Russell Hunter - Financial Advisor

07/03/2026

27/11/2025

A quick update from yesterday's budget! If anyone wants to know more, just get in touch!

Income tax
Frozen income tax thresholds
As predicted, the Chancellor backtracked on her promise to increase thresholds by extending the freeze by a further 3 years, to the end of the tax year 2030/31. The income tax Personal Allowance will stay at £12,570, higher rate threshold at £50,270 and additional rate threshold at £125,140.

This freezing tactic, known as fiscal drag, will bring in over £23 billion over the 3-year period.

In addition to fiscal drag, there was more bad news for savers and landlords with new higher rates being introduced from 6 April 2026 and 2027:

Dividend taxation
Tax on dividend income will increase by 2 percentage points. The ordinary rate will rise from 8.75% to 10.75%, and the upper rate from 33.75% to 35.75% from April 2026. The additional rate will remain unchanged at 39.35%.

The dividend tax credit for non-UK residents with UK income will also be abolished, aligning their treatment with UK residents. This will also take effect from 6 April 2026.

Savings income
Tax on savings income will increase by 2 percentage points across all bands. The basic rate will rise from 20% to 22%, the higher rate from 40% to 42%, and the additional rate from 45% to 47% from 6 April 2027.

The Starting Rate for Savings will be retained at £5,000 until 5 April 2031.

We do not believe that there will be any change to the policyholder rate for life assurers and the basic rate tax credit on chargeable event gains, but are seeking clarity on this point.

Property income
Property income will also have its own individual tax rate. From 6 April 2027, the property basic rate will be 22%, the higher rate will be 42% and the additional rate will be 47%. Finance cost relief will be provided at 22% (currently 20%).

The governments of Scotland and Wales will be engaged to provide them with the ability to set property income rates in line with their current income tax powers.

Order of income
Current rules allow for income tax allowances to be used in the most beneficial way. This would allow taxpayers to shield some of the income types above in preference to earned or pension income. The income tax ordering rules will be changed from 6 April 2027 so that the Personal Allowance will be deducted against employment, trading or pension income first.

Income tax relief on VCT investments
From 6 April 2026 the VCT income tax relief will decrease to 20%, down from 30% currently.

National Insurance (NI)
There were no headline rate changes to NI, however, thresholds will remain frozen in line with income tax until 2030/31.

The per-employee threshold at which employers become liable to pay NI (the Secondary Threshold) will also be maintained at £5,000 until 2030/31.

From the 2026/27 tax year, new restrictions will apply to individuals who have spent time abroad. You will no longer be able to make Class 2 voluntary contributions; instead, you may only use Class 3 contributions to fill gaps in your National Insurance record caused by periods abroad. To qualify for paying Class 3, you must have either lived in the UK for 10 consecutive years or paid National Insurance contributions in the UK for at least 10 years.

Capital Gains Tax (CGT)
Annual Exempt Allowance & CGT Rates
There were no changes to the AEA or CGT rates.

CGT uplift on death
After lots of speculation that this generous relief would be removed, no changes were announced.

Employee Ownership Trusts
The CGT relief available on qualifying disposals to Employee Ownership Trusts will reduce from 100% of the gain to 50% from 26 November 2025.

Inheritance Tax (IHT)
Nil-Rate Band & Residence Nil-Rate Band Frozen until 5 April 2031
The nil-rate band (£325,000) and Residence Nil-Rate Band (£175,000) thresholds were frozen until 5 April 2030. This has been extended by a year to include the 2030-31 tax year. The Residence Nil-Rate Band taper amount will also remain at the current level of £2 million. This measure will be effective from 6 April 2030 (as they were already frozen until this date anyway).

No changes to gifting exemptions
There were no changes to the IHT gifting exemptions, which will remain as now.

Individual Savings Account (ISA)
From 6 April 2027, the annual cash ISA limit will be set at £12,000, within the overall annual ISA limit of £20,000. Annual subscription limits will remain at £20,000 for ISAs, £4,000 for Lifetime ISAs and £9,000 for Junior ISAs and Child Trust Funds until 5 April 2031. Savers 65 and over will continue to be able to save up to £20,000 in a cash ISA each year.

The speculation regarding a mandated investment level into UK equities did not materialise, although it was announced that some financial services firms have committed to providing new, easily navigable ways for clients to find the right UK investment for them.

Lifetime ISA (LISA) reform
The government will publish a consultation in early 2026 on the implementation of a new, simpler ISA product to support first time buyers in purchasing a home. Once available, this new product will be offered in place of the LISA.

Pensions
Pensions were relatively lightly impacted in this year’s Budget. There will be no changes to the main pension tax allowances, which will continue at their current levels for the 2026/27 tax year.

This means the Lump Sum Allowance, Lump Sum and Death Benefit Allowance, Overseas Transfer Allowance and Annual Allowance all remain unchanged, providing some continuity for retirement planning. This includes those elements within the Tapered Annual Allowance. So threshold income continues at £200,000 and adjusted income stays at £260,000.

