Once of the simplest ways to help the situation is to write a will. With a well written will, it not only ensures you wishes are carried out on your death but will help with the reduction or elimination of a possible inheritance tax bill.

If you would like help or advice in writing a will we have excellent contacts with Solicitors and will writers that would be able to write an inheritance tax friendly will for you.

Please contact  Thompson Financial Consulting and we will help you make the most of your money

Your current pension provider will offer you an annuity when you reach your stated retirement age, but BEWARE; the offer from your existing pension provider is invariably a poor one.

YOU MUST, shop around for the best annuity rate you can find in the open market. By doing so you will increase the amount of guaranteed income you will have in retirement, a VETY important factor.

Also, it is vitally IMPORTANT, that you tell the annuity provider about your medical background . If you suffer from high cholesterol, diabetes, smoke, take medication, have suffered previous illnesses or have a current medical diagnosis of a complaint (however irrelevant they seem to you), any of them may provide you with an Enhanced Annuity. This means the provider will pay you MORE income as you have a past or current health issue.

As can be seen it is vital to get the best advice when you purchase an annuity. Speak to the experts at Thompson Financial Consulting Ltd and we’ll ensure you get more money in your pocket.

Lenders, for a long time, have had arrangement fees; usually any thing from a few hundred pounds up to 3% of the mortgage amount. However, I am now seeing completion fees being charged, up front, as well. These are usually in the region of £250. This is something to bear in mind when comparing different lenders.

Also,  the arrangement fee needs to be looked at VERY carefully. This is because, you may get a very competitive interest rate with a large arrangement fee attached to it and this can look very appealing. There is a sting in the tail though, that if your mortgage is not large (typically in excess of £250,000) then you will actually being paying more for your mortgage overall with the high arrangement fee product. The better option would be to take a slightly higher interest rate product with a lower arrangement fee. This will mean that  overall, you will actually pay less for your mortgage. Again, this is a very important point to check out and compare when looking for your new mortgage product.

As can be seen, there are ways that you could end up paying a lot more for your mortgage without realising it. Talk to the experts at Thompson Financial Consulting and we will ensure you get the right mortgage deal.

Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.

These are tax efficient wrappers for your money, so that there is no capital gains tax or income tax on the proceeds that are generated from investing in an ISA.

If you are under the age of 50 you can invest up to £7,200 in any one tax year . The over 50’s, get a more generous allowance, they can invest up to £10,200. The good news is that the higher limit will apply to all savers from the 6th April 2010.

You can open one cash ISA and one stocks and shares ISA each tax year. Up to £3,600 can be invested in a cash ISA for the under 50’s and £5,100 for the over 50’s. The remainder of your allowance can be invested in a stocks and shares ISA. Alternatively, you can just open a single stocks and shares ISA and invest the full amount in that.

You do not have to invest up to the maximum limits, you can pay into an ISA any amount up to the limits available. This could be by a lump sum payment or by savings regularly.

To make the most of your ISA allowance, speak to the experts at Thompson Financial Consulting, we will be happy to advise and help you make the right financial decisions.

The value of investments and the income from them can go down as well as up and an investor may not get back the amount invested. Past performance is not a guide to future performance.

Interest rates were today held at 0.5% by the bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee. This marks one year since they hit the record low of 0.5%.

You will also want an adviser that gives you ongoing support after the equity release has been sorted out. You may have further questions or information sent from the equity release provider that you need clarification or advice on.

You will also need a solicitor when you are taking out an equity release scheme and you should ensure that the solicitor has experience in dealing with these products so that the legal aspects are taken care of professionally.

Finally, you should do your own homework so that you have some knowledge about equity release. A great place to start is the Financial  Services Authority (FSA) website for consumers http://www.moneymadeclear.co.uk I have included a link below to the equity release pages on this website. http://www.moneymadeclear.fsa.gov.uk/products/equity_release/equity_release.html

To ensure you get the right advice contact Thompson Financial Consulting Ltd where we have an equity release specialist to help you now and to give you ongoing advice and support.

Equity Release refers to Home Reversion plans and Life Time Mortgages – To understand the features and risks ask for a personalized illustration.

It is surprising when we ask questions, that many of these people do not know how much money they may need or require. If you are considering Equity Release then you need to look at what your current and future needs may be.

If you only need a small amount of money to start with, but you may need more in the future, the best plan is to take what you need and then release further money from your property when you need to. Many of the Equity Release providers will set a limit up to the amount you can draw out. This means you can plan your withdrawals when you need them rather than take all the money immediately and then have a larger amount of interest adding up against the debt.

By taking the right amount of money when you need it, you will potentially preserve more of the equity in your property to pass to beneficiaries, when the time comes.

If you need any help or advice with regards to Equity Release then please contact the Thompson Financial Consulting and we will be happy to help and give you the right advice.

You need to make sure you have calculated your “Net Relevant Income” correctly to see if you have actually earned above the £130,000.  This includes your income that is chargeable to income tax and pension contributions paid under a net pay arrangement. The calculation does allow you to deduct certain losses and reliefs, relievable pension contributions subject to a maximum deduction of £20,000 and donations that qualify for gift aid. Finally, if a salary sacrifice has been agreed previously, then this may have to be added back into the income figures depending on certain rules.

The calculation is not straight forward and you have to do this for the 2007/2008, 2008/2009 and 2009/2010 tax years. If in any one of those years your income was at or above £130,000 then the new pension tax relief restrictions could have an affect on you.

I would strongly advise that if your income is near or above the relevant figure that you get appropriate financial advice to ensure you make your financial planning as efficient as possible.

Please contact Thompson Financial Consulting and we will be happy to give you the right advice and help you through the pension changes.