William | Pension Transfers, Financial Advice Scotland

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William George has been a Financial Advisor since 1993. From Dunfermline, Fife in Scotland, he services clients across UK, as well as expats from as far afield as New Zealand. He also has appeared on BBC Radio Scotland discussing investing and specialises in helping people with Retirement Planning and Pension Advice.
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Announcing “On the Money” Financial Column Dunfermline Press

Hi everyone,

Just a quick post today to give you the heads up on a new project I am involved in.

I have long been a fan of the Dunfermline Press and the sterling work that regional editor Simon Harris and his team produce to keep the residents of the Kingdom of Fife up to speed with what’s happening in and around our great part of the world.

Now Simon has graciously invited me to do a weekly financial advice column called “On The Money” for the print Newspaper as well as the online version at their website.

It’s a real honour for me, and certainly quite humbling. I am also glad of the opportunity to serve the good people of Fife with clear, easy to understand retirement, mortgage and investment advice in any way I am able.

Please do have a quick look over at Dunfermline Press if you wish, or send me questions or topics that you would like me to cover for future editions. When you send your request in, do also mark whether you would like me to mention you by name in my piece. If you do, I will certainly be sure to include you in my article, so ask away, you may well find yourself in the paper!

Together, let’s help put Dunfermline and Fife even more on the map, and see if we can’t sort our regions finances out too.

There’s another thing to be said for us Fifers too… a great sense of humour (even in public health information from the Scottish Government – just watch this video and have a chuckle! NOTE: Watch until the 1:02 minute spot!)

And here’s my latest article up on the Dunfermline Press site too about help to buy mortgages

Help to Buy Mortgages

See you next time!

Help to Buy: Mortgage Guarantee Scheme and Equity Loan Advice

Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage. There may be a mortgage arrangement fee.

This is a new initiative provided by the Government to help first time buyers or current home owners who wish to buy property but have limited funds.

There are two choices…

1. Equity Loan Scheme:

This is only available in England. It allows you to borrow up to a fifth of the value of a NEW BUILD property directly from the Government with the property valued at up to £600,000. There is a similar scheme in Scotland, though property value cannot exceed £400,000.

Note: The government DOES NOT charge interest on the money lent for the first five years via the Equity Loan Scheme which is helpful.

2. Mortgage Guarantee Scheme:

This is available across all UK; England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales and can be used for NEW BUILD or PRE-OWNED PROPERTY.

If you can only save a small deposit, the government will provide the rest, guaranteeing payments for part of the mortgage if you lose your job or become ill, and are therefore unable to work and make your own payments.

Note: The government DOES charge interest on the money lent for whole duration of the loan made under the Mortgage Guarantee Scheme.

IMPORTANT: If you wish to take advantage of this government backed help to buy a house or flat, then it’s best to make enquiries as soon as possible because the Equity Loan Scheme closes in April 2016 while the Mortgage Guarantee Scheme closes in October 2016.

Note: For both schemes you must prove you can afford mortgage payments and meet your specific lenders conditions which vary according to whether you apply to get a mortgage from a bank, building society or a special mortgage lender.

Both ‘Help to Buy’ schemes are NOT available for those who wish to purchase property in order to let it out to those wishing to rent property (ie Buy to Let).

You CANNOT use ‘Help to Buy’ for a second home.

If you have questions concerning help to buy for your mortgage, please do give me a call. I will be happy to help. It’s free from a landline on 0800 321 3508 or call my mobile on 0757 679 1009.

Alternately fill out the form below…

The Horror of Losing Everything When You Retire Like Liz

Hi everyone,

Sober reading today…

There are some real horror stories of people who have unwittingly lost money when buying annuities, but in some cases some have even lost the WHOLE annuity and pension pot they thought they had entitlement to in the first place.

Don’t think it can happen to you?

Think again.

With increasing numbers of people turning to choose “self-select” pension products and annuities for themselves online, it’s not so much a case of mis selling, it’s more like honourable misadventure instead.

However the consequences of not checking the fine print when you buy an annuity can be very severe indeed as in the case of widow Liz Beattie which was recently reported in the Mail on Sunday. This lady lost £260,000 of her husband’s remaining pension pot (the entire amount of the pension left… every last penny).

Aviva sold Keith Beattie the annuity and then he died within 20 months of taking it out. However, because he did not take out a joint-life policy, once he died, Aviva kept the rest of the pension (£260,000) for themselves.

The Main Benefit of Investment Linked Annuities

Today I thought I’d write about investment linked annuities which are becoming more popular now because level (standard) annuity rates are so low due to Government gilt performance, and inflation threatens to substantially weaken the spending power of future annuity incomes.

Traditionally, most advisers suggest to clients a choice between income drawdown or a fixed rate annuity. However, both choices have issues that can’t be brushed over in the current uncertain economic climate.

Is Investing In Gold Via SIPP or SSAS For Your Pension Wise Now?

There’s gold in them there hills… or is there?

Many of today’s retirees remember what happened with gold back in the 1970′s when it took off on a long bull run. For those looking at investing today it’s worth reviewing what happened back then.

Why?

Because in case you have not noticed, there has been a big kerfuffle in gold investing lately with a long bull market suddenly reversing almost overnight.

SIPP Warning: New Rules Could Close Providers – What To Do As Investors

Consumer alert today folks!

A recent report from the Association of Professional Financial Advisors (APFA) has sent strong shock waves rippling through the investment industry. Additionally some even fear that up to 80% of SIPP Providers may go out of business because of the FSA’s recent proposal to force providers to make sure they have enough capital reserves to back funds, in order to reduce risk for consumers.

However, due to these new SIPP rules, 10% of market advisers have now left the industry! Major banking institutions have made advisors redundant as a result, and fears there will be a deep contraction in SIPP providers, could very well materialise before the year is out.

So what does this mean? Will Pension charges increase?

Yes, it is very likely this will result in higher charges for those who choose to directly control pension investments via their own Self Invested Personal Pension.

Forcing SIPP providers to increase capital so that reserves reach the FSA’s proposed ten-fold level, could be the final straw that causes some to shut down their operations entirely.