CRISIS CREDIT SCORING

TODAY’S BLOG

CRISIS CREDIT SCORING

There is good news for those taking a payment holiday on their mortgages – yesterday (31 March 2020) the three main credit scoring companies (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion) have agreed to effectively freeze your credit score. This is good news for those that have decided to help personal cashflow by suspending payments to lenders and anticipating refinancing in the not too distant future.

[EXPERIAN ANNOUNCEMENT HERE].

That said you do need to make sure that whatever your situation now, that when “normality returns” that you have not bitten off rather more than you can manage normally. Most of us, perhaps all of us are likely to be required to adjust our lifestyle demands. We all know that at some point the Government (which really means the UK) needs repaying at some point, which really means higher or more (or both) taxes.

Dominic Thomas
Solomons IFA

You can read more articles about Pensions, Wealth Management, Retirement, Investments, Financial Planning and Estate Planning on my blog which gets updated every week. If you would like to talk to me about your personal wealth planning and how we can make you stay wealthier for longer then please get in touch by calling 08000 736 273 or email info@solomonsifa.co.uk

GET IN TOUCH

Solomon’s Independent Financial Advisers
The Old Bakery, 2D Edna Road, Raynes Park, London, SW20 8BT

Email – info@solomonsifa.co.uk
Call – 020 8542 8084

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Solomon’s Independent Financial Advisers
The Old Bakery, 2D Edna Road, Raynes Park, London, SW20 8BT

Email – info@solomonsifa.co.uk Call – 020 8542 8084

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CRISIS CREDIT SCORINGDominic2023-12-01T12:13:18+00:00

SOME DAYS… WARNING TO THOSE RETURNING TO THE NHS

TODAY’S BLOG

SOME DAYS – WARNING TO THOSE RETURNING TO THE NHS

There are days when my heart sinks, today was one of those days. I came across a warning from HMRC about a scam being directed at people returning to work in the NHS to help in the fight against COVID-19. It is always depressing when crooks and lowlifes take advantage of others, but particularly so when they take advantage of those that are trying to quite literally save lives.

I better not add any more as it certainly would not convey a professional image, let’s leave it at “it makes me very angry”. So if you are returning to work in the NHS or know someone that is, please warn them not to sign documents without reading them and to have a look at this notice on the Government website.

Long story short – this is about a tax avoidance scheme, which will not work and likely to financially harm those that participate in it.

The link to the Government notice and website is here.

Dominic Thomas
Solomons IFA

You can read more articles about Pensions, Wealth Management, Retirement, Investments, Financial Planning and Estate Planning on my blog which gets updated every week. If you would like to talk to me about your personal wealth planning and how we can make you stay wealthier for longer then please get in touch by calling 08000 736 273 or email info@solomonsifa.co.uk

GET IN TOUCH

Solomon’s Independent Financial Advisers
The Old Bakery, 2D Edna Road, Raynes Park, London, SW20 8BT

Email – info@solomonsifa.co.uk
Call – 020 8542 8084

7 QUESTIONS, NO WAFFLE

Are we a good fit for you?

Take Survey

PRIVACY POLICY | DATA PROTECTION

GET IN TOUCH

Solomon’s Independent Financial Advisers
The Old Bakery, 2D Edna Road, Raynes Park, London, SW20 8BT

Email – info@solomonsifa.co.uk Call – 020 8542 8084

7 QUESTIONS, NO WAFFLE

Are we a good fit for you?

Take Survey

PRIVACY POLICY | DATA PROTECTION

SOME DAYS… WARNING TO THOSE RETURNING TO THE NHSDominic2023-12-01T12:13:19+00:00

WARNING ABOUT EMAIL & WEB SCAMS

TODAY’S BLOG

WARNING ABOUT EMAIL AND WEB SCAMS

I asked Steve Hayward to put together a piece for me about being safe on your computer. Here are his thoughts and top 10 tips to keep you safe at a time when more of us are working from home and criminals are ever industrious. Steve…

Let’s be honest – internet security is dull topic. We seldom hear about cybercrime and data theft anymore, largely because people are more tech aware and we have relaxed our vigilance because our email providers do such a good job of filtering out unwanted spam. Likewise, web protection is built into our browsers and so we seldom need to concern ourselves with malicious code, hidden redirects, and aggressive popups. However, we cannot afford be too complacent when using any internet service as people are still being scammed and defrauded in their thousands.

