by Brian Downton | J, May, 2017 | blog, protection
Dementia and Alzheimers have replaced heart disease as the leading cause of death in England and Wales, but the latter still accounted for 11.5% of all deaths in 2015. In fact, every three minutes someone in the UK has a heart attack and 30% of those are fatal. The...
by Brian Downton | J, Mar, 2017 | blog, mortgages
Leigh-on-Sea tops Rightmove’s Happy at Home Index, with Harrogate dropping to third. Rightmove’s annual study asks 24,000 people across England, Wales and Scotland to rank where they live against 12 factors relating to their local area. The factors range from...
by Brian Downton | J, Mar, 2017 | blog, mortgages
Thousands of people with interest-only mortgages expiring this year do not have a repayment plan, putting their homes at serious risk of repossession. 40,000 interest-only mortgages are set to mature in 2016, but experts suggest that only half of these homeowners have...
by Brian Downton | J, Feb, 2017 | blog, Pensions
The April 2015 pension changes scrapped compulsory annuities, giving pensioners greater choice over how to take their retirement income. In principle, this historic change to UK pension legislation opened up a range of investment opportunities. With increased control...
by Brian Downton | J, Feb, 2017 | blog, wealth-management
While homeowners can still benefit from low mortgage rates, savers will be struggling to enjoy any kind of growth on money they have on deposit, leading some to consider a riskier investment. If you’re considering investing in the stock market, one crucial and...
by Brian Downton | J, Jan, 2017 | blog, mortgages
Moving home can be stressful, especially if you’re new to the property ladder. But, by following a few simple tips, you can help ensure your move goes as smoothly as possible. Seek mortgage advice Try and get a mortgage offer in place before you start the buying...
by Brian Downton | J, Jan, 2017 | blog, general, Pensions
Research carried out by the Small Business Research Centre at Kingston University revealed there are an estimated 1.9 million freelancers in the UK, representing 36% growth over the past eight years. Almost two thirds of all freelancers work in four main industry...
by Brian Downton | J, Jan, 2017 | blog, Pensions
Between December 2015 and May 2016 around 400,000 people accessed their State Pension statements, a 40% increase on 2015 when there were 400,000 requests in total for the entire year. This significant increase is down to the launch of a new online system which...
