Money

Updated: 17:28 EST

What do you really need to save for retirement?

It's the million-pound question: how much is enough when it comes to saving for retirement? According to official figures, four in ten of us are underestimating what we need to set aside. Half of the 12 million workers 'under-saving' earn at least £34,500 a year, according to a Government study of its flagship workplace pension scheme.

Amazon appears to be the worst affected retailer. It uses Hermes, which also serves Debenhams, Zara, John Lewis, Tesco, Asda, and ASOS.

ASK TONY: Getting nowhere trying to trace an 80s pension

I have written twice to Yorkshire-General Life Assurance about an old pension, but both times, the letter has been returned with a note saying: 'Not known at this address'. The sum is hardly a fortune — but the firm appears determined not to pay out.

If you want to teach children how to save, give them a savings account for Christmas. It’s a good alternative to shelling out £100 with little change on the latest toys.

A local authority has been accused of stealing Christmas from hundreds of people on a housing estate by hitting them with bills of more than £2,000 each to fix external water pipes.

Inflation jumped to 3.1 per cent in November, its highest level since March 2012. It means there are no savings accounts that even match the rate of inflation, let alone outpace it.

The first thing that should be obvious when you read about Jack Buster and his band of fraud vigilantes is that you should never buy a car on eBay. If you do you're entering a viper's nest of conmen.

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For current account rewards and interest conditions may apply eg. using provider's full switching service, min deposits and direct debits. For savings, access maybe limited, min/max deposits may apply. See T&Cs.; Representative example: If you spend £1,200 at a purchase interest rate of 18.95% p.a. (variable) your representative rate will be 18.9% APR (variable).

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MARKET REPORT: Online retailer Koovs falls out of fashion

Koovs said it has significantly cut its marketing to address ongoing funding requirements and sales in 2018 will be affected as a result. It added that any additional marketing spend will depend on the closure of its funding programme, which it announced back in July. At the time it said it would raise £18.9m to invest in ramping up its brand awareness – but has currently raised just £8.9m of the total.

Shareholders controlling nearly 40 per cent of LSE stock refused to back Donald Brydon following a bitter battle with a top investor over the running of the company.

He survived a poll of investors, but Donald Brydon is so badly damaged he should step aside as chairman as soon as a chief executive to replace Xavier Rolet is installed.

BI, which was once called Bordeaux Index and is chaired by City grandee Michael Spencer, said the top 20 wines sold on its trading platform had risen by an average of 20.54 per cent.

Workers at Sky News warned the competition watchdog that blocking the deal would trigger 500 job losses and deliver a ‘deeply damaging’ blow to British journalism.

Colleagues report he’s extremely miffed after not being consulted about the deal as well as nervous about the prospect of his Chairman and long-term cheerleader James Murdoch departing.

Santa upstaged by Trump? Rally more to do with tax plan

The so-called Santa rally refers to the weeks before and immediately after Christmas during which shares have a tendency to collectively climb more than at other times of year. According to numbers run by investment director at Architas, Adrian Lowcock, since 1984 the FTSE 100, excluding dividends, has risen by an average of 2.5% during December. The index has only fallen six times out of 33 during December.

Fund manager Alex Wright believes that there is still value to be found, particularly among UK-facing companies beaten up by the market over Brexit fears. He explains why.

Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, WHSmith and Cards Galore are among stores giving just 10 per cent of the cost of the cards to the charity named.

We reveal the UK's Help to Buy hotspots

Helping first-time buyers get a leg up onto the property ladder is considered a priority but high house prices mean it remains a pipe dream for many. However, there are still a few pockets in the UK where it's possible to buy after saving a relatively small deposit. Totally Money identified 10 hotspots for buyers using Help to Buy.

Britons are being warned over a cookware scam that has started to emerge again ten years after This is Money first alerted readers about it. It cost John, from West Yorkshire, £300.

In 18 months time, customers will no longer have to call their provider to explain why they want to leave and be subjected to drawn out 'unwanted' efforts to try and make them stay.

More than a third of homes have had their price slashed

Some 35.3 per cent of homes on sale had their asking price reduced in November, said Zoopla, with the average discount rising to £25,562. And reflecting the struggling property market in London and the South East, the biggest reductions were found there, with commuter belt towns of Camberley, Kingston-upon-Thames, Watford and Mitcham, taking four of the top five spots for discounts.

It might seem an odd move but there are still some reasons why borrowers would take out a mortgage that could rise rather than locking into a fix.

There has been an incredible surge in interest of the three cyptrocurrencies – with a 4,287 per cent increase in searches for litecoin in 2017, statistics from Hitwise Monitor show.

