £23,000 off their state pensions as they did not register for child benefit”

Mar 22, 2018 | Pensions

Tags: Child benefits, HM Revenue & Customs, Royal London
An independent (financial adviser’s) view

If you’ve ever had to claim a benefit of any kind, you may have found yourself wondering rather patronisingly how those who ‘really need it’ can ever make sense of the forms and the system and whether it’s actually worth bothering. Many couples, with a non-working (usually) Mum and 40% taxpaying (usually) Dad thought just that when the means-testing of Child Benefit was controversially introduced.

Unless you’d read the small print, you wouldn’t have known that, for the stay-at-home to keep their National Insurance track record, they’d need to go through the palaver of registering for then not taking benefit.  And for those that hadn’t realised, our the government’s saying ‘tough’. Caring and sharing.

Read more here

“Reeves backs down on plans to cut ISA limit”

“Reeves backs down on plans to cut ISA limit”

May 21, 2025 |

So it looks as though Cash ISAs are safe for the moment (FTM – is that a thing?) Rachel has apparently ‘bowed to pressure’ from the banks and building societies and decided not to reduce the allowance to £4,000 for cash and to keep the £20,000 parity with Stocks and Shares ISAs. Bowed also to common sense, I’d say.

“Two thirds of adults are worried about care costs in later life”

“Two thirds of adults are worried about care costs in later life”

May 20, 2025 |

A dichotomy/dilemma here. Two thirds of adults are probably right to be worried about the cost of care, which is huge and getting more so. Many of those currently worrying will have had first-hand experience with their own parents, which will have focused their minds on their own possible future.

“Why most won’t need to worry about IHT on pensions”

“Why most won’t need to worry about IHT on pensions”

May 15, 2025 |

Many a government has made the point that only a minority will be affected by this or that tax change or tinker. It is, however, both perception and aspiration which are important, and they are what makes IHT the ‘most hated’ of all taxes – along with all the others, of course.

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