A recent report into personal finance has created something of a stir in Government circles with the majority of the UK population apparently confused by the vast array of financial products available.
The report confirmed the Government’s worst fears with less than 4 in 10 of the UK population saving for their retirement - which will surely result in an even greater strain on the UK Pension system in the future.
While the UK stock market appears to have overcome a lot of the worries and concerns which arose towards the end of February, is it time to go back in? Initial worries about the state of far eastern economies and the US housing market had caused the FTSE100 to fall from 6450 to 6000, however the market is again approaching 6400, but is it all over?
After the debacle of the Farepak collapse last year, the government have announced the results of a formal review into the Christmas savings industry. The review was instigated as 150,000 Farepak customers lost an average of £400 each in last years high profile collapse. So why the change?
In effect all Christmas saving scheme companies will need to separate customer money from company money, thereby safe guarding the money saved up by customers throughout the year, In last years collapse of Farepak, customers funds were not ring fenced and were used to fund the company’s expansion into other areas of business. Under the new rules, customer savings will be returned in the event of a collpase of the savings Company.