Children can now earn 4.5 per cent saving with Halifax 

Halifax's kids regular saver is now the highest rate available to savers anywhere in the market, beating even the best buy five-year fixed rate from Secure Trust Bank at 2.51 per cent.

Most mainstream car maker currently looking to ramp-up driverless car development in preparation for the coming years, but they may find the British market the most difficult to crack.

You may not have had a job interview for a long while. Perhaps you were with your last employer for decades, are switching careers or are returning to work for whatever reason.

Can I take 25% from one pension and leave other for later?

I am self-employed and have two separate private pensions predicted to be worth £130k and £80k by 2022. I plan to retire when I am 62 years old. I would like to know whether I can take 25% drawdown on the first pot when I am 62 and delay the drawdown of the same amount of the second pot until I am 65.

Men might be undervaluing women's financial contributions - as research showed a divide between how they and their female partners consider the latter's role.

My mother needs to make a decision about her pension and inform British Steel by 22 December. I am unclear from ALL that I have read, which of the two options offered may be preferable.

Professions with the worst driving track records revealed

What does your job say about you? That you're successful? Highly motivated? Eager to climb the business ladder? How about a bad driver? One insurer has ranked job titles by the number of accident claims issued so far in 2017 and compared the standings to the same analysis from last year.

Motorists will still be offered a discounted early payment fine within the first 14 days of receiving the Penalty Charge Notice (PCN), but that will also increase from £65 to £80 under the new rules.

Triumph, whose customers are typically men aged 40, said demand for modern classics had increased 300 per cent over five years while its supersport category had declined.

Kahn Design's six-wheeled Flying Huntsman convertible 

It's the latest creation by London-based Land Rover and Range Rover customiser Kahn Designs and it laughs in the face of ice, snow and just about everything you'd encounter on and off road. Called the Flying Huntsman 110 6x6 Double Cab Pickup Soft-Top, it takes an iconic Land Rover Defender, adds two more wheels and a folding fabric roof to create a go-anywhere offroader with six wheels and a six-figure asking price.

David West and his wife Margaret, from Kinross, near Edinburgh, were thinking of downsizing and have swapped houses with a young family who were looking for a bigger home.

TONY HETHERINGTON: Paragon... the Netflix of watches?

I was cold-called in August by Incrementum Funding and told shares in Paragon Time Trading would be an excellent investment. I was dubious, but after a number of calls I was persuaded to invest £6,000.

Nuvo provides easy and free access to a large number of mortgage products and advice. We caught up with the firm's founders Richard Hayes and Nick Sherratt to find out more.

"No smoking" sign on a wall --- Image by © Christopher Stevenson/Corbis

We pick our five favourite cash Isas for savers. This is essential Isa reading and is kept up-to-date throughout the year

Classic toys that can be worth a fortune

The most famous slot car racing brand is British company Scalextric which is celebrating its 60th anniversary after being unveiled at the Harrogate Toy Fair in 1957. Its earliest cars were sturdy tin-plated vehicles that raced around rubber tracks and were powered by batteries hidden in a cardboard hut. Slot car racing fan Mike Harvey (pictured) has built his own 97ft racetrack

Sometimes, especially when Christmas and New Year approach, it is good to be reminded of the great campaigning work our money section does to safeguard the finances of readers.

World's largest cruise ship operator sees revenue soar

US-listed Carnival, which owns the Queen Mary 2 and Queen Elizabeth cruise ships through its Cunard line, Carnival posted an £820m increase in revenues to £13bn.

The 53-year-old has run Single Strategy for the banking group since 2015, and has teamed up with other senior workers and private equity firm TA Associates to take it over in a £600m deal.

Steinhoff has lost two chief executives this month amid a fraud scandal which has seen shares crash more than 87 per cent, wiping £7.5bn off its value.

Members of the British Steel Pension Scheme are choosing whether to stay with it as it joins the Pension Protection Fund, join a new scheme set up by Tata Steel, or transfer to a personal plan.

The Anglo-Australian firm disagrees with the World Coal Association’s support for cleaner coal technologies over renewables. BHP makes about 20 per cent of its £28bn revenue from coal.

GoCompare buys MyVoucherCodes in £36.5m deal

Price comparison website group GoCompare is buying the parent company of discount site MyVoucherCodes in a £36.5million deal. GoCompare said that the tie-up would boost its mission to 'help people everywhere save time and money', while upping its cross-selling opportunities. MyVoucherCodes is one of the country's biggest online voucher code websites with eight million e-mail subscribers and around 45 million visits a year.

The online crypto-currency hit a high of $19,757 before dropping by more than $1,000 yesterday. France has called for the G20 group to discuss bitcoin regulation at next year’s summit.

