By John Cossons, Mortgage and Protection Designer at Anstee & Co.

Firstly, what is a Green Mortgage, and should I have one?

A green mortgage is meant to increase the appeal of owning a green, or energy-efficient, property. On top of the savings, you’ll make on your energy bills each month. Also, the idea is that lenders give you cashback and/or a better interest rate when you take out a green mortgage.

Tell me more about a Green Mortgage.

Green mortgages generally fall into two categories:

• Those that reward you for living in an energy-efficient home. Here, if the property you’re buying or living in has an EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) rating of A or B, you’ll get cash back or a better interest rate on your mortgage.
• Those that reward you for carrying out ‘green’ home improvements. Green improvements could include replacing single-glazed windows, upgrading your heating system, or installing solar panels, for example. So, typically, lenders will offer you a discounted interest rate or cashback on any money you borrow to upgrade your home’s energy efficiency.

Lenders are willing to offer incentives of this nature because they increasingly see energy-efficient properties as less risky purchases and more likely to hold their value. What’s more, if a homeowner is spending less on their energy bills each month, there’s less of a chance they’ll struggle to meet their mortgage repayments.

What is an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)?

An energy performance certificate is a document which indicates how energy efficient a property is. They are required whenever a property is built or sold, with certificates lasting for 10 years.

The rating system goes from A to G, with the most energy-efficient homes getting an A rating, and the least getting a G. Between October and December 2021, more than 370,000 new EPC certificates were lodged in England, of which 84% had an energy-efficiency rating A or B. Older properties typically have worse EPC ratings, it is estimated that just 10% of pre-1900 homes have at C rating or better.

Details of a property’s EPC rating are normally available online. Use the Gov.UK database if the property you’re researching is in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, and the Scottish Register for properties in Scotland.

Are Green Mortgages a good deal?

Unfortunately, not yet. The reduction in the interest rate is very small and if there is a cashback it is usually somewhere between £250 and £500. It is commonplace to find a better deal from another lender using their standard mortgage range.

How Anstee & Co can help you with a Green Mortgage.

We are a firm of Independent Mortgage Brokers. This means that the financial advice we provide is unbiased. We look at all the financial options open to you from “the whole of the market”. Our expertise covers all aspects of financial planning including pensions, investments, and estate planning.

To find out more and to see how we can help you why not arrange a meeting today. The initial meeting is at our expense and is without obligation.

Our Head Office is based at Kettering, Northamptonshire-

Additionally, we have advisers who live and make use of meeting rooms in-

• Bedford, Bedfordshire
• Market Harborough, Leicestershire
• Northampton, Thrapston, and Wellingborough in Northamptonshire.

We make full use of video conferencing facilities such as-

• Microsoft Teams
• Facetime

We can also arrange a conference telephone call. So, there is no need to visit an office as all work can be handled remotely. The choice is yours.

If you have any thoughts on this article, ” What is a Green Mortgage?”  then we would love to hear from you.

Finally, the information contained in this article is for information purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Anstee & Co. is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

AS A MORTGAGE IS SECURED AGAINST YOUR HOME, IT COULD BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP THE MORTGAGE REPAYMENTS.

For many of us, our working life is stretching out. As our life expectancy rises and pension provisions become less generous reviewing your financial plans has never been more important.

As we work longer, it is highly unlikely that we will have just one career path. The day’s of a “job for life” has gone.  So, at some point, you will want to re-evaluate your working life. This might be your choice or maybe forced on your through redundancy or ill health.

The idea of a midlife financial review has never been more necessary.

What is a midlife financial review?

A midlife financial review or plan will focus on your financial situation, your work aspirations and most importantly, your physical and emotional wellbeing, that all-important work-life balance.

A plan will help you gain a clear perspective on what you want your future to look like. Many dismiss the idea without giving it careful consideration. Working with your independent financial planner you can make assumptions to see what your future will hold. So, you may be surprised to find that you have more flexibility than you thought.  This may mean going part-time, changing roles, winding down to retirement, or taking early retirement. Unless you have a financial plan, you will not know.

How Anstee & Co can help you with your financial plans.

