MONEY MORSELS

Price jump

THOUSANDS of Plusnet broadband customers will see their bills rise by £12 a year from June. The firm is increasing charges by £1 a month on deals, but customers can switch away penalty-free if they find a cheaper offer elsewhere. Look on comparison sites such as Moneysupermarket, uSwitch or GoCompare to see if you can find a better deal.

Fund discount

INVESTORS who use Hargreaves Lansdown to buy funds can get a discount on the Legal & General UK Index fund, which tracks the performance of the FTSE All Share. The fund’s charges have been cut to 0.04pc for Hargreaves investors compared to typical costs of 0.1 pc. You must still pay the Hargreaves admin fee of 0.45 pc.

Holiday scams

HOLIDAYMAKERS lost £6.7million to fraudsters in 2017 after being lured in by fake listings, bogus airline deals and other cons. Action Fraud found that 4,700 people lost an average of £1,500 each, with some suffering health problems or facing bankruptcy following the scams.

Gender gap

WOMEN who cash in their pensions under new freedoms have a retirement income that is typically 37 pc lower than the average man. A study by insurer Zurich found that men typically have enough savings to provide a £6,360 income, while women’s pensions pay just £3,990.

Pension errors

AVIVA customers are missing out on pension income following computer problems at the insurer. In some cases, customers have been left waiting months for payments. Others have received a reduced payout. Aviva says up to 6,000 customers have been affected. A spokesman says Aviva will ensure that ‘no one is disadvantaged financially’.

Flights boost

FREQUENT flyers and shoppers who collect rewards through Avios will be able to spend their points with 11 more airlines. The Avios programme is closing in July and members will be moved into the BA Executive Club. They will still be able to collect points to spend with British Airways, Iberia, Vueling and Aer Lingus, but they will also be able to spend with American Airlines, Malaysian, Qantas, Qatar, Latam and others.

Overtaxed

HUNDREDS of thousands of savers who cashed in their pensions are paying too much income tax. Savers who draw down their pensions are taxed at an emergency rate and must either contact HMRC to recover the money or wait up to a year for an automatic refund. Figures from pension firm AJ Bell suggest just one in 13 savers contact the taxman to reclaim their cash.