The Chancellor's Pre-Budget Report included the expected inflationary rise in the State pension from £90.70 to £95.25 a week for a single person and from £145.05 to £152.30 for a couple, starting in April, but also a headline-grabbing £60 bonus to be paid to all pensioners in January on top of the usual [...]
Is there an easy way to calculate how long it would take to see the benefits of delaying my pension so I can compare the options? R.M., Exeter
Des Hamilton, technical director at the Pensions Advisory Service, replies: The choices available to you are to stop working and claim the state pension; [...]
Punitive increases announced by Chancellor Alistair Darling in his Pre-Budget Report last week will hit those earning more than £140,000 hardest.
From 2011, big cuts in personal allowances and an increase in the top rate to 45p will effectively push the rate of tax for those on £140,000 to 60p in the pound - the [...]
But Alistair Darling's mini-Budget came with a sting in the tail - higher National Insurance contributions and tax rises for the relatively well-off. Here, Financial Mail examines the impact of the Chancellor's action on families.
Cash-strapped families were given an early Christmas present from the Chancellor as he increased child benefit payments three [...]
The gap between the Bank of England base rate and the interest charged on personal loans has leapt from less than three percentage points to more than five in the last two months.
Many customers will need loans to stay afloat in the present climate. Hundreds of thousands rely on personal loans to consolidate other [...]
Why did it go bust?
The historic high street name, which opened its first store in Liverpool in 1909, has been under increasing pressure in recent years as customers have turned to supermarkets or the internet to gain better value.
The group last month reported pre-tax losses of almost £100m for the six months to [...]
John Lewis and Sainsbury have also announced an early cut to VAT, while Asda is taking a full 17.5% off all televisions.
Weekend shoppers will be able to benefit from a 2.5% discount on non-food items at Tesco, despite the tax reduction not officially beginning until Monday.
Electronics giant DSG claims it was the first to [...]
The Institute for Fiscal Studies said millions of people earning more than £20,000 a year would pay more. This casts serious doubt on the Treasury's claim that all those with salaries under £40,000 are safe.
The tax burden is set to rise because of the increase in National Insurance contributions in 2011. The Institute also warned [...]
The scheme, first proposed in April 2001, aims to kick-start the savings habit and encourage regular saving among 8m people on low incomes by providing a strong incentive to save.
The Government will add 50p for every £1 saved in these special cash savings accounts, which will run for two years.
The extra cash will be [...]
Banks have been accused by Gordon Brown of failing to lower card rates to help cash-strapped households despite big cuts in the base rate. Jo Thornhill examines the best and worst the credit card market has to offer with advice on how best to use plastic.
The credit card market has shrunk in the past year [...]
© 2008 Daily Financial News