Natwest Boxed launches savings account with The AA February 24, 2025 Natwest’s financial services platform Natwest Boxed has partnered with The AA to launch an instant savings account. Boxed, which comes from a joint venture between the FTSE 100 lender and European fintech Vodeno, will leverage its embedded finance products for AA customers starting from March 2025. The new savings account will be FSCS-protected and customers [...]
Why savers should consider a flexible ISA February 20, 2025 Savers are looking for ways to use their ISA allowance before the tax year ends, and a flexible ISA is well worth considering. A flexible ISA is tax-friendly as it allows users to withdraw money and repay it without affecting their annual allowance, so long as any money is repaid in the same tax year. [...]
NS&I announces Premium Bond prize rate cut February 19, 2025 NS&I, the government-backed savings provider, has announced it will cut the Premium Bond prize rate from four per cent to 3.8 per cent in April. The rate had already decreased from 4.15 per cent to four per cent at the beginning of the year. More than 24m people own Premium Bonds, making it the nation’s [...]
Chase tops UK banking charts February 19, 2025 According to an Ipsos poll, Chase UK is the top-rated consumer bank in Britain. It joins digital banks Monzo and Starling, which have long topped the charts. Kuba Fast, Chase’s UK CEO, said: “These results are a testament to the fantastic people we have and our commitment to putting customers at the heart of everything [...]
Shield your assets from inheritance tax with life insurance February 17, 2025 Inheritance tax entered the headlines last year when the Labour government used its first budget to announce measures designed to close loopholes and raise funds, prompting savers and advisers to reconsider their financial planning. The government’s proposals include plans to impose inheritance tax on unspent pensions from April 2027 and a pledge to reform the [...]
What do falling interest rates mean for my finances? February 14, 2025 The Bank of England trimmed interest rates to 4.5 percent in February, the first of what could be multiple cuts this year aimed at kickstarting the UK’s weak economic growth. This raises questions about what loosening monetary policy could mean for savers’ finances. The BoE now expects GDP growth “to be notably weaker in the near [...]
Wealthiest adults do not financially plan for marriage February 13, 2025 Only one in five of the UK’s wealthiest adults discuss financial planning ahead of marriage, according to fresh research. Among a survey of 500 UK adults, who have at least £1.5 million in investable assets or total assets of £15 million, 93 per cent agreed planning for unexpected life events, such as divorce, was crucial [...]
IFS: UK must intervene to stop ‘ridiculous’ proliferation of small pension pots February 12, 2025 The government should clamp down on the “ridiculous” proliferation of small pension pots, a leading think tank has said. The growing number of these small-scale funds puts up costs for pension providers and makes it more difficult for savers to make sensible decisions, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) argued. “Further action is needed to [...]
What on earth is a ‘SIPP’?! A jargon-free guide on how it could help boost your ‘future you’ fund February 12, 2025 Camilla Esmund is a senior manager at Interactive Investor, the UK’s second largest platform for private investors Don’t be put off by the acronym – a ‘SIPP’ stands for a self-invested personal pension; a type of personal pension which gives you greater control over your retirement planning. If you haven’t heard of them, you’re not [...]
Home repossessions rise as higher interest rates bite borrowers February 10, 2025 The number of homeowners with mortgages facing repossession rose in the fourth quarter of 2024 as buyers struggled with higher interest rates. UK Finance figures show that repossessions rose 12 per cent in the last three months of 2024 compared to the previous year and were up 54 per cent yearly. Overall, 1,030 residential houses [...]
