Finance

Cost of Inflation

 560 315 Jess Easby
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Eroding the purchasing power of your money

The impact of the cost of inflation on savings and investments, especially of those retirees living on a fixed income, is an important issue. But it’s also not good news for other savers and investors, as it can erode the purchasing power of money.

Inflation is officially defined as the sustained rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in the economy. On a basic level, the buying power of an individual pound decreases when the price of everything has increased. Low interest rates also don’t help, as this makes it even harder to find returns that can keep pace with inflation and rising living costs.

Different factors

If inflation becomes too high, the Bank of England may increase the bank rate to encourage us all to spend less and to save more. They can use the bank rate (the interest rate it sets) to control inflation. The higher the rate, the more incentive individuals and businesses have to save rather than borrow money, meaning they’ll receive higher returns from their savings but have to pay more for any loans.

There are a number of different factors which may create inflationary pressures in an economy. These include rising commodity prices that can have a major impact, particularly higher oil prices, which translates into steeper petrol costs for consumers.

Volatile periods

Investments are usually a better option than cash savings if you want to protect or grow the real value of your money, although it is still worthwhile holding some of your assets in cash as opposed to investments, as this will help to protect your money during more volatile periods.

Historically, investments such as shares and bonds have outperformed cash – particularly over long periods, although remember that past performance isn’t a guide to future performance. So if you’re saving for your retirement, investing can put you in a stronger financial position and put you on track towards your dream retirement.

Inflation protection

Different asset classes provide varying degrees of protection against inflation. Equities are often cited as being one of the best long-term defences. Intuitively, this makes sense. On a basic level, by investing in shares of companies, as the price of goods rises so too do the profits the companies earn on those goods, and in turn the returns to shareholders.

So although they have the potential to be more volatile, stock market investments have historically performed well, benefiting from the earnings of companies usually rising along with inflation and reinvesting dividends. It is these dividends that help in the battle to beat inflation, particularly when returns compound.

Stock market

Changes to pension legislation in more recent years have given us all more freedom about how we use our pension pot and when we take that money. This means you can leave your money invested until you’re ready to take it, and then release it gradually, rather than being at the mercy of stock market performance on the day of your retirement.

This also means that you’re giving your money more opportunity to grow in value and to beat the cost of inflation.

ISAs guide

Guide to Individual Savings Accounts

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The little allowance with big potential

Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) are an incredibly effective means of shielding your money from both Capital Gains Tax and Income Tax. Using your tax-free allowances every year should be a standard part of your financial planning.

Each tax year, we are each given an annual Individual Savings Account (ISA) allowance. This can build up quickly, letting you accumulate a substantial tax-efficient gain in the long term.

It is a ‘use it or lose it’ allowance, meaning that if you don’t use all or part of it in one tax year, you cannot take that allowance over to the next year. Utilising your ISA allowance to invest tax-efficiently could lead to significant savings in Capital Gains Tax and even improve your potential returns.

Q: What is an ISA?

A: An ISA is a ‘tax-efficient wrapper’ designed to go around an investment. Types of ISA include a Cash ISA and Stocks & Shares ISA. A Cash ISA is like a normal deposit account, except that you pay no tax on the interest you earn. Stock & Shares ISAs allow you to invest in equities, bonds or commercial property without paying personal tax on your proceeds.

Q: Can I have more than one ISA?

A: You have a total tax-efficient allowance of £20,000 for this tax year. This means that the sum of money you invest across all your ISAs this tax year (Cash or Stocks & Shares) cannot exceed £20,000. However, it’s important to bear in mind that you have the flexibility to split your tax-free allowance across as many ISAs and ISA types as you wish. For example, you may invest £10,000 in a Stocks & Shares ISA and the remaining £10,000 in a Cash ISA. This is a useful option for those who want to use their investment for different purposes and over varying periods of time.

Q: When will I be able to access the money I save in an ISA?

