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Mid financial year check-up: six top tips

Joanna Faith
Written By:
Joanna Faith
Posted:
Updated:
04/11/2015

We are half way through the financial year – a good time to revisit your finances, recognising what has changed this year so far and what’s still to come.

Standard Life’s consumer finance expert, Julie Hutchison, shares thoughts on how to maximise your savings over the next six months.

1. Use this year’s ISA allowance of up to £15,240

At the start of this financial year, the ISA allowance increased to a higher savings limit of £15,240. There’s now just one overall allowance, which can be used for cash, stocks and shares, or a combination of both. The new ISA is also much more flexible, since you can now transfer a cash ISA to stocks and shares and do the reverse too. So make the most of it.

2. Boost your pensions savings

Are you doing all you can to maximise your pension savings? Well now’s the time to take a closer look. If you can save even a little more it all adds up, and for every £80 you save it’s topped up by £20 thanks to tax relief. Just as importantly, don’t forget that if you’re an employee, your employer may offer matching payments, really boosting what you save.

3. Make it easier – get your pensions in one place

If you have various pension pots, why not consider bringing them all together? Doing this could have various advantages including making it easier to track the performance of your pension, a better range of investment choices or lower annual charges (possibly even getting a discount for having a bigger pension pot). Plus, with only one log-in and one pension company to deal with, it’s less likely that you’ll lose track of one of your pension pots. All this should make your retirement planning easier.

However, be careful as transferring your pension won’t be right for everyone – for instance, if your pension comes with valuable guarantees – so you may want to speak to an expert. The Money Advice Service has guidance on this too.

4. Consolidating all of your assets

If you’re approaching retirement and have an ISA or other savings, it could be worth moving them into your pension. When pensions were more restrictive it was unlikely you’d have thought about cashing-in your ISA to pay into your pension. But modern pensions give you access to your money when you want from the age of 55. They also have the added attraction of giving your savings a substantial boost because of the way tax relief works

5. Review your pension freedom options

Talking of pensions, if you’re nearing that age or already in your retirement years, don’t forget the various pension freedom options now available to you. How can you make your money go further? It may be that leaving your pension pot alone works best for you, however investing in your dream business venture, holiday home or something else could also help you realise a long-held ambition.

6. Claim your lost money

Don’t miss out on money that’s yours. People can lose track of money in lots of ways and there are billions of pounds of unclaimed assets in the UK – forgotten pensions, bank accounts and other investments. If you think you’ve lost track of one of your pensions, you can use the government’s Pension Tracing Service to help find your pension savings (more information about how to trace bank accounts here).

7. Review your bills on a regular basis

To make sure you’re getting the best deals, have a monthly look at your finances to check your spending against your budget. Consider putting aside a weekend once a year to go through your regular bills and see if you can save yourself some money – and pay off debts or start to save some of that money if you can. The financial returns can be worth the effort – you might even find you are due a refund from your utility company. And it feels so satisfying to get your finances sorted out.

While you’re focusing on financial admin, if you have to file a tax return, do so as soon as possible – don’t wait until the end of January. Then you can get any refund you may be due earlier and make effective use of the money.

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