Alistair Darling and the Treasury have confirmed that the date of the budget is to be the 24th March.

The Chancellor will hopefully provide the UK with details on how Britain’s £178 billion deficit will be tackled. He is due to make a speech on the economy today.

The Budget date makes it more likely that the general election will happen on the 6 May. Council Polls are also to take place on this date.
A detailed Budget summary will appear on our site www.consilium-ifa.co.uk

Considering making an isa investment for the current tax year.

Our ISA guide is available free to download here.

Coventry Building Society has held talks with Stroud & Swindon over a possible merger.

Both Societies are mutuals. A merger between Coventry,which is the third largest building society in the UK, and Stroud and Swindon , which is much smaller rival will create an organisation with £21 billion of assets and 1.2 million customers.

Stroud and Swindon have confirmed that talks are at a very early stage.

Stroud has £3 billion in assets with 265,000 members.

Coventry have recently reported pre-tax profits of £56.2 million.

Consilium Asset Management are Financial Advisers based in Bristol

The Personal Accounts Delivery Authority (Pada) confirmed which company is to administer the new NEST Scheme (formerly Personal accounts).

PADA confirmed that Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) will provide the administration of the scheme when it is launched. Pada will sign a contract with TCS later this month.

The NEST will force employers to contribute to a pension arrangement on behalf of their employees. Employees will also be required to contribute.

Employers will either automatically enrol employees into the scheme or provide an alternative arrangement that meets certain criteria.
To find out more about pension advice and employers responsibility when the Nest scheme is launched click on the links.

Angela Eagle, minister of state for pensions, said: ‘Together with automatic enrolment, Nest will help millions of people save for their retirement, with a guaranteed employer and Government contribution.’

Prudential, the UK life insurer, has agreed to buy the Asian operations of AIG. An agreed price of $35.5bn in cash and shares makes it one of the largest deals in UK history.

The deal combines the largest insurance businesses in Asia. The deal doubles the size of Prudential  and will make the region a key contributor to profits within the group.
The deal will be structured as an acquisition of both Prudential and AIA by a new company, to be known initially as New Prudential.

It is reported that Prudential will pay $25bn in cash and 10.5bn in shares of the enlarged company. The company headquarters will be in the UK and will be listed on the UK Stock Exchange. It is also anticipated that the company will also be listed on the US stockmarkets

AIG has planned a partial floatation of the Asian part of the group, but shelved the idea in preference to the deal with the Pru.
“I think that transformational is an overused word but this deal is truly transformational,” said Tidjane Thiam, chief executive of Prudential. “We have the full support of the AIG board and the US authorities,” he added.

The takeover increases Prudential’s exposure to Asia, which accounted for 44 per cent of new business in 2009. Prudential have confirmed that the UK life assurance sector and in particular financial advisors are still an important part of the groups overall activity.

HMRC started to tighten their grip on tax avoidance last year. It has been reported that £373 million in revenue was received as a result of targeting tax avoidance schemes. This represents a 21% increase on the previous year.

Figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show the result of action taken by special HM Revenue & Customs’ teams set up to tackle tax avoidance.

The haul was revealed by law firm McGrigors, under the freedom of information act. The increase in revenue is 360% higher than five years ago.

The campaign has been used to help plug the hole in the public finances.

It is believed that many old schemes are still being used and it is only a matter of time before HMRC catches up with them.
Investment bankers and hedge fund managers were among HMRC’s main targets, as were foreign nationals.

Tax avoidance schemes that are designed for inheritance tax planning, capital gains tax and stamp duty have been closed down. The rules on trusts have also been given an overhaul, making it much harder to use them to reduce tax.

In the twelve months to January, the consumer prices index (CPI) rose by 3.5% in the year. This was up from the 2.9% rise recorded in December 2009.

The Bank of England has been under pressure over most of 2009. Higher than expected inflation has meant that the BOE governor – Mervyn King has had to write to the Chancellor of the Exchequer to explain why inflation has been above the Governments target of 2%.