A: Some ISAs do tie your money up for a significant period of time. However, others are pretty flexible. If you’re after flexibility, variable rate Cash ISAs don’t tend to have a minimum commitment. This means you can keep your money in one of these ISAs for as long – or as short a time – as you like. This type of ISA also allows you to take some of the money out of the ISA and put it back in without affecting its tax-efficient status.

On the other hand, fixed-rate Cash ISAs will typically require you to tie your money up for a set amount of time. If you decide to cut the term short, you usually have to pay a penalty. But ISAs that tie your money up for longer do tend to have higher interest rates.

Stocks & Shares ISAs don’t usually have a minimum commitment, which means you can take your money out at any point. That said, your money has to be converted back into cash before it can be withdrawn.

ISAs guideQ: What is a Help to Buy ISA?

A: A Help to Buy ISA is an ISA designed to help first-time buyers save up a deposit for their home. The Government will add 25% to the savings, up to a maximum of £3,000 on savings of £12,000. If you pay into a Help to Buy ISA in the current tax year, you cannot also pay into another Cash ISA.

Q: Could I take advantage of a Lifetime ISA?

A: You must be 18 or over but under 40 to open a Lifetime ISA. You can use a Lifetime ISA to buy your first home or save for later life. You can put in up to £4,000 each year until you’re 50. The Government will add a 25% bonus to your savings, up to a maximum of £1,000 per year.

Q: What is an Innovative Finance ISA?

A: An Innovative Finance ISA allows individuals to use some or all of their annual ISA allowance to lend funds through the Peer to Peer lending market. Peer to Peer lending allows individuals and companies to borrow money directly from lenders. Your capital and interest may be at risk in an Innovative Finance ISA and your investment is not covered under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

Q: Is tax payable on ISA dividend income?

A: No tax is payable on dividend income. You don’t pay tax on any dividends paid inside your ISA. Outside of an ISA, you currently receive a £2,000 dividend income allowance.

Q: Is Capital Gains Tax (CGT) payable on my ISA investment gains?

A: You don’t have to pay any CGT on profits. You make a profit when you sell an investment for more than you purchased it for. If you invest outside an ISA, excluding residential property, any profits made above the annual CGT allowance for individuals (£12,000 in 2019/20 tax year) would be subject to CGT. For basic rate taxpayers, CGT is 10% or more. For higher and additional rate taxpayers, CGT is 20%.

Q: I already have ISAs with several different providers. Can I consolidate them?

A: Yes you can, and you won’t lose the tax- efficient ‘wrapper’ status. Many previously attractive savings accounts cease to have a good rate of interest, and naturally some Stocks & Shares ISAs don’t perform as well as investors would have hoped. Consolidating your ISAs may also substantially reduce your paperwork. We’ll be happy to talk you through the advantages and disadvantages of doing it.

Q: Can I transfer my existing ISA?

A: Yes, you can transfer an existing ISA from one provider to another at any time as long as the product terms and conditions allow it. If you want to transfer money you’ve invested in an ISA during the current tax year, you must transfer all of it. For money you invested in previous years, you can choose to transfer all or part of your savings.

Q: What happens to my ISA if die prematurely?

A: The rules on ISA death benefits allow for an extra ISA allowance to the deceased’s spouse or registered civil partner.

If you’re looking for ways to grow the value of your wealth for the longer term, investing through an appropriate ISA provides the potential to do this and has the added benefit of protecting the gains you make from both Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax.

If you would like to review your situation or discuss the options available, please contact us for further information – we look forward to hearing from you.

baby hand holding a man's hand

Inheritance Tax Planning

 560 315 Jess Easby
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Careful Planning Can Reduce Or Even Eliminate The Inheritance Tax Payable

Intergenerational planning helps you put financial measures in place to benefit your children later in life, and possibly even your future grandchildren, so it’s important to start planning early.

You may want to keep an element of control when passing on your assets. You may want your money to be used for a particular reason, such as paying for school or university fees or for a first property deposit. Or you may just want to make sure your money stays within the family.

