Britain's leading economic forecaster has raised the alarm about a generation of workers who would need to increase their pension pot by nearly 80 per cent to retire with the income they want. A third of 50 to 64-year-olds 'find it possible even to hazard a guess' at their future private pension income, research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies claims.
He said Chancellor George Osborne should 'brood' on whether the top rate of tax should be cut to something like the 30 per cent enjoyed by the Mumbai businessmen he was addressing.
Homeowners not locked into equity release deals should seriously consider shopping around, with interest rates offered by some providers now dropping below 6 per cent.
Almost 19million people - the equivalent of more than 10 per cent of the Eurozone population - are now unemployed with those under 25 struggling the most to find jobs.
Women have benefited from lower life and car insurance premiums, but not for much longer as new European laws come into force in December
A number of mortgage rates have been cut in recent months because of Funding for Lending - however, HSBC is not part of the scheme and has funded this deal with retail deposits. ...read
Under a deal thrashed out with the Office of Fair Trading, stores must not artificially inflate prices to make discounts look more attractive.
Sebastian James said the fault lay with the French firm, which has since renamed itself Darty, and not private equity group OpCapita that bought Comet for £2.
The 54-year-old was heavily tipped to succeed Sir Mervyn King as governor next year, but was overlooked in favour of Canadian Mark Carney.
Why big gig tickets run out so fast - most aren't openly sold
Tara Evans: Should re-selling websites get tickets fans have never had the chance to buy?
My credit rating is excellent, so why am I not getting the best deal?
Borrowers flummoxed by refusal on advertised rates for credit cards and loans
Put together a top Christmas hamper for half-price
M&S; and Waitrose customers can buy the items in store for half the price of the hamper.
The gadget that turns your iPhone into a TV remote control
Just try not to lose it under the sofa.
Money's too tight to mention:
One in seven couples over 40 admit they have never discussed their finances
Lidl's 'superstar' malt whiskey that is a hit with connoisseurs
Whisky fans rush to clear shelves at budget supermarket
Cold call complaints rocket in the past year
Grievances regarding silent or abandoned calls have increased by nearly 300 per cent since October last year
Sir Nigel Rudd, the man who has sold Britain
After this week's Invensys rail deal, we look at the string of Rudd's controversial deals
'I want my money back so I can visit Scotland before I die'
Victory for terminally ill woman who was refused refund from Thomas Cook.
House prices in line to go nowhere in 2013, says Nationwide
Prices look likely to be stagnant this year and next
Mortgages on offer leap by 20% thanks to cheap funding
Borrowers with big deposits have seen a far greater benefit than those with smaller amounts to put down
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15:15: Traders were buoyed by Germany's approval of the latest Greek bail out deal today as they awaited a solution to America's looming fiscal cliff. The Footsie rose 27.4 points to 5,897.7 after hitting three-week highs yesterday as German lawmakers gave overwhelming backing to a Greek rescue package, which will see the country's debt trimmed and pave the way for €44billion (£35.7billion) in emergency loans.
ALEX BRUMMER: Paul Tucker's luck hasn't run out
His expertise would make him an ideal candidate for a big international post
Sir Nigel Rudd: British dealmaker extraordinaire...
...or the man who flogged UK PLC to overseas private equity?
SMALL CAPS FOCUS: Critical time in EMED’s history
Ambitious plans to resuscitate historic copper mine.
CITY INTERVIEW: Alessandro's bright idea
Benetton boss turns to new markets in a bid to revive clothing firm's fortunes
Wake up your Wealth last week launched its ‘Pension Wizard’, which will offer ‘low cost, automated online financial planning services’. It is hoping to offer a cheaper alternative to more costly, face-to-face Independent Financial Advisers (IFAs) by using an algorithm that calculates investment opportunities based on the information customers input. ...read
Three quarters of unmarried couples living together are leaving their partners at risk of losing out should they die as they have not prepared a will.
As many as one in seven British couples over the age of 40 - around 4.2million people - admit they have never discussed their finances with each other, a new survey has found.
Property prices were flat in November and are likely to remain this way, or edge ever slightly lower next year, according to the latest Nationwide House Price Index.
The Bank of England (pictured) revealed yesterday that the average overdraft rate has reached a record of 19.65 per cent, which is nearly 40 times higher than the base rate, currently at an historic low of 0.5 per cent.
The grim picture provides more ammunition to campaigners who have been demanding that banks boost lending to small businesses and households in an effort to kick-start the economy.
Cold homes, caused by factors including high energy costs and poor insulation, are known to exacerbate a number of underlying medical conditions in the elderly, leading to more deaths during the winter.
The Bank said that provisions on loans to individuals where the bank had shown 'forbearance' - or leeway on repayments - were lower than on other types of loans.
A This is Money investigation found that M&S; and Waitrose customers are paying way over the odds when they purchase festive hampers, compared to simply buying the items. Picking out examples from each retailer, we found that contents of hampers which are being sold for £100 can be bought in-store or online for less than £50 - not including the price of a 'pretty wicker basket'.
Several readers with 'excellent' credit scores have contacted This is Money in recent weeks flummoxed by what they perceive to be arbitrary decisions to not award them the best advertised rates on credit cards and loans. ...read
Energy Secretary Ed Davey set out proposals today which allow firms to increase the 'green' levy from £3bn to £7.6bn a year by 2020, potentially increasing annual household bills by £100 according to most estimates.