The headline measure for pensions relates to salary sacrifice.
NICs on salary sacrificed pension contributions
Salary sacrifice into pension schemes is forecast to almost treble in cost, from £2.8 billion in 2016-17 to £8 billion by 2030-31. As a result, the government has sought to limit its cost.

From April 2029, the amount of pension contributions that can be made via salary sacrifice and benefits from employee and employer NICs relief will be capped at £2,000 per year. Contributions above the £2,000 cap will be subject to NICs in the usual way.

One crumb of comfort is the confirmation that normal employer contributions to pensions (i.e. not funded via salary sacrifice) will continue to be fully exempt from NICs, and income tax relief on pension contributions will remain unchanged.

IHT on unused Pension
As announced previously in the 2024 Budget, the government committed to include most defined contribution pension death benefits in scope of the IHT regime.

Today’s Budget confirms an additional feature of the process for IHT to help support personal representatives to effectively administer estates containing pensions.

If personal representatives expect IHT to be due, they can direct pension scheme administrators to withhold 50% of the taxable death benefits for up to 15 months from the date of death.

Personal representatives can then direct the pension scheme to pay the IHT due to HMRC before releasing the rest of those benefits to pension beneficiaries. If the instruction is withdrawn or the period ends, the remaining funds can be paid out.

This will not apply to:

exempt benefits e.g. those paid to a spouse or civil partner,
funds under £1,000, or
continuing annuities

Salary Sacrifice and High-Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC)/Tax Free Childcare
Employees who choose to sacrifice salary to receive Tax Free Childcare or Child Benefit can keep doing so and are not affected by the budget. Salary sacrifice can continue to be used to reduce income to negate the effects of the HICBC and loss of tax-free childcare.

Removal of the two-child benefit cap
Child benefit is a separate benefit from the child element paid as part of the Universal Credit benefit. From 6 April 2026 the two-child cap that applies to the child element of Universal Credit will be removed.

Corporation tax
No changes to the rates of Corporation Tax.

05/10/2023

Average mortgage rates have fallen for the tenth consecutive week, with rates at lower LTVs now cheaper than they were twelve months ago, according to the latest Rightmove figures.

At 60% LTV, two and five-year rates are both lower than they were a year ago. The average two-year fix is now 5.61%, down from 5.71% in October last year, while the average five-year fix is down from 5.24% last year to 5.07%.

In addition, the average 75% LTV five-year fix is 1bps lower than last year at 5.31%.

Across all LTVs, the average two-year fixed rate mortgage is 6.01%, up from 5.70% a year ago, while the average five-year fix remains 18bps higher than last year at 5.50%.

The average monthly mortgage payment on a typical first-time buyer type property when taking out an average five-year fix at 85% LTV is now £1,185 per month, up from £1,123 per month a year ago.

Rightmove’s mortgage expert, Matt Smith, commented: “It’s now the tenth week that average rates of dropped, as the slow but steady downward trend of fixed mortgage rates continues. As more lenders begin to offer sub-5% rates, this is likely to demonstrate increasing confidence that swap rates, the underlying costs of fixed rate mortgages, will remain stable for lenders, meaning there may be more room for rates to fall, particularly for those with a smaller deposit.

“We’re starting to see more attractive rates in some LTV brackets than a year ago as we begin to compare rates with the post mini-Budget period, though this doesn’t take away the fact that mortgage costs are still much higher than most have been used to. Whilst there have been twists and turns, home buyers are coming to terms that rates won't be returning to the previous ultra-low levels any time soon. However, this continued stability can at least give the many people still looking to move more certainty about what they can afford, and the type of mortgage offer they might expect.”

18/09/2023

A good piece from Wesleyan on the world markets

Inflation in the UK has fallen by less than expected, so what does this mean for interest rates? Read more in our latest market update.

06/06/2023

My Suzie does short videos and edit’s them for parties, business’s etc if anyone is thinking of doing one give her a shout she has just set up on her own

https://suzhunter4.wixsite.com/suziehunterr/contact?fbclid=IwAR0_JU8-19GREgkzZcboHbu39Sngn_CUs9TIKrgGkX35gl-1bjPmeRmYDgs_aem_th_ARr8ze76kCVJhINhL_uD371z4AqrBLn2ICuzsz-NeZFArhIsYW2MTQXhfKEhhRpPtiI

24/03/2023

Best of luck to Owen Watson and Gwyn Edwards at the Under 21 Scottish Curling Junior Mixed Doubles Championships this weekend!

14/03/2023

Doing a bit of sponsoring,here Owen Watson is wearing a top for Curling! Also Owen was part of Elgin Academy team that were runners up in the Scottish Schools Curling at weekend so well done to them!

08/02/2023

SMF monthly update
06 Feb 2023

Welcome to your monthly update from the Aviva Investors' Multi Assets Team.