Without appropriate provision, Inheritance Tax (IHT) could become payable on your taxable estate that you leave behind when you pass away. Your taxable estate is made up of all the assets that you owned, the share of any assets that are jointly owned, and the share of any assets that pass automatically by survivorship. Careful planning can reduce or even eliminate the IHT payable.

IHT is not payable on the first part of the value of your estate – the ‘nil-rate band’. The nil-rate band is currently £325,000. If the total value of your estate does not exceed the nil-rate band, no IHT is payable. Outstanding debts and funeral expenses can be deducted from the value of your estate.

 

baby hand holding a man's handLeave Your Interest In The Family Home

Commencing 6 April 2017, an additional ‘residence nil-rate band’ (RNRB) allowance was introduced if you leave your interest in the family home to direct descendants (such as children, step-children and/or grandchildren). This only applies to your main home but can be available even if that home had been sold after July 2016.

The RNRB is being phased in gradually. For the 2018/19 tax year, the maximum additional allowance is £125,000, increasing your total IHT allowance to £450,000 (£900,000 for a married couple). The maximum allowance will rise by £25,000 each tax year until it reaches £175,000 in 2020. This will give you a potential total IHT allowance of £500,000 or £1 million for a married couple. For estates worth more than £2 million, the tax relief is tapered away.

There are legitimate ways to plan to reduce the amount of IHT you may have to pay. We can advise you on the ways that you may mitigate any exposure, including these:

Make A Will

Dying intestate, or dying without a Will, means that you may not be making the most of the IHT exemption that exists if you wish your estate to pass to your spouse or registered civil partner. For example, if you don’t make a Will, then relatives other than your spouse or registered civil partner may be entitled to a share of your estate, and this might trigger an IHT liability.

Make Lifetime Gifts

Gifts made more than seven years before the donor dies, to an individual or to a bare trust, are free of IHT. So, it might be appropriate to pass on some of your wealth while you are still alive. This will reduce the value of your estate when it is assessed for IHT purposes, and there is no limit on the sums you can pass on.

You can gift as much as you wish, and this is known as a ‘Potentially Exempt Transfer’ (PET). If you live for seven years after making such a gift, then it will be exempt from IHT, but should you be unfortunate enough to die within seven years, then it will still be counted as part of your estate if it is above the annual gift allowance. However, the longer you survive after making the gift (subject to surviving at least three years), the lower the IHT charge.

You need to be careful if you are giving away your home to your children with conditions attached to it, or if you give it away but continue to benefit from it. This is known as a ‘Gift with Reservation of Benefit’.

Leave A Proportion To Charity

Being generous to your favourite charity can reduce your tax bill. If you leave at least 10% of your estate to a charity or number of charities, then your IHT liability on the taxable portion of the estate is reduced to 36% rather than 40%.

Set Up A Trust

As part of your Inheritance Tax planning, you may want to consider putting assets in trust – either during your lifetime or under the terms of your Will. Putting assets in trust – rather than making a direct gift to a beneficiary – can be a more flexible way of achieving your objectives.

Family trusts can be useful as a way of reducing IHT, making provision for your children and spouse, and potentially protecting family businesses. Trusts enable the donor to control who benefits (the beneficiaries) and under what circumstances, sometimes long after the donor’s death.

Compare this with making a direct gift (for example, to a child), which offers no control to the donor once given. When you set up a trust, it is a legal arrangement, and you will need to appoint ‘trustees’ who are responsible for holding and managing the assets. Trustees have a responsibility to manage the trust on behalf of and in the best interest of the beneficiaries, in accordance with the trust terms. The terms will be set out in a legal document called ‘the trust deed’.

Passing On Our Assets To Our Loved Ones

Being wealthy can have its benefits, and its challenges too. When we die, we like to imagine that we can pass on our assets to our loved ones so that they can benefit from them. In order for them to benefit fully from our assets, it is important to consider the impact of Inheritance Tax. If you would like further guidance on Inheritance Tax Planning then please contact us.

Information Is Based On Our Current Understanding Of Taxation Legislation And Regulations. Any Levels And Bases Of, And Reliefs From, Taxation Are Subject To Change.