Recently released research1 suggests a significant proportion of working age people are no longer planning a traditional ‘hard stop’ retirement, with 45 to 54-year-olds most likely to feel they will continue working beyond pensionable age.
Research has found that 28% of young UK homeowners do not have life insurance1.
It is estimated that 1.7 million adults aged 18-40 do not have appropriate cover in place, despite having a mortgage. This oversight puts their dependants in a precarious financial position in the event of their death.
Are you confident you have all the relevant cover in place to protect your finances? Having a financial plan should go hand-in-hand with a conversation about insurance.
Over one million individuals have entered self-employment since 20201, so it is important to ensure you are still planning for retirement by making regular pension contributions.
Research1 suggests a significant minority of over-55s either have or are planning to unretire. Worryingly, though, a majority in this group have not checked the tax implications associated with such a decision, leaving many potentially at risk of falling foul of the unretirement ‘tax trap.’
Interest rates set to fall more gradually
Last month, the Bank of England (BoE) cut interest rates for only the second time since 2020 but also warned future reductions were likely to be more gradual due to the prospect of inflation creeping higher next year.
Budget caused uncertainty in the market
There was some uncertainty within the housing market ahead of the Autumn Budget at the end of October, which was reflected in muted consumer activity.
Commercial property market outlook
Despite anticipation of the Autumn Budget, Savills reported that the commercial property market remained stable in October, with some areas of growth.
Data suggests that confidence is growing among new and existing equity release customers.
Equity release customers rose by 12% in Q2 of this year, with total lending increasing by 15% to £578m1. There was also a quarterly and annual increase in the average loan size, which indicates that customer confidence is being restored.
Equity fund inflows on the up
Statistics1 show that, during the first half of 2024, net inflows to equity funds were over £11.3bn, the best six-month recording for equity funds according to global fund network Calastone’s ten-year record. Of the most positive inflows, North America and global funds recorded £7.8bn and £7.2bn respectively, with emerging market and European funds also recording inflows, offset by outflows for income funds and UK-focused funds. Head of Global Markets at Calastone, Edward Glyn, commented, “Hopes for cheaper money after the painful rate squeeze of the last two-and-a-half years are the clear driver of record flows into equity funds so far this year.”
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