Seasons Greetings!

As another exciting year draws to an end, it is only right that all at Davison Smith Financial Management wish our sincere best wishes for Christmas and 2010 to you and your family.
So just what will 2010 have in store for you?
Here are some of the things that Davison Smith Financial Management will be involved with in 2010.

Pension Minimum Age

With people living longer than ever in the UK, you can expect the major political parties to jostle for positions with their stance on retirement ages leading up to the General Election. Announcing later retirement ages is hardly a vote winner though!
A couple of notable events will occur on 6 April 2010 in relation to this.
Firstly, the State Pension age for women will increase from 60 to 65.
Secondly, the minimum age that anybody can take any personal or company pension will increase from 50 to 55.
The measures certainly won’t stop there…watch this space during 2010 for further announcements.

Qualifications

The Financial Services Authority has recently announced a proposal for all financial advisers to achieve ‘advanced qualifications’ to be able to offer independent advice.
This has caused much concern within the financial advice industry.
The new benchmark is set far higher than the current minimum level and will leave many advisers with numerous hours of studying and exams to sit.
It is anticipated that it will take around 3 years to achieve the necessary qualifications, leaving very little time to meet the end of 2012 deadline.
The typical age of a financial adviser is 57 and the prospect of studying for 3 years to gain just a few extra years of employment before retirement is seen by many as pointless.
The new benchmark is out of reach for many because of the technical knowledge required.
As a company that is committed to continuous improvement, Davison Smith Financial Management is pleased to report that this will have NO impact to us as the new advanced qualifications have been held for some time.
Don’t expect the same from other companies…40% of financial advisers are expected to leave the industry by 2012! You can rest assured there will be much news and publicity on this during 2010 as The Financial Services Authority turns the ‘proposal’ into ‘reality’

Equity Release

Research on trends has highlighted that the Equity Release market for those over the age of 55 is expected to be the biggest growth area for advice requirements over the next 10 years. In short, people want to benefit from the equity in their home without the need to downsize or sell.

 

Steve Smith is the prinicpal at Davison Smith Financial Management who’s key areas of advice are in Pensions, Investments and as Wealth Managers

BNI Harald is a chapter of BNI the Business Referral Organisation and we meet weekly looking for Business in the North East – visitors welcome