A sceptical awareness has never been more important now that we find millions of people either working from home or in isolation, with only our access to the internet to keep us feeling connected to others. Cybercriminals are creative and they are making every use of this new opportunity to identify our vulnerabilities. So, here are my top 10 simple rules and best-practices to live by when using the internet:

TOP TEN TIPS FOR GOOD PRACTICE

1) Be suspicious. Have a general scepticism bubbling away in the background with everything you do on the internet.

2) Always use strong passwords but don’t only rely on them. Never use the same password for every application and service you use. Keeping track of your passwords can be tough and so use a decent password manager. These applications generate strong passwords and store them for you in an encrypted vault. They will also manage other credentials and sensitive data, like financial card information. They will also sync across all your devices. Look for applications like LastPass, 1Password, Bitwarden, Dashlane, Keeper, or KeePassXC.

3) Always use two-factor or three-factor authentication and/or biometric security when it’s available. A simple username and password is not enough – especially for important services like online banking and buying and selling. The first tier of authentication is your username and password for that service; the second tier is an additional authentication, such as an SMS text message to your phone with a login code or PIN. Also, try to use services that require a fingerprint or face/voice recognition.

4) Phishing. This is the big one that still gets people because the emails seem genuine and may not be caught by a spam filter. A phishing email is used to get you to log on (or attempt to log on or perform a password reset or confirm your bank details) by pretending to be from a source you trust, such as your bank or a retailer. This is a good time to re-read best-practice #1. If you ever receive an unexpected email informing you of a security incident or one that’s asking you to reset your password or confirm a detail of any kind, ignore it and mark it as spam. Check the sender email address. Does it look genuine? You’ll often find that an email that pretends to be from Microsoft, will not be sent from the expected support@microsoft.com email address (for example), but rather from something bizarre like microsoft-reset@blamfeutter.ru. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never heard of Blamfeutter from Russia – and neither have you. Delete it and mark it as spam. If ever in doubt, call the company that you believe may be trying to contact you.

5) Never open attachments unless you completely trust the sender. Even then, glance at the type of file you’ve been sent before you just click on it. Is it a Word document, an Excel spreadsheet, a JPG photo, or a PDF document? If so, then chances are it’s okay. Is it a document type you don’t recognise? If so, don’t open it. Check with the sender first.

6) Anti-virus. If you are using a PC at home, make sure you have a security suite installed. There are plenty of good free versions like AVG, Avast, Avira, and Bitdefender.

7) Public Wi-Fi is never secure. Be extremely sensitive about what you do from your laptop or phone via the Wi-Fi of your favourite coffee shop. NEVER do a financial transaction. NEVER log on to PayPal or any other internet banking system. Write documents and send emails, that is all.

8) Stop clicking the Unsubscribe option at the bottom of an unwanted email. You cannot guarantee where that hyperlink will take you. Simply mark the email as spam instead.

9) Facebook and other social-media. There are so many ‘interesting’ posts on Facebook that act as bait for your click. Your click will often be redirected and a hidden piece of code will be run that will cause you to ‘like’ a Facebook page without your consent or may lead you to survey sites that are profitable for the criminals involved. Facebook, Google, Amazon, and Twitter alone hold an enormous amount of your data. Criminals are very interested in getting hold of this data – especially when there is a good chance the email and password you use to log on will also be used by you for numerous other accounts elsewhere. They will also have access to your address, your family details, your mobile number, and (likely) your credit card, what you buy and when, your movements and whereabouts from moment to moment, and what you ate for supper last night.

10) Keep your software up-to-date. Turn on automatic updates so that your browsers like Chrome and Firefox get regular automatic security updates.

At Solomons we have a securely encrypted portal, this is the best way to communicate with us about anything that is data-sensitive. If you have not already done so, please register for our portal. We advise watching our short video first which is below.