The lender sparked anger in January with a proposal to shut 79 outlets and sack 400 staff. Duffy pocketed a £1m salary, £56,000 in benefits £180,000 towards his pension and a bonus of £820,000.

Voting against motions on fat-cat pay packets and the re-election of directors, around one in five or 22 per cent of FTSE All-Share firms withdrew unpopular motions or suffered a shareholder rebellion.

Christmas presents: A spa day is better value and more fun

For anyone who wants to give family and friends a British experience that represents value for money, we have come up with some alternative present ideas. Gift days out, experiences and memberships, with the added bonus they are easy to wrap (in an envelope) and can be sent in the post for the price of a first-class stamp.

Only transactions made directly with a supplier are routinely covered. Resolver's Martyn James (pictured) says you should always appeal a decision not to refund.

My fears over Brexit, by Dragons’ Den judge Deborah

Meaden told of a board meeting at one of her businesses, Somerset-based cloth merchant Fox Brothers, which has held back on a plan to expand into a new factory. 'I found myself saying, and I hated myself for it: "Oh, there might be too many uncertainties at the moment."' She said of Brexit: 'It's been going on a little bit too long...I'd like to know what we're dealing with now. The complications trading outside of the EU are vast, and they're ever-moving parts.'

The cost of having a canine companion should not be underestimated. Kate Shaw (pictured) bought the best pet insurance she could afford for her dachshund.

The Government has been accused of dragging its heels over plans to encourage more people to save for retirement through a works pension.

100-year-old trusts that still make top returns

With Christmas fast-approaching, shoppers are rushing out to buy the latest gizmos and gadgets, but when it comes to investing it could be the oldest products that are the best. Investment trusts that are 100 years old or more are producing bumper returns for investors who have realised the value of these golden oldies.

When the final dividend for the financial year just ended is paid, the trust will have raised its total regular dividends for the year by 48 per cent to 20p per share. The share price is currently 860½p.

Biffa picks up refuse from 2.4million households and 72,000 businesses. Biffa shares are 244½p and should increase over the next few years.

We round up the Sunday newspaper share tips. This week, Midas analyses Biffa, the Times looks at Carpetright, and the Telegraph assesses WH Smith.

Midas recommended the shares in August 2013 at 144½p. Today they are 386½p, and many City brokers expect the price to rise further in the next 12 months.

Halifax reveals the top 50 best places in Britain

The district of Hart, which includes the town of Fleet, is named the best place to live after scoring highly on factors including health and life expectancy, earnings crime rates and weather. Southern England dominates the annual top 50 list published by Halifax, securing 35 of the 50 places - with 17 in the South East, nine in the East of England, five in the South West and four in London.

It's time for the annual This is Money Christmas taste test - and our look at how the supermarket business is faring. Listen to that and the important money news of the week in the podcast.

He may have a lightning-fast punch, but world heavy- weight champion Anthony Joshua had some help from Jaguar's new elect-ric I-Pace when he lit up Christmas for some special children.

Do I qualify as first-time buyer for stamp duty purposes?

I am buying a home with my boyfriend and I was delighted when the Budget revealed a stamp duty cut for first-time buyers up to £300k - but I am unsure if I qualify for it. This is because I owned, briefly, seven years ago - although I made a loss when I sold up. My partner has never owned a home.

Here, in the spirit of Christmas, is our version tailored to house-hunters, home-decorators and other followers of property trends

Most viewed properties for sale in Britain in 2017

The most viewed properties for sale this year range from a five-bed former church in West Yorkshire for £150k to a 10-bed house in London for almost £30million. They include an eight-bedroom detached house in London's fashionable Primrose Hill (pictured top centre) which boasts a wine cellar and bar, an emerald green cinema room and a dedicated massage room.

Wheeler Dealer's Brewer and Anstead top classic car tips

If you're fortunate enough to own a rare Ferrari, a limited edition Lamborghini or an Aston Martin used in a Bond film you're guaranteed to be quids in. But what about the unlikely treasure troves? The Wheeler Dealer hosts - Ant Anstead (left) and Mike Brewer (right) - tell us what to look out for ahead of their new series premiering on UK TV on New Year's Day. Cars clockwise from top right: Ford Sierra RS Cosworth, Series 1 Land Rover, Peugeot 205 GTI, Audi Quattro.

Millions of Britons suffer 'mid-life savings crisis'

Nearly a fifth of workers in their 50s and 60s are going through a 'mid-life savings crisis' in the run up to their retirement. Eighteen per cent of workers in this age group are unable to save anything for their retirement, as the cost of living continues to rise and wage growth stumbles. While some can't save anything at all for their older years, 64 per cent of people in their 50s are not seeing their pension savings rise during these crucial years.

