James Heppe-Smith
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Your 2027 Social Security check could be 4% bigger. Your 2032 check might be 24% smaller. Both are true.
Read more: Your 2027 Social Security check could be 4% bigger. Your 2032 check might be 24% smaller. Both are true.Your 2027 Social Security cost-of-living adjustment could be approximately 4%. Your 2032 Social Security check might be approximately 24% smaller if the Trust Fund depletes without congressional action. Both projections are real. We set out the data, the OBBBA acceleration, and the planning posture across three reader age cohorts.
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Enhancing Financial Services Bill: what the 2026 King’s Speech actually changes for consumers
Read more: Enhancing Financial Services Bill: what the 2026 King’s Speech actually changes for consumersThe Enhancing Financial Services Bill at the 13 May 2026 King’s Speech bundles five strands: PSR absorbed into the FCA, FOS reform (a new ‘rule-compliant equals fair’ test and a 10-year absolute time limit), SMCR Phase 2, an updated ring-fencing regime and credit union expansion. Plus an FCA Regulatory Initiatives Grid sidebar and the parallel…
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The US crypto regulatory picture has changed faster than the UK’s: GENIUS Act, SAB 122, and what they mean for ETF holders and stablecoin users
Read more: The US crypto regulatory picture has changed faster than the UK’s: GENIUS Act, SAB 122, and what they mean for ETF holders and stablecoin usersThe GENIUS Act (July 2025), SAB 122 (January 2025) and the SEC-CFTC MOU (March 2026) have reset US crypto regulation faster than the UK’s parallel CP26/13 framework. We unpack what each does, where USDC, USDT and PYUSD landed, and what the changes mean for Bitcoin ETF holders and stablecoin users in 2026.
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How to Spot a Financial Promotion That Breaks FCA Rules: What the 2026 Finfluencer Crackdown Tells Us
Read more: How to Spot a Financial Promotion That Breaks FCA Rules: What the 2026 Finfluencer Crackdown Tells UsThe FCA arrested three individuals in April 2026 as part of a wider push against unlawful financial promotions on social media. What counts as a financial promotion in law, the seven warning signs to watch for, and how to verify someone’s FCA authorisation before engaging.
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Is Your Money Safe with a Payments App or E-Wallet? The New FCA Safeguarding Rules in Force from 7 May 2026
Read more: Is Your Money Safe with a Payments App or E-Wallet? The New FCA Safeguarding Rules in Force from 7 May 2026FCA Policy Statement PS25/12 came into force on 7 May 2026, strengthening the safeguarding regime for around 250 payment and e-money firms covering £27 billion of consumer funds. Daily reconciliations, monthly returns, annual audits, and resolution packs. What the rules do, and how protection compares with a bank deposit.
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UK is tightening BNPL rules in July; the US just retreated: a tale of two regulatory directions
Read more: UK is tightening BNPL rules in July; the US just retreated: a tale of two regulatory directionsThe UK is bringing buy now pay later into regulated credit on 15 July 2026 with FOS rights, affordability checks and Section 75-equivalent protections. The US went the other way, with the CFPB withdrawing its BNPL Interpretive Rule in May 2025 and state-level patching now filling the federal vacuum. We map the divergence.
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FCA Targeted Support 2026: Your Pension Platform Can Now Nudge You — What That Means
Read more: FCA Targeted Support 2026: Your Pension Platform Can Now Nudge You — What That MeansThe FCA’s new targeted support regime is live from 6 April 2026. What it lets pension platforms do, what it doesn’t replace, and how to use it as a UK saver.
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Americans are also losing the retirement-savings argument: what the 2026 EBRI Retirement Confidence Survey says
Read more: Americans are also losing the retirement-savings argument: what the 2026 EBRI Retirement Confidence Survey saysEBRI’s 2026 Retirement Confidence Survey found 64% of Americans confident about retirement, the lowest reading since 2017. Workers expect to retire at 70 at four times the rate retirees actually do. We unpack the data, the Fidelity overlay showing that plan ownership more than doubles confidence, and the practical response.
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How Lenders Advertise the Cost of Credit Is About to Change: What the FCA’s CP26/15 and APR Discussion Paper Mean for Borrowers
Read more: How Lenders Advertise the Cost of Credit Is About to Change: What the FCA’s CP26/15 and APR Discussion Paper Mean for BorrowersThe FCA is rewriting the rulebook for how lenders advertise consumer credit. CP26/15 proposes to scrap a thicket of prescriptive rules and replace them with outcomes-based Consumer Duty compliance, and the companion Discussion Paper asks whether Representative APR is still doing its job. What could change for borrowers, and what stays the same in the…
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Best Cash ISA Rates in May 2026: a Companion to the £12,000 Under-65 Cap Guide
Read more: Best Cash ISA Rates in May 2026: a Companion to the £12,000 Under-65 Cap GuideShort companion piece to the £12,000 Cash ISA cap guide. The best-buy easy-access and fixed-rate Cash ISA rates as of mid-May 2026, with notes on the new NS&I British Savings Bonds, FSCS protection, and how to use the full £20,000 allowance this tax year before the under-65 cap arrives in April 2027.
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