Now head over to any page of our site, where it says CLIENT LOGIN (top right) or use this link:

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR OUR PORTAL

Dominic Thomas
Solomons IFA

You can read more articles about Pensions, Wealth Management, Retirement, Investments, Financial Planning and Estate Planning on my blog which gets updated every week. If you would like to talk to me about your personal wealth planning and how we can make you stay wealthier for longer then please get in touch by calling 08000 736 273 or email info@solomonsifa.co.uk

GET IN TOUCH

Solomon’s Independent Financial Advisers
The Old Bakery, 2D Edna Road, Raynes Park, London, SW20 8BT

Email – info@solomonsifa.co.uk
Call – 020 8542 8084

7 QUESTIONS, NO WAFFLE

Are we a good fit for you?

Take Survey

PRIVACY POLICY | DATA PROTECTION

GET IN TOUCH

Solomon’s Independent Financial Advisers
The Old Bakery, 2D Edna Road, Raynes Park, London, SW20 8BT

Email – info@solomonsifa.co.uk Call – 020 8542 8084

7 QUESTIONS, NO WAFFLE

Are we a good fit for you?

Take Survey

PRIVACY POLICY | DATA PROTECTION

WARNING ABOUT EMAIL & WEB SCAMSDominic2023-12-01T12:13:19+00:00

NHS & FRONTLINE STAFF – COVID19

TODAY’S BLOG

NHS & FRONTLINE STAFF COVID-19

I came across a good article (26/03/2020) by Moira Warner, a manager at Royal London. I have made some minor alterations, but otherwise this is a piece not written by me. I am therefore thankful to Moira and Royal London and take responsibility for its reproduction, noting that the article has the usual social media sharing functionality anyway.

As the volume of overtime undertaken by frontline NHS staff increases exponentially in response to the Coronavirus crisis, we think an update on the pension issues potentially impacting doctors is timely.

CLINICIANS AND THE TAPERED ANNUAL ALLOWANCE

Changes to the tapered annual allowance announced at the March 2020 Budget and expected to lift all but the highest paid out of the “taper trap” are due to take effect from 6 April 2020. In view of the impact the exceptional amount of additional shift work is having on the threshold income of healthcare professionals right now, it’s worth remembering the interim measures put in place for clinicians who may face an annual allowance tax charge in relation to tax year 19/20.

In England & Wales, NHS employers will pay clinicians’ annual allowance charges incurred in 2019/20. This is achieved by the employer making a contractually binding commitment to “fully compensate” the individual for the impact on their retirement income of a “scheme pays” deduction.
In Scotland, NHS staff have been given the option of taking the value of their employer’s pension contribution as an addition to basic pay.

AWAITING CONSULTATION

We’ve not yet seen a Government response to its 2019 consultation on increased flexibilities for the NHS pension scheme, although the Chancellor has confirmed that proposals to allow senior clinicians to receive extra pay in lieu of pension contributions will not be taken forward.

It may be that the dust gets brushed off some of these previous proposals, if it turns out that the overhauled tapered annual allowance doesn’t go far enough to protect the most dedicated NHS staff working the longest hours from an annual allowance tax charge.

NHS RETIREES RETURNING TO SERVICE DURING THE OUTBREAK

In a widely-anticipated move, the Government is encouraging retired health and social care professionals to return to the NHS to join the fight against Covid-19. In order to prevent post-retirement employment having disadvantageous consequences for the pension income of such individuals, emergency amendments to NHS pension regulations have been tabled.

These form part of the Coronoavirus Bill 2019-21 which received Royal Assent on 25 March 2020. The amendments (which the Government will have the power to implement immediately or retrospectively) apply across the United Kingdom and have 3 effects:

The pension income of special class status holders who return to NHS employment won’t be abated (suspended). Special Class status holders are nurses, physiotherapists, midwives and health visitors in post on or before 6 March 1995 and Mental Health Officers (MHO) with at least 20 years’ MHO experience and in post on/before 6 March 1995. The wider pension abatement rules remain unchanged. In particular this means that individuals who retired “in the interest of efficiency of the service” could still have their pension suspended on return to work.
The pension income of 1995 Section NHS members who return won’t be suspended if they work more than 16 hours per week in the first calendar month following retirement.
Members who have flexibly retired using the NHS “draw down” facility will not be required to maintain a reduction in their pensionable pay of a minimum of 10%

There is no proposal to amend regulations prohibiting pensionable re-employment of 1995 section retirees. Any clients who have retired and drawn 1995 section benefits will therefore be able to return to the NHS, but will not be able to resume pensionable employment under the NHS pension scheme. Employers will need to enrol returners who are eligible workers into an alternative pension scheme.

