Category: Business

The state pension triple lock which hands extra money to pensioners every year could be at risk. The Triple Lock is a system which sees those on the state pension handed an increase in their pension benefits payments every year in order to protect against the impact of inflation. The system works by increasing the money given to state pensioners every new financial year by one of three metrics: the same as wage growth, the same as CPI inflation, or a flat 2.5 percent, whichever is highest of the three. Although Labour has promised to retain the Triple Lock in ... Read more

Pensioners have been warned they could lose their bus passes following Labour’s move to axe winter fuel payments. Millions of state pensioners were left stunned after Labour axed winter fuel payments for millions of the elderly earlier this week. This year, only about 1.5 million individuals will receive the payment, leaving approximately 10 million pensioners without the annual financial support of £100 to £300 for heating expenses, as they do not qualify for income-related benefits like Pension Credit. The future now looks even bleaker for pensioners following a recent exchange in Parliament. In a fiery session of Prime Minister’s Questions ... Read more

The state pension age could potentially soar to 71 much earlier than anticipated, with experts suggesting that certain regional areas may bear the brunt of this change. Currently, according to legislation, the state pension age is expected to reach 68 between 2044 and 2046. However, experts are now forecasting a significant leap in the age limit for receiving your government-backed pension far sooner than predicted. Similar legislative changes have occurred in the past, leading some experts to speculate that the state pension age could hit 70 before 2050. A review of the state pension age is due within two years ... Read more

The British Pound Sterling has improved against the euro and hit a 13-month high against the US dollar. On Thursday, the pound was at $1.31 against the dollar and €1.18 against the euro. Equivalent private-sector surveys showed that Germany has suffered another economic downturn. It is expected that the US will cut interest rates in September, and Germany’s struggles mean the European Central Bank could do the same. Francesco Pesole at ING said: “The surveys have been a testament to the growing growth sentiment divergence between the eurozone and the UK.” The news comes after a number of business sector ... Read more

Under a new scam, ID fraudsters fake documents that “prove” they own your home, then either sell it or take out a mortgage on the property. Either way, you foot the bill. But there is a way of fighting back. Everybody expects to feel a master in their own home, but you’ll feel a bit more secure if you register that fact. When you bought your home, your solicitor or conveyancing agency should have listed it on HM Land Registry, the definitive record of property ownership in England and Wales. It proves you are the legal owner and makes it ... Read more

Banking behemoth HSBC has just revealed its staggering pre-tax profit of 21.6 billion US dollars (£16.8 billion) for the first half of 2024, branding the outcome as “stable” compared to the colossal 21.7 billion US dollars from the previous year’s equivalent period. HSBC’s head honcho Noel Quinn lauded the figures, asserting in a statement: “After delivering record profits in 2023, we had another strong profit performance in the first half of 2024, which is further evidence that our strategy is working.” The firm noticed a marginal increase in operating costs, clocking in at 16.3 billion dollars (£12.6 billion), a 5% ... Read more

Martin Lewis has explained exactly when your student loan will be automatically cancelled – and the answer is pretty complicated. Millions of people will never repay their student loans, which aren’t really loans but more like a 9 percent graduate tax, and they will automatically be ‘wiped off’ in a certain timeframe. But some people will clear them if they earn enough to pay down the interest and the balance before the debt is automatically chalked off. Exactly when you’ll be debt free by default is complex, though, and depends which part of the UK you were living in when ... Read more

Every year, around 10,000 pension savers are forced to pay on average £3,000 each to HMRC tax unnecessarily. Incredibly, some have had to hand over as much as £55,000. They then have to go through the bother of either claiming it back from HMRC or waiting for a refund, that will arrive long after the tax year is over. Incredibly, the scandal has been going on since 2015, with pensioners paying a staggering £1.2billion in tax since then, completely unnecessarily. That money belongs to them but due to a “quirk” in HMRC systems, they have to pay it anyway. The ... Read more

A Brit has revealed how a tip from Martin Lewis helped them boost their finances by £600. The Money Saving Expert (MSE) newsletter recently shared the success story of an individual named Eve, who followed Martin’s advice on claiming back energy credit. If you pay your energy bills by direct debit, your supplier will calculate your annual costs based on average use and divide it by 12 to determine your monthly payments. This method, as explained by Martin, helps to balance out your energy bills so you’re not hit with high costs during the winter months. According to this week’s ... Read more

The benefits system needs to be reformed to encourage people back into work, an employment expert has said. Rebecca Florisson, principal analyst at the Work Foundation at Lancaster University, said the next Government should “de-risk” the system to make it easier for people on benefits to find suitable work. She told Express.co.uk: “In recent years, the Government has increased punitive sanctions on some of the most vulnerable people in society to push them into ‘any job’. “Instead of further tightening benefit sanctions – which the Government’s own research suggests doesn’t result in more people in work – the focus should ... Read more