Pensions: have you lost out by opting in?

by Paul Northmore, Managing Director, Manning and Company Independent Financial Advisers

Once again, current news has provided an example of why it is so vital to take control of your financial future.

Anyone with a personal pension in the last 20 years will have encountered the issue of ‘Contracting Out, or In’.  Perhaps you joined a company scheme in the early 90’s which advised you to “opt out of SERPS” – allowing you to build your own pension pot, but opt for a lower state pension. 

Care home fees: why it’s vital to plan

by Andy Hopper, Independent Financial Adviser and Long-Term Care Specialist, Manning and Company

Jeremy Hunt, the Health Secretary, has announced this week that from 2017, anyone with assets, including their home, worth more than £123,000 will have to pay for the first £75,000 of their care costs. They will also in addition, pay “bed and board” of up to £12,000 annually when in a nursing home.