The Money Map Sheffield Alliance Midweek Cricket League

We are pleased to announce the sponsorship of ‘The Money Map Sheffield Alliance Midweek Cricket League’ for the 2021 season.

We have sponsored this competition since 2014. You can follow the league on @alliancemidweek on twitter.

Good luck all for the season.

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Why You Should Be Pleased About the Increased ISA Flexibilities

Back in spring of this year, Chancellor George Osborne announced his plans for a ‘radically more flexible ISA’. By this, he meant introducing new rules which will mean that in future, ISA savers will now be able to withdraw money from their accounts and put it back in at a later date without it accosting for their yearly ISA allowance.

This is set to override current rules, which do not allow savers to replace withdrawn cash in their ISA without exceeding the annual limit. Not only this, but with new regulation, ISA holders will be able to withdraw cash as many times as they wish from the ISA, whilst holding onto the £15,240 limit which came into force on April 6 2015. As a result, savers who want access to the cash in their ISA are not penalised if they want to put money away later on in the tax year.

Whilst initially these new rules were meant to apply solely to cash ISAs, in July’s Summer Budget report, it was announced that they would be extended to stocks and shares ISAs, proving to be great news for more ISA savers and helping to offer even more flexibility to a greater range of investors.

The Summer Budget also revealed that despite an intended launch date of autumn 2015, it has now been delayed until April 2016. Despite a longer wait, this does mean that ISA savers now have more time and opportunity to seek financial advice on making the most of their ISAs and other investments.

Aside from the increased flexibility and contributions that ISA holders are now able to make, Osborne also announced the launch of a Help to Buy ISA. This new scheme is set to officially take off on 1 December 2015, and is designed for first time buyers. It will mean that those looking to get on the property ladder will be able to save up to £200 per month into the ISA, and the government will provide an additional 25% of the money saved when it is put towards a deposit for a property.

Ultimately, these increased ISA flexibilities are very positive changes for savers – it offers more choice for their money, meaning they can gain access to their cash as and when they wish, should it be required. The introductory Help to Buy ISA will also encourage first-time buyers to save thanks to the governmental incentive.

As a result, it has never been more important to speak to a financial adviser before making decisions about your individual savings accounts, and The Money Map can help by simplifying technical language, offering professional advice on investments, and steering you to ensure you make the right financial choices. We specialise in providing thorough, cost-effective advice on investment options including New Individual Savings Accounts (NISAs), investment trusts, unit trusts, Open Ended Investment Companies (OEICs), endowment policies, investment bonds, and annuities, and speak in plain English to ensure you gain the good financial understanding that you deserve.

With various changes coming into play with ISAs this year and into 2016, it’s important that you stay informed in order to best invest your finances. For more information on these changes and ISAs, book your free consultation with one of our experienced advisers by calling 0800 848 8250, email enquiries@themoneymap.co.uk, or fill out our simple contact form.

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The New Pensions Freedom Legislation – How Will It Affect You?

This year, we have seen further changes made to the unprecedented announcement at 2014’s Budget in which the coalition government announced radical new legislation that saw the largest pension reformation for the first time in nearly 100 years. This landmark move was said to provide greater freedom for both pension savers and employers, as well as “[enabling] a new generation of better, fairer schemes” (gov.uk).

So – what do these changes entail? This exciting new move means that not only is making pension contributions more invaluable than ever – for the first time in April 2015, the government has granted those over 55 the freedom to use their defined contribution any way they like. This means that it is now possible to freely withdraw any amount of income instead of investing in retiring and buying an annuity to provide secure income for retirement from their pension fund. It also allows pension holders to pass their pensions to anybody, and beneficiaries can inherit them at a lower tax rate – an effective inheritance tax planning tool.

Effectively, the tax rules have been simplified to offer pension savers more freedom in accessing their pensions. The possibilities for withdrawing income include flexi-access drawdown, in which as much of the pension can be withdrawn as is desired, with up to 25% tax free if not previously used for drawdown; uncrystallised funds pension lump sum (UFPLs), whereby a one-off or several lump sum payments may be taken (25% tax free); and a traditional annuity, paying a guaranteed income for life from a pension fund.

It was also announced that the lifetime allowance of pension funds is to be decreased from £1.25 million to £1 million from April 2016, the third consecutive reduction to address the quantity of tax relief going to higher earners. This brings questions of whether or not to pause contributions in order to achieve a more protected lifetime allowance, aimed particularly at individuals who already have substantial retirement savings – therefore, considerably more financial planning is required.

Although the legislation change appears primarily positive, the new pension choices are complicated. It is essential that the following points are considered: where to invest your money, the quantity of sustainable income required, whether or not to buy an annuity, whether or not to invest in a drawdown product, and the tax implications of withdrawal.

It has never been more important to speak to a financial adviser before making decisions about your retirement, and The Money Map can help by simplifying technical language, offering professional advice on pensions, and steering you to ensure you make the right financial choices. We specialise in providing thorough, cost-effective advice on retirement options including annuities, drawdowns, triviality, and small pension pots, and speak in plain English to ensure you gain the good financial understanding that you deserve.

