£500 tax free for advice on pensions
SAVERS planning their retirement will be able to take up to £500 tax-free from their pension pots to put towards the cost of financial advice.
The pensions advice allowance, which will come into force from April 2017, aims to make it easier for people to receive advice on the financial products that contribute towards their retirement income, such as multiple pension pots and other assets such as Isa savings.
The idea, which is being put out to consultation, aims to tackle concerns that people without significant wealth face an “advice gap”.
The Treasury said research has found that when approaching retirement, only 22 per cent of people knew the value of their pension pot and only 14 per cent of people would be confident planning their retirement goals without financial advice.
Simon Kirby, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, who unveiled the consultation, said: “Pensions and savings decisions are some of the most important a person will make.
“It is therefore vital that people can access the financial help they need and feel confident choosing the support that works for them in their retirement.
“I look forward to the industry engaging with the pensions advice allowance consultation, and taking this opportunity to tell us how the allowance could best meet the needs of both consumers and firms.”
It has been proposed the new allowance should be available before the age of 55 to enable people to plan for retirement well in advance.
Nearly 6.3 million people have been placed into a workplace pension since automatic enrolment started in 2012. PLANS have been submitted for a £75 million redevelopment of the prominent Glasgow site vacated by collapsed retailer BHS.
The 12-storey scheme in the city centre has been billed as part of efforts to revitalise the flagging area around Sauchiehall Street and will include 130,000 sq ft of high-spec Grade A office space.
The building used for almost half a century by BHS will add new “boutique offices” retail space.
Once the commercial heart of the city centre, the street has suffered over the past 10 to 15 years amid predictions the exit of BHS will further its decline in fortunes.
The developers say their proposal “will see a vast visual improvement thanks to a new look for the BHS building, with an exposed structure and industrial aesthetic”.
Last year property investor Formal Investments acquired the buildings, which are also home to Mountain Warehouse. Those units, in a separate building on Sauchiehall Street, will continue to provide retail.
Glasgow architects StallanBrand are behind the design.
Details of the development, first revealed by The Herald last month, come as BHS closed its final stores in Scotland, disappearing from the nation’s high street and ending 88 years of British retail history.
The department store’s collapse in April has affected 11,000 jobs, 22,000 pensions, sparked a lengthy parliamentary inquiry and left its former owners potentially facing a criminal investigation.
The new building in Bath Street will create business offices for approximately 1,750 workers. The 80,000 sq ft of offices above BHS are aimed at creative businesses seeking units of 500 sq ft and upwards.