Five-year buy-to-let mortgage rates available today are among the cheapest ever seen, so why aren't more landlords locking in for longer? Our expert gives landlords the lowdown.

The easy route to passive investing and some funds to pick

A lot has been written about passive investing, its simplicity and its merits but just how simple can you make it? The problem is that while it likes to promote its simplicity, passive investing can be confusing and acronym heavy. It's no wonder people prefer active funds that describe better what they do.

Carphone Warehouse, which is owned by the group, has over 700 shops on the UK high street and is considered to be Britain's biggest mobile phone retailer.

All nine Bank of England policymakers voted to leave interest rates unchanged today as they said inflation should start easing back next year.

Will my sister who cared for our dad be made homeless?

My mum sadly passed away last December and my dad now needs to go into a residential care home. My dad has no savings but owns his own house. Will we have to sell the house to pay for his care or does my sister have any rights as she will be homeless if we would have to sell?

Soaring sales of motor vehicles drove the British manufacturing sector in 2016 as sales of UK products rose 1.8 per cent, official data revealed today.

Lloyds bought the tainted lender in a 2008 mega-deal but HBOS was so toxic it almost destroyed both banks, which forced the Government to step in with a £20.5bn bailout.

Will paying extra 1% into pension improve my retirement?

Would it actually make any difference to my retirement if I upped my pension contributions now? William Burrows of Better Retirement Group, pictured, explains how much you can expect to have in your pension pot at retirement based on different ages and contributions.

50 ways to save money....

To clear the average national household debt of £13,000 at 6% interest with a monthly repayment of £100 will take around 17 years. There are, however, plenty of simple ways to make significant savings on your regular spending that could clear your debt - or boost your savings - in less than a year. This is Money's top 50 - updated - money-saving tips may appear light-hearted but are deadly serious.

Pick the best (and cheapest) investment Isa platform

Choosing the right DIY platform is crucial but a wealth of choice and changes to charges have left many investors scratching their heads. We pick some of the best. We also highlight why investing in an Isa makes sense, as it should protect your hopefully growing investments from tax forever.

We asked trusted experts to recommend the best funds that cover different investment sectors - and included This is Money's selection of active and passive options too.

Rightly or wrongly, some people simply want a quick, straightforward route map to investing in an Isa. To that end, this is our distilled guide to getting started.

How much money do I need to save for my pension?

The amount you can save into a pension ultimately depends on what you can afford - but the longer you leave it the more you will need to save. We tend to put ambitious targets on our hoped-for income in retirement and then underestimate how much we will need to set aside to achieve that. So how much should you save?

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Making the most of a pension is your best chance of securing a decent income when you retire. We explain what you need to know.

Even at a time when we are stretching our finances further to afford a home, moving less, and pushing mortgages beyond 30 years, we still remain captivated by two-year fixed rate deals.

When will UK interest rates rise?

The Bank of England has raised the base rate back to 0.5 per cent. The move up from 0.25 per cent is accompanied by an Inflation Report, which will outline where the bank sees things moving next. Expectations are that rates will not move up swiftly after this first rise, This is Money will bring you the details of the Inflation report and analysis imminently.

What next for mortgage rates?

Borrowers are being offered a raft of cheap fixed rate mortgages as lenders attempt to lure them into remortgaging or buying a home. But HSBC has decided to buck the trend and launch a new rate mortgage that is a tracker instead. We pick out the best fixed and tracker rate mortgages and look at what next for rates.

Ten tips for buy-to-let

For many buy-to-let looks an attractive income investment in a time of low rates and stock market volatility. Climbing house prices, rising rents and improving mortgage deals are tempting investors - although they will need a big deposit. Read This is Money's top ten buy-to-let tips

Best paid jobs and biggest pay rises of 2016 revealed

Compare your pay to the national average and see whether your employer treated you to a pay rise in line with the the rest of your profession. Farmers, care and air travel assistants were big winners on the pay scales in 2016. Travel agents, careers advisers and probation officers lost out.

Premium Bonds winners

December 2017
Prize value Winning bond No. Area
£1,000,000 60PV693631 Cornwall
£1,000,000 273WE102226 Kent
£100,000 35RR629565 West Sussex
£100,000 299ET677431 Cumbria
£100,000 251QM976219 Avon
£100,000 155MW909384 North East Scotland
£50,000 80JH932161 London
£50,000 72CY368436 Oxfordshire
£50,000 303YS939445 Essex
£50,000 270VD138656 Buckinghamshire
£50,000 250PF153091 London
More Premium Bonds winners
   

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