Employer pensions can accumulate as we change jobs, and it’s easy to lose track of how much each one contains. We explore what you need to know if you’re thinking about consolidating your pensions.

When you leave a job, it’s easy to forget about the workplace pension you might have had there. With the average person having several jobs during their lives, along with the 2012 introduction of auto-enrolment for employer-based pensions, it’s not surprising that many of us have more than one pension to our name.

Tracking down your old pensions...

The combined economic effects of stimulus measures, inflation and increased spending all contributed to an eventful month.

In May, vaccine rollouts gathered pace and pandemic-based restrictions began to lift in many countries. However, a new wave of cases in India raised concerns worldwide.

Despite reports that the UK economy shrank in the first quarter compared with the previous three months, the level of employment increased, although it remains below pre-pandemic levels. Inflation doubled to 1.5% in April, and the next stage of reopenin...

Lenders are now offering a government-backed 95% mortgage scheme to help more first-time buyers onto the property ladder.

The government is hoping to turn ‘generation rent’ into ‘generation buy’ with the help of a 5% mortgage deposit scheme launched on 19 April.

Following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, many lenders withdrew low-deposit mortgages. In just under a year, the number of 95% mortgages available to first-time buyers fell from 391 to just three. It’s hoped the scheme will give lenders the confidence to offer low-deposit m...

The pandemic has reportedly created 6 million accidental savers, but what’s the best way to use this extra cash?

The effect of the lockdown on millions of bank accounts has been to boost savings for people whose incomes have remained the same but whose spending has dropped.

With the prospect of life returning to a new normal, it’s a chance to think about how to make the most of these savings and build on them too.

Where were savings made?
Working from home meant the cost of commuting was put on hold. Holidays were not booked, and the closu...

The number of people using equity release schemes fell last year as older homeowners grew more cautious.

Older homeowners seemed to be more reluctant to release cash from their homes in 2020, according to the Equity Release Council. Data from the trade body shows drawdowns from lifetime mortgages fell by 21% last year and 10% fewer plans were agreed than in 2019.

This drop suggests the coronavirus pandemic affected the equity release market in 2020, with activity slipping to a four-year low between April and June. Yet the end of the year w...