Please also note that these measures are temporary. The Government has stated that a six month notice period will be given to staff and employers before they are disapplied.

DEATH BENEFITS

Recent social media chatter suggests there’s concern amongst health care professionals who have made taxation-related decisions to opt out of the NHS Pension Scheme, that their loved ones will no longer be entitled to any scheme benefits in the event of their death. So clients need reassurance that this is not the case.

Although the loved ones of individuals who’ve opted out will no longer be entitled to death in service benefits if the deferred member passes away, they remain entitled to death in deferment benefits. These include a lump sum death benefit and both eligible adult survivor’s and eligible children’s pensions.

Further details on calculation of these benefits can be found in the 1995/2008 and 2015 NHS pension guides for England and Wales – as well as the guides for Scotland and Northern Ireland.

If you wish to consider additional life assurance cover please get in touch. Given the current context, applications for minimal levels of cover, before requiring medical underwriting would likely be the most prudent approach.

Dominic Thomas
Solomons IFA

You can read more articles about Pensions, Wealth Management, Retirement, Investments, Financial Planning and Estate Planning on my blog which gets updated every week. If you would like to talk to me about your personal wealth planning and how we can make you stay wealthier for longer then please get in touch by calling 08000 736 273 or email info@solomonsifa.co.uk

GET IN TOUCH

Solomon’s Independent Financial Advisers
The Old Bakery, 2D Edna Road, Raynes Park, London, SW20 8BT

Email – info@solomonsifa.co.uk
Call – 020 8542 8084

7 QUESTIONS, NO WAFFLE

Are we a good fit for you?

Take Survey

PRIVACY POLICY | DATA PROTECTION

GET IN TOUCH

Solomon’s Independent Financial Advisers
The Old Bakery, 2D Edna Road, Raynes Park, London, SW20 8BT

Email – info@solomonsifa.co.uk Call – 020 8542 8084

7 QUESTIONS, NO WAFFLE

Are we a good fit for you?

Take Survey

PRIVACY POLICY | DATA PROTECTION

NHS & FRONTLINE STAFF – COVID19Dominic2023-12-01T12:13:19+00:00

COMMUNICATING WITH YOU VIA OUR APP

TODAY’S BLOG

COMMUNICATING WITH YOU VIA OUR APP

Over the coming days we shall be releasing more information directly to your phone via our app. The aim will be to cut through the noise and cover essential information such as Government updates, tax and finance implications, loans and funding.

As a result, please check that you have downloaded our app to your smart phone, it works on both Android and IO (Apple) platforms.

Head to the App store on your device and search for MyIFA. Click to download and wait for the App to install on your device.
Open the App and enter your email address on the first screen.
Click the arrow below the entry field and on the next screen you will be prompted to enter an Access Code.
1. In this box, enter code: SOLOMONS

You’ll then be taken through to create your own account, where you add your name, create a password, and click the bottom arrow to confirm your details. Once confirmed, you’ll then be in the App.

We want to reassure you we are here to work with you during this challenging time and are here if you have any questions. Here is a video we made a while back about the app.

Dominic Thomas
Solomons IFA

You can read more articles about Pensions, Wealth Management, Retirement, Investments, Financial Planning and Estate Planning on my blog which gets updated every week. If you would like to talk to me about your personal wealth planning and how we can make you stay wealthier for longer then please get in touch by calling 08000 736 273 or email info@solomonsifa.co.uk

GET IN TOUCH

Solomon’s Independent Financial Advisers
The Old Bakery, 2D Edna Road, Raynes Park, London, SW20 8BT

Email – info@solomonsifa.co.uk
Call – 020 8542 8084

7 QUESTIONS, NO WAFFLE

Are we a good fit for you?

Take Survey

PRIVACY POLICY | DATA PROTECTION

GET IN TOUCH

Solomon’s Independent Financial Advisers
The Old Bakery, 2D Edna Road, Raynes Park, London, SW20 8BT

Email – info@solomonsifa.co.uk Call – 020 8542 8084

7 QUESTIONS, NO WAFFLE

Are we a good fit for you?

Take Survey

PRIVACY POLICY | DATA PROTECTION

COMMUNICATING WITH YOU VIA OUR APPDominic2023-12-01T12:13:20+00:00