What is it and do I need to apply for it?

National Savings & Investments (NS&I) announced on 07 September 2011 that current issues of NS&I Fixed Interest and Index Linked Savings Certificates have been withdrawn from sale with effect from close of business on 06 September 2011.

National Savings and Investments (NS&I), the Government’s savings arm, recently announced that new issues of 5 year Index-linked Savings Certificates and 5 year Fixed Interest Saving Certificates are now available. They had previously been withdrawn from sale on the 19 July 2010.

We discuss recent changes to this fund

National Savings and Investments (NS&I), the Government’s savings arm, announced in a press release on the 23 March 2011 that ‘subject to market conditions, NS&I expect to be bringing Savings Certificates back on general sale in 2011/12’. They had previously been withdrawn from sale on the 19 July 2010.

In the light of the reduction of tax relief and extension of qualifying periods on VCTs in recent years, EIS schemes have become more attractive in some cases.

A number of significant changes to pension legislation are scheduled to come into effect from tax year 2011/12 onwards.

We do not propose to cover all of the changes here, but we have sought to summarise those that will particularly affect clarity clients and their personal financial planning.

We continue to produce periodic investment bulletins to keep you up-to-date with the markets, pointing out trends and giving you our opinion on the prevailing economic climate.

This lifetime allowance is £1.8 million in 2010/11. However, as noted in our recent email alert the Government have confirmed that the lifetime allowance will reduce to £1.5 million from 06 April 2012.

This alert discusses the proposal for a new form of protection called 'fixed protection'.

More detail in respect of the proposed tax treatment of pension contributions and funds has been released in a statement from Mark Hoban, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, along with draft legislation scheduled to come into effect from April 2011.

The Treasury have now released their consultation document, regarding an alternative approach to reforming existing pension allowances. This was covered in the Emergency Budget (please see our Email Alert of the 23^rd June) and is an alternative to the complex Finance Act 2010 provisions restricting tax relief for high earners.

The Government will only proceed with this alternative if at least the same amount of revenue can be raised. If adopted, it will form part of the Finance Bill 2011, and will become effective from 6 April 2012.

The Chancellor George Osborne delivered his emergency Budget on 22nd June 2010, within the 50 day timescale set when the coalition Government came to power. In order to 'balance the books', cuts to tax credits and housing benefit were announced as part of a wide range of welfare reforms. As expected the rate of VAT is to rise and those in the public sector will face a real terms pay cut by way of a pay freeze for two years for those being paid more than £21,000. In addition, a levy on Banks will be introduced in January 2011 in a move expected to generate around £2 billion of additional revenue.