Borrowers with big deposits have seen a far greater benefit than those with smaller amounts to put down, who are judged to be those most in need of help.
The £12.95-a-month Advantage Gold has been shut to new customers and replaced with the Select Platinum account at £16 a month, which has with half as many perks.
State-backed Royal Bank of Scotland has become the latest High Street giant to abolish interest-only mortgages for homeowners.
Mortgage rates for the best borrowers have hit new record low levels, so is now the time to fix? Read our latest analysis.
Interest rates on payday loans will be capped after the government accepted a House of Lords push to amend new laws currently being passed by Parliament.
The budget airline said that the credit card fee - which will add £2 to every £100 customer payment - was necessary to comply with a recent ruling from the Office of Fair Trading. Ryanair also confirmed that online prices from tomorrow will include a £6-per-flight (or €6) administration fee, flagged up a fortnight ago, which the airline says is necessary to cover website costs. ...read
Fans of the 65-year-old multi-millionaire see Rudd as the UK’s dealmaker extraordinaire. To his detractors, though, he is one of the Men Who Sold Britain. He pulled off yet another coup this week as Invensys, where he is chairman, announced the surprise £1.7billion sale of its rail division to German high-speed train-maker Siemens.
Mike Walters (pictured) stunned the Banking Commission's joint committee by claiming that he was not responsible for compliance at the lender.
Chief executive Antonio Horta-Osorio said he ‘absolutely refutes’ Lord Levene's suggestion that a coalition agreement to promote mutuals and co-operatives swayed its decision.
Dixons Retail has taken on 171 full-time staff from Comet, and a further 1,000 workers for its Christmas trading period.
Nationwide has launched a current account paying more interest than most High Street savings accounts. But it has been dubbed a self-service account as you won’t be able to do any of your everyday banking in branches. Instead, customers will have to use the internet or the telephone. To pay in cheques and cash, they will be able to use the machines inside branches. ...read
Providers will have to provide graphs illustrating what proportion of an employee's pension contributions will go on management fees and charges, rather than hiding them away in the small print.
The Land Registry said that the 7 per cent annual increase for house prices in London is 'considerably higher' than those seen in any other region.
A suggestion to encourage more companies to re-introduce defined benefit pensions has prompted unease that it could stop workers seeking new jobs.
As the cold weather kicks in and energy prices continue to rise, every household with someone born on or before July 5, 1951, is given between £100 and £300 to put towards their energy bills.
Belinda Wells received the horrifying accusation from insurance giant Sun Life Financial of Canada as she tried to see through the final wishes of partner Paul Coventry. He died suddenly on February 19, 2011 as a result of a disastrous nursing blunder. ...read
Letters are being posted to millions of account holders at 447 branches in England and Wales who will be moved by November next year.
People over 50 who lose their job and cannot find another position are left with no option but to go self-employed, fuelling a boom in the sector, according to official figures.
Have you been left enraged by an energy firm? Maybe you've had to battle with a bungling bank? Or perhaps you are incensed by an incompetent insurer? Now is your chance to hit back and shame the company that's given you the WORST customer service this year.
A review website has plans to have all of the estimated 20,000 IFAs in the UK listed for public scrutiny. Once the way you pay for financial advice is changed next year it will be more important than ever to be able to tell the good advisers from the bad.
Britain’s biggest building society said the acquisition would help meet its target of gobbling up 10 per cent of the current account market.
Industry experts say demands will be made to 200,000 homeowners in the UK whose properties are most likely to be at risk of flooding.
Experts say you can save up to £100 a year simply by turning down the brightness of your television set, which is set higher than necessary by manufacturers.
Skipton now offers 1.5% on its My Savings Issue 2, while Kent Reliance Easy Access 3 pays (1.9%). Both are down from 2.25% on previous issues. ...read
Borrowers hoping to grab rock-bottom personal loans may be offered more than double the advertised rate if they have missed just one or two payments in the past year.
A lack of trust in comparison websites is causing shoppers to miss out on up to £240 million every year.
Even if price rises in the economy stay at the government’s target level of 2%, savers will still keep seeing the value of their cash eroded because of today’s very low interest rates.
During our holiday to Spain we discovered our ferry back from Santander had been cancelled because of a strike. We were told to travel back via Calais. We incurred extra costs, but our insurer refuses to pay for hotel bills.
Right at the heart of Christmas traditions, next to the tree and mince pies, is the turkey. Morrisons has topped the sixth annual This is Money cheapest Christmas turkey poll with a frugal offering of £9 for a frozen bird, for just £2.80 per kg.
Ski trips don’t come cheap, with accommodation, food, drink and then passes and equipment hire pushing prices up. We round-up the best places to hit the slopes without your finances going too far downhill.
As the potential for hazardous weather conditions intensifies, is it worth fitting winter tyres to your motor and what are the benefits?
Of the one million who head to the mountains every year, around 110,000 don’t bother taking cover; 50,000 have insurance that won’t protect them, and 40,000 simply forget to take any at all.
Postponing the fuel duty rise would be the most popular move for the Government to make in the eyes of countryside communities, according to research of rural dwellers.
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We explain the factors that will decide when interest rates rise - and how quickly, including the latest forecasts from markets and economists.
House prices are inching up but estate agents warn that over-optimistic sellers unwilling to cut their asking prices will not get a sold sign up. So what now for property?
Tesco Bank has staged a serious mortgage attack with a record low 1.99% two-year fixed rate. So is now the time to fix your mortgage? Read our latest analysis.
This is Money is part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group
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