DEAR TRICIA

money@mirror.co.uk Need some practical financial advice? YOUR MONEY Editor Tricia Phillips and her team can help

QThe lowering of the tax-free allowance on share dividends this year has left me with a tax liability. I don’t send in a return, so how and when do I go about paying what is due on the excess dividends?

You must declare the dividends via self-assessment, and you need to submit and pay the tax by January 31, following the end of the tax year you received the dividends.

AQI have two annuities that have been running some years. Would I be able to claim more from them as I used to smoke and have been diagnosed with high blood

pressure and cholesterol and diabetes?

If you smoked and suffered the conditions at outset, when you cashed in your pension savings and turned them into a lifetime income, it’s likely you would have qualified for an enhanced annuity.

typically pay out more money to smokers and those with medical conditions insurers believe could shorten life expectancy.

unfortunately, you cannot change an annuity once you have taken it out.

AQI don’t know whether to amalgamate two smaller pots,

take lump sums or an annuity. I saw the Pension Wise people but was only told what I already know. Any advice or where I should turn to for help?

Pension Wise only offers general guidance and information on your options, it doesn’t give advice on individual circumstances, like an independent financial adviser can.

Without knowing your full personal circumstances, no one can advise you on what the best option would be regarding your pension savings.

You have two options. Go through your finances yourself and work out what you need during retirement to

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