James Heppe-Smith
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The FCA wants your home to be a fourth pillar of retirement. What later life lending means before you borrow against it
Read more: The FCA wants your home to be a fourth pillar of retirement. What later life lending means before you borrow against itThe FCA says housing wealth should sit alongside the State Pension and workplace and personal pensions as a fourth source of retirement income, and that the market is not ready. What later life lending is, what it costs, what is changing and what to check first.
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SAVE plan deadline: why September 29 is only the first date, plus the autopay rate cut
Read more: SAVE plan deadline: why September 29 is only the first date, plus the autopay rate cutThe SAVE plan is over and about 7.5 million borrowers need a new repayment plan. September 29 was the first deadline, not everyone’s: yours is 90 days from your servicer’s notice. A separate autopay deadline, now December 31, carries a 1 point rate cut.
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Financial Ombudsman changes on 1 October 2026: new grounds to dismiss your complaint
Read more: Financial Ombudsman changes on 1 October 2026: new grounds to dismiss your complaintFrom 1 October 2026 the Financial Ombudsman can dismiss a complaint unexamined on a longer list of grounds. What changes, what does not, and why the day you refer your complaint decides which rules apply.
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The State Pension overtakes the personal allowance in April 2027. The Pension Tax Allowance is how low-income pensioners avoid the tax.
Read more: The State Pension overtakes the personal allowance in April 2027. The Pension Tax Allowance is how low-income pensioners avoid the tax.From April 2027 the full new State Pension, £13,036.40 a year, passes the frozen £12,570 personal allowance for the first time. The Budget’s new Pension Tax Allowance removes the tax for pensioners whose total income is no higher, and it counts every source of income.
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The September 2026 mortgage repricing: every lender that has raised, and when
Read more: The September 2026 mortgage repricing: every lender that has raised, and whenSeven lenders raised fixed mortgage rates over the weekend of 4 and 7 September 2026, then ten more followed in the three working days after. A running record of who moved, when, and by how much.
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760,000 Unclaimed Child Trust Funds: How to Find Yours for Free
Read more: 760,000 Unclaimed Child Trust Funds: How to Find Yours for FreeThe FCA says 760,000 matured Child Trust Funds are sitting unclaimed. Finding yours is free, needs no account, and takes about ten minutes. This explains how the search works, what happens to money nobody claims, why there is no deadline, and what the tracing firms charging up to £400 are actually selling.
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Energy Price Cap October 2026: £1,723, Unit Rates and the January 2027 Forecast
Read more: Energy Price Cap October 2026: £1,723, Unit Rates and the January 2027 ForecastThe energy price cap rises to £1,723 from 1 October 2026. Here are the unit rates and standing charges behind it, why it went up, what the electricity VAT cut changes, and what Cornwall Insight and E.ON Next forecast for January 2027.
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UK inflation rose to 2.9% in July. The number the Bank of England watches went the other way.
Read more: UK inflation rose to 2.9% in July. The number the Bank of England watches went the other way.UK CPI rose to 2.9% in the 12 months to July 2026, but core inflation did not move and services inflation fell. The rise sits entirely in what core excludes, and the ONS attributes it to the energy price cap.
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What it actually costs to live in North Cyprus in 2026
Read more: What it actually costs to live in North Cyprus in 2026Northern Cyprus had two minimum wage rises in 2026, a 22% electricity increase, and annual inflation of 38.46%. But for anyone earning or receiving money in sterling, the biggest single change was none of those: it was the lira losing about 16% against the pound in twelve months. This is what the numbers actually are,…
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Buy Now Pay Later, one month on: what actually changed on 15 July
Read more: Buy Now Pay Later, one month on: what actually changed on 15 JulyBuy Now Pay Later came under FCA regulation on 15 July 2026. A month on, the picture is clearer than it was, and in three places it is different from what the pre-launch coverage suggested. Section 75 protection is confirmed rather than hedged. Ombudsman access depends on when you took the agreement out, not when…
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