January’s top 3 investment trends

1. Strong start to the year for equities and bonds

Markets had a very strong start in January with all the major equity and bond markets delivering a positive return. In fact, it was the strongest start to the year since 2019.

2. Inflation peaking

Positive news on inflation helped drive markets year to date, with the most important component being the fall in energy prices. In Europe natural gas futures declined 24.8% in January, taking them to their lowest levels since September 2021. Inflation measures excluding energy also fell with Core inflation in the US falling to 4.4% in December; down from a peak of 5.4% in 2022.

3. China reopening

The other big news story which pushed markets forwarded was the reopening of China’s economy, following the turnaround of the zero-Covid policy. Easing restrictions has meant the outlook for the world’s second largest economy has improved, helping global equities to rally.

Intergenerational definitions
How did the underlying assets perform?

Growth assets

Our overweight to equities versus defensive assets will have added to active returns. In essence, global equities performed well across the board, with Asia pacific and Emerging markets leading the way. Higher yielding fixed income also added to returns.

Defensive assets

Global government and investment grade bonds were also positive this month, on the back of signs that inflation has peaked.

Uncorrelated

Uncorrelated assets also added value, with both AIMS target return (absolute return strategy) and physical property performing positively.

Key active management decisions in January

Added exposure to Japanese Yen (vs the US dollar) to capture any further momentum in the Bank of Japan, who could potentially increase interest rates.

Market outlook: what do we believe happens next?

We expect core inflation will remain above the central bank targets of 2 per cent throughout 2023.
Central banks primary focus will continue to be bringing inflation down to target over a horizon that doesn’t create too much economic pain.
In our central projection, we expect the Federal Reserve, ECB and Bank of England to reach the peak of the tightening cycle by the end of 2023 Q2, with rates of around 5 per cent, 3 per cent and 4 per cent, respectively.
Our core scenario is that most developed economies will fall into a relatively mild recession, with the United Kingdom and Eurozone at the forefront, followed by the US later on in 2023.
Important Information

Aviva Investors manage the Smooth Managed Funds on behalf of Aviva Life & Pensions Ltd. The opinions expressed are based on Aviva Investors Global Services Limited (Aviva Investors) internal forecasts and should not be relied upon as indicating any guarantee of return. The value of an investment in these funds and any income from them can go down as well as up. Investors may not get back the original amount invested.

14/12/2022

An interesting look at what new businesses are opening on the High Street compared to what is closing!

09/12/2022

Buy-to-let mortgage payments increase by up to 286%

Buy-to-let landlords are facing a tougher time securing finance due to a significant reduction in product choice and rising mortgage rates, according to new research from Octane Capital.

Octane Capital’s analysis shows that the number of buy-to-let mortgage products on offer has fallen by 51.1% in the past year, down from 3,264 in November 2021, to 1,595 in November 2022.

Adding to the trouble is the fact that the average rate being offered on all buy-to-let products has increased by 2.1% in the past year to currently sit at an average of 3.09%.

As a result, the average monthly repayment for landlords has climbed from £656 to £917; an increase of 39.7%.

With interest-only mortgages, the average monthly payment has increased by a remarkable 242.8% to a high of £493 per month.

Looking specifically at five-year fixed mortgages, rates have climbed from 1.39% to 4.89%. This means the average monthly full payment has increased by 60.9% while interest-only payments are up 286.4%.

CEO of Octane Capital, Jonathan Samuels, commented: “The reduction in product choice for buy-to-let mortgages has been influenced largely by a consistent string of Bank of England interest rate hikes which has led to many lenders pulling their buy-to-let range.

"However, with stability gradually returning to the market, we fully expect 2023 to bring with it a far more settled market for landlords and buy-to-let investors.

"At Octane Capital, we have already set plans into motion with a view of increasing our buy-to-let offering in the new year and as a greater level of choice returns, the nation’s landlords will be able to better negotiate the landscape when borrowing.”

02/12/2022

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has issued a warning for customers against using Great Western Bank to obtain life insurance.
The regulator warned customers that the company is currently operating without authorisation and as such poses a risk to consumers it may target.

The firm also operates under the trading style International Trust Union Bank, which has a duplicated website. It lists contact addresses in London and Burnley on both sites.

When accessing the website, Great Western Bank portrays itself as a financial service offering life insurance alongside other general and home insurance cover, and banking and savings accounts.

The FCA warned: "We believe this firm may be providing financial services or products in the UK without our authorisation. Almost all firms and individuals offering, promoting or selling financial services or products in the UK have to be authorised or registered by us.

"This firm is not authorised by us and is targeting people in the UK. You will not have access to the Financial Ombudsman Service or be protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), so you are unlikely to get your money back if things go wrong."

The regulator added that dealing with financial firms that are authorised or registered "by us gives you greater protection if things go wrong. If you used an authorised firm or registered firm, access to the Financial Ombudsman Service and FSCS protection will depend on the investment you are making, the service the firm is providing, and the permissions the firm has."