For more information on your retirement options, book your free consultation with one of our experienced advisers by calling 0800 848 8250, email enquiries@themoneymap.co.uk, or fill out our simple contact form.

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The Wednesday Cricket Club Promotion

The Money Map wish to congratulate The Wednesday Cricket Club on their 2nd successive promotion within the ‘Mansfield & District Sunday league’ this September. This time by winning the title on the final Sunday of the league. They will now compete in the Section 5 league in the 2015 season. 

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Sheffield Alliance Midweek Cricket League Sponsors

The Money Map are happy to announce this April we will be main sponsor of the ‘Sheffield Alliance Midweek Cricket league’ from April 2014. This was previously the ‘Irwin Mitchell Alliance Midweek league’ but will now be ‘The Money Map Alliance Midweek league’. The games and league will run from April until August, it includes four divisions (Premier, A, B and C leagues). We hope this is the start of a long partnership between ‘The Money Map’ and the ‘Alliance Midweek league’. To follow, fixtures and results are all available on www.alliancemidweek.org.uk

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The Wednesday Cricket Club Partnership

The Money Map is pleased to announce their continued support and partnership this March with ‘The Wednesday Cricket Club’ by sponsoring club shirts for both the Sunday ‘Mansfield and District league’ and ‘Sheffield Alliance Midweek league’ during the 2014 season. This is now our 4th consecutive year of sponsorship since they re-formed in 2010. We wish them all the success for this year.

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What is the most cost effective life protection for my family?

The lowest cost life assurance is Term Assurance. Term Assurance is life cover that protects you for a fixed period of time. The amount of cover you initially select can then either stay level throughout the term, could increase at a predetermined rate or you may wish to select cover that decreases.

You pay your premiums for the level of cover you require for the term you require and if you do not die within the term the policy finishes and the insurance company wins.

Decreasing term assurance is most commonly used where a liability is protected and which reduces, for example a repayment mortgage. Protecting a mortgage debt against is a relatively simple calculation, because you would normally only cover yourself for the amount that is owed.  If you want to protect your family’s standard of living in case you die prematurely, the calculation can be more scientific.

A starting point to make the calculation is how much income would be required to maintain the family’s life should you die.  If for example, this equates to £10,000 per annum, for 20 years, you could either protect for £200,000 (20x £10,000) to guarantee the income. The other option is for you to take a risk on investment returns and lifespan and insure for a lower amount.  Once you have decided on how much income to protect, you then need to protect any capital requirements that you potentially have, for instance children’s higher education costs.  You need to think, would they be able to afford higher education if you were not around?

Insurance is important, but the cost of potentially providing for the future has to be balanced against living today.  Whenever doing some financial planning and deciding upon the correct level and most appropriate type of protection, it is sensible to seek independent financial advice and The Money Map are experts in all fields of protection for the family.

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With an Annuity, is it better to have the income monthly or annually

One of the choices you will have to make when purchasing annuities is how often you receive your income.

A couple of the options are to receive the income monthly, annually, in arrears or in advance.

This decision will depend on your own individual circumstances; most people have monthly commitments with household bills, school fees for grandchildren and holiday planning funds to manage. Annual pension payments may only suit if you have additional income from other sources, for example, other pensions either personal or company, or from your spouse.

The benefits of receiving the income annually in arrears is that you may receive slightly more income than choosing monthly. The main disadvantages are that once you have made a decision, the annuity shape cannot be changed.

A review of your circumstances with an independent financial advisor can help to identify these issues and make sure the decisions you make will suit you now, and in the future.

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Should Men Need to Act Now on Flexible Annuities?

 An EU Directive that comes into force on the 21st December 2012 states that the price for financial products cannot differ between men and women.  One of the more notable affects of this ruling will be surrounding pension annuities purchased by men.  You should be aware that this ruling will not affect those with final salary pension schemes or those with guaranteed annuity rates attached to their pension.

Due to life expectancy averages, life companies have historically priced their pension annuity rates on the fact that an average man’s age at death is lower than that of a woman’s and therefore they have received a higher pension income than a woman of the same age.

It is expected that men’s annuity rates could fall by as much as 20% because of this ruling, and for those that are due to retire shortly this is yet another blow to their pension income which compounds the issue of annuity rates that are already low.  Unfortunately the EU cannot guarantee that men’s life expectancy will increase to the same as women’s which may have made this ruling more palatable.

For those that do not want their pension income now it is worth doing some in-depth retirement planning now. It is possible to buy a pension annuity and defer the income by up to 1 year; an income will then be received as an annual payment once per annum.  It would also still be possible to take a tax-free lump sum now and it would benefit from receiving a pension rate based on current legislation.

It would be wise for men that are due to retire in the next few months to consider the option of retiring slightly earlier in order to retain the current rates, however, if retirement is not due for several years early retirement is unlikely to be beneficial.

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