The Bank anticipates that inflation will fall later this year. If they are proved correct it may even stay below the target for the next two years
The Governor has indicated that the recent high level of inflation have been down to the VAT change in December and increases in oil prices.

In the year to January, the all items retail prices index (RPI) which is used to negotiate salary increases rose by 3.7%, up from 2.4% in the twelve months to December as last year’s interest rate cuts dropped out of the annual calculations.

Over the same period, the all items RPI excluding mortgage interest payments index (RPIX) rose by 4.6%, up from 3.8% in December.
For the latest market information go to our Market Info page

Don t leave your beneficiaries with extra expenses and complications.
Individuals who pass away without a valid will, or intestate, result in complications ,costs to their beneficiaries and often gift thousands of pounds to the Treasury in what may be avoidable Inheritance Tax (IHT).

The Law Society says that anyone with possessions and family or friends should make a will, regardless of their age. It is especially important if you are not married to your partner, because the law does not accord partners the same rights automatically of inheritance as spouses.
Property that is  owned jointly by unmarried partners on a joint tenancy basis would still pass automatically to the surviving partner under the rules of survivorship. Under the current intestacy rules, an unmarried partner has no rights to any assets that were not jointly held (although the Law Commission has of late suggested to change this).

Affecting a will is also essential if you have children, as you can appoint guardians to look after them.

It is essential to make a list of investments, propert and debts and their approximate values. Include your properties, investments, nest egg, insurance policies and pensions.
In addition, consider details of specific bequests. Merely informing a relative that an item will be his or hers one day could cause trouble later.

You should receive professional advice on inheritance tax planning as part of writing your will. Simple measures could save the beneficiaries of wealthier householders thousands of £’s in taxation.

A vital  factor of making a will is the naming of executors to ensure that your wishes are executed.

You should also review your will every five years or so and whenever your circumstances are altered by a substantial life event, such as wedding, split up or a birth or death in the immediate family. Another example would be after a house purchase or move.

Whoever makes up your will, make sure acopy is kept secure or deposit it with a probate registry.

Consilium Asset Management provide will writing and inheritance tax planning in Bristol

It could be “all change” at the financial services authority if a conservative government gets into power later this year.

Senior conservative MP’s have confirmed that the role of the city watchdog would dramatically change if they came into power.
If elected banking supervision would be transferred from the FSA to the bank of England. The FSA have come under severe scrutiny over the last few years, especially due to the UK banking crisis.

The FSA have had a difficult week with its head (Hector Sants) resigning along with accusations of poor controls and issues regarding the proposed retail distribution review.

Mr Hoban a conservative shadow treasury spokesman said “We want the Bank to take responsibility for macro and micro prudential supervision in the first year,” Mr Hoban said in an interview with the Financial Times. Mr Hoban acknowledged that the plan had encountered significant resistance in the City in the seven months since it was proposed by George Osborne, the shadow chancellor.
There are concerns in the city that a large scale restructuring of financial regulation could cause problems.

Mr Hoban said the Tories had no intention of waiting several years before enacting the reforms. He admitted that the proposed Consumer Protection Agency to take on the FSA’s customer-related work might add to the cost of regulation.  “We want to move away from a situation where the FSA is cleaning up the mess after it happens.”

Consilium Asset Management

The Pensions regulator seems to be at loggerheads with the Trustees of one of the UK’s largest pension schemes.
It has been revealed that the BT Pension scheme has a deficit of over £9billion as at December 2008. The regulator has raised concerns about certain aspects of the plan to reduce the deficit.

The trustees of the scheme have agreed a 17 year plan to improve the current underfunding of the scheme. They have also agreed to pay an additional £500 million a year into the pension arrangement

The scheme is the largest final salary pension scheme in the UK.

BT joins British Airways in a disagreement with the Pensions Regulator over the cost of its pension obligations. BT’s pension liabilities dwarf the company’s £10.1bn market capitalisation.

For pensions and retirement advice why not contact us