Pensions

It’s been a busy week with the start of the new tax year and so we list the 10 changes that came into force from 6 April, including the new State Pension – are you a winner or loser of the new scheme and will you need to halve your living costs to make do? It’s also been a year since pension freedoms were introduced and data shows there’s been a sharp fall in the number of people cashing in their pension pots.

The market

Star fund manager Neil Woodford announced he has stopped charging clients for fund research which should make it cheaper for investors and with the upcoming Brexit uncertainty, investors are de-risking their portfolios ahead of the referendum result. We also spoke to the Evenlode Income fund manager to find out four FTSE sectors driving their performance. We also reveal why it may be a bad time to be underweight in emerging markets.

Tax-efficient savings

We explain ISA cash parks in a three-minute video and how ISAs are treated after death in terms of inheritance tax. If you’re married or in a civil partnership, the amount you can transfer to your spouse has increased under the marriage allowance which means you can cut your tax bill by £220 this year. Lastly, Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs) are tax efficient ways to invest in start-up companies and with the recent changes to pensions, could this spark more interest in the scheme?