We are a firm of Independent Financial Planners. This means that the advice we offer is unbiased. We will look at all the solutions available to you. We use cash flow modelling tools that will help you see what your finances will look like going forward. So why not contact us today. The initial meeting is at our cost and without obligation.

Our main office is situated in Kettering Northamptonshire

Alternatively we can make use of video conferencing tools such as-

• Microsoft Teams
• Facetime

If you have any thoughts or comments on this article, “How a midlife financial tweak can transform your retirement.”, then please let us know. We would welcome your thoughts.

Finally, the information contained in this article is for information purposes only and does not constitute advice. No action should be taken based on this information alone. Anstee & Co. is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

First of all, putting a retirement plan in place is key. The saying, “We don’t plan to fail, but we fail to plan”, has never been truer. If you are in your late fifties/early sixties and starting to think about retirement, there is certainly a lot to think about! So where do you start?

Let us plan.

To start with you need to get an idea of what level of income you will need in retirement so that you can comfortably enjoy your well-deserved leisure time.

It is a good idea to take time to detail what you spend now and the same for when you’re retired. So, it is often surprising how many costs you will no longer incur, for example, to name but a couple, commuting expenses and work clothes. Conversely, with more free time, you may spend more on leisure pursuits and travel.

So, what might your sources of income be in retirement? They could include: –

• The State Pension
• A Workplace Pension
• Personal Pension
• Property rental income
• ISAs
• Stocks & Shares
• Equity Release
• Premium Savings Bonds
• Savings you may have accumulated

Of course, these are only some of the options that might be available to you and it is important to assess the ways to utilise your income to your best advantage.

Our team of highly qualified independent financial planners have the experience and planning tools to help you to draw up a detailed retirement plan. Our planning tools can build in the cost of inflation to ensure that you will not run out of money. We can also show you the best time to pass on any wealth to your children and grandchildren in the most tax-efficient way. All steps to help you to secure your financial future

This link will take you to our short video to show you how it works.

How Anstee & Co can help you with your retirement plan.

We are independent financial advisers. This means that we offer unbiased financial planning advice. We look at all the options available to you from the whole of the market. This is unlike some financial advisers who work from a limited panel or recommend only their products. This initial, “getting to know you” meeting is at our expense and is without obligation. So, our experience covers all aspects of personal financial planning, including pensions, estate planning, savings and investments and personal protection insurance.

We would welcome the opportunity to have a coffee with you and discuss how we may be able to provide you with the advice you require. Why not contact us today?

Our head offices is located at Kettering, Northamptonshire.

Additionally, our financial planners live and make use of meeting rooms in –

• Bedford, Bedfordshire
• Market Harborough, Leicestershire
• Northampton, Thrapston and Wellingborough in Northamptonshire.

So, why not take the first step in securing your financial future today?

Finally, if you have any thoughts or comments about this article, “Retirement. Are you ready for it? we can help”, then we would love to hear from you.

The information contained in this article is for information purposes only and does not constitute advice. No action should be taken based on this information alone. Anstee & Co. is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

By John Cossons, Mortgage and Protection Designer.

With the ever-increasing cost of living, is your retirement income keeping up? 

We are all feeling the pressure of the rising cost of fuel to heat our homes and keep our cars moving, along with the relentless increase in the general cost of living. You may have a small, mortgage that was manageable but, with increasing interest rates, is becoming increasingly hard to service without impacting your lifestyle.

When you are still working you have the opportunity to increase your income with a pay rise, doing overtime or changing your employer. However, once you retire your income is pretty much set and it can often start to reduce in real terms due to inflation.

There is possibly one asset that you have that has historically outpaced inflation and tapping into this resource could be the way to ensure that you have enough money to continue with a reasonable lifestyle for the foreseeable future.

What are the options?

Releasing some of the equity that is tied up in your home could relieve the pressure.

With an equity release loan, you could provide yourself with an additional income stream or the funds to improve the energy efficiency of your home or to upgrade your car to an electric model.

Equity release loans allow you to pay what you can afford and vary your payments if your circumstances change. The interest rate is fixed for life, and you are not required to make any payments. However, as any unpaid interest is added to the loan and rolls up many people choose to pay all or some of the interest if they can.

