Annuity sales 'unfair and opaque'
Sat, 04 Feb 2012 00:01:34 GMT
The way annuities are sold is costing half a million retirees each year as much as £1bn in future pension income, the National Association of Pension Funds says. |
1.1 million face £100 tax fines
Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:44:16 GMT
Just over one million taxpayers face a penalty of £100 for failing to submit their self-assessment tax returns on time, HM Revenue and Customs says. |
Personal insolvencies 'down 11%'
Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:09:00 GMT
Fewer people were declared insolvent in 2011 in England and Wales than in 2010, but the number of companies going bust increased. |
'Sale and rent back' closed down
Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:54:29 GMT
The sale and rent back industry has been almost completely closed down, says the Financial Services Authority. |
Mobility aid sellers in spotlight
Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:25:51 GMT
Action has been taken against mobility aids traders following a warning from the regulator over sales of the products. |
Hackers fool bank security system
Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:12:32 GMT
Criminal hackers have found ways around new security devices used for online banking, the BBC has learned. |
MPs reverse Lords welfare defeats
Wed, 01 Feb 2012 22:38:55 GMT
MPs overturn a series of defeats inflicted on the government's welfare reform bill by peers, voting to reinstate child benefit into the proposed £26,000 total cap on payments. |
Ash claims finally given go-ahead
Wed, 01 Feb 2012 17:34:53 GMT
Some 300 travellers with insurance claims resulting from the ash cloud disruption in May 2010 will finally have their cases resolved. |
Winter freeze for UK house prices
Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:06:12 GMT
UK house prices started the new year with a slight decline - falling by 0.2% in January compared with the previous month, the Nationwide says. |
Case for tax cuts 'is stronger'
Wed, 01 Feb 2012 10:54:47 GMT
The argument for the chancellor to cut taxes to boost the economy is stronger than it was a year ago, the Institute for Fiscal Studies says. |
Pension scheme availability drops
Wed, 01 Feb 2012 09:04:19 GMT
The proportion of final-salary pension schemes still open to new recruits in the private sector fell last year from 18% to just 16%, figures show. |
Plans for fewer MOTs are dropped
Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:02:26 GMT
The government has given up its plans to reduce the frequency of MOT tests. |
Gym contracts under investigation
Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:19:23 GMT
Gym membership contracts are to be put under the spotlight by the fair trading regulator, following customer complaints. |
UK workers 'richer but stressed'
Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:14:30 GMT
Britons are richer and more stressed than when the Queen came to the throne, a report by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development has found. |
Sainsbury's rebrands tiger bread
Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:09:37 GMT
Sainsbury's is renaming its tiger bread after a letter a three-year-old girl wrote to the company, saying the bread looked more like a giraffe, went viral. |
200,000 homes 'at flooding risk'
Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:09:43 GMT
The Association of British Insurers estimates that up to 200,000 flood-prone homes could face insurance problems next year. |
Mortgage rates 'to be volatile'
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 11:58:33 GMT
Brokers are telling new borrowers to expect mortgage rates to see-saw in the coming months, owing to economic uncertainty. |
House prices fell by 1.3% in 2011
Mon, 30 Jan 2012 12:20:41 GMT
House prices in England and Wales fell by 1.3% last year, to an average of £160,000, according to figures from the Land Registry. |
Pension change 'will save little'
Tue, 31 Jan 2012 08:58:11 GMT
The government's latest public sector pension changes will make "little or no difference" to their long-term cost, a think tank says. |
Deadline shift for pension reform
Wed, 25 Jan 2012 18:27:06 GMT
Full implementation of a scheme to automatically enrol workers into a pension scheme will be in place three years later than first planned. |