There is an option to take a lump sum in advance and then draw down additional funds when they are required. You would only attract interest on the funds released now and any further drawdowns would start to attract interest, at the prevailing rate, when they are taken.

How Anstee & Co can help you maintain your retirement income.

We are a firm of Independent Financial Advisers (IFA’s). This means that the financial advice we provide is unbiased and from the “whole of the market” We look at all the financial solutions available to you. Not just an equity release mortgage.

Remember that equity release is a long-term financial commitment and is not right for everyone. So, it is often a good idea to involve your family before making any decisions.

Additionally, we are proud members of the Equity Release Council and are directly regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Why not arrange a face-to-face meeting to find out more? Also, we can come to your home, or we can meet you at one of our meeting rooms located at:

• Kettering, Northamptonshire
• Bedford, Bedfordshire
• Market Harborough, Leicestershire

Why not arrange a meeting today to obtain a personal illustration and to see how we can help you secure your retirement income? The initial meeting is at our expense and is without obligation.

If you have any thoughts on this article, “Is your retirement income, keeping up with inflation?”, then we would love to hear from you.

Finally, the information contained in this article is for information purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Anstee & Co. is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

These products are lifetime mortgages or home reversion plans. Equity released from your home will be secured against it.

By Rachel Efetha, Chartered Financial Planner with Anstee & Co.

There are predictions that unfortunately, redundancies will increase over the coming months as businesses need to cut costs or fail. People deal with redundancy in different ways.

You will normally be entitled to statutory redundancy pay if you have worked for your employer for more than two years, and you might also be entitled to pay in lieu of notice (also referred to as PILON).  For details of the amounts check here. Some employers offer more than the statutory minimum.

What do you need to consider if you are made redundant?

How old are you?

Is retirement an option? You would be surprised at the number of clients I have met in their late 50s who are being made redundant and through Cashflow Planning I have told them they can afford to not get another job.  You would also be surprised about how many of them then go back to work a year later because they are bored!!

I cannot afford to retire

If you cannot afford to retire then you need to make sure that whatever money you have will last you until you can get another job. Again, Cashflow Planning will help here to work out just how much you need to live on and how long any emergency fund and redundancy pay/ PILON will last you.

What should I do with my redundancy lump sum?

Do not put all your money in your current account – it will be too easy to lose control of your spending. Pay yourself a ‘salary’ based on either your old net salary or your actual expenditure.  Put the rest of it in a deposit account.  Once you have found a new job, then you can start thinking about what to do with any excess leftover.

I do not have an emergency fund.

If you haven’t got an emergency fund and/or you aren’t entitled to Statutory Redundancy pay and you’re going to struggle financially then talk to your mortgage provider/ any loans and credit cards you have about payment holidays or how they can help. Do not bury your head in the sand – if you default on certain lines of credit then it could haunt you for a very long time.

Review the perks you had.

Consider your family protection needs – your employer may well have provided ‘Death in Service’ benefits which means that your loved ones will receive a lump sum if you die. Does this need replacing?

Review your pension scheme. Sometimes the pension your employer provides is not the most suitable one for your unique circumstances, but it pays to join it as they will contribute as well as you.  Now you have no link with your employer, you might be better off moving it elsewhere.

How I can help you with redundancy.

If you are in this position please pick up the phone for a no-obligation consultation.  If you are an employer who is making redundancies, then I will be happy to provide redundancy seminars and counselling for your employees.  In a previous role, I did the same for the employees of The News of the World when it was closed overnight.

Finally, if you have any thoughts or comments about this article, “Redundancy. What should I do if I am made Redundant?”, then please let me know.

The information contained in this article is for information purposes only and does not constitute advice. No action should be taken based on this information alone. Anstee & Co is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

By John Cossons, Mortgage and Protection Designer at Anstee & Co.

When you are considering taking an equity release lifetime mortgage one of the main considerations is knowing how much equity you will have left to leave to your next of kin when you pass away.

It is generally well known that with an Equity Release mortgage you are not required to make payments and that the interest charged is therefore added to the loan and the following year you are charged interest on the new higher amount, this continues year after year and is known as compound interest or interest roll-up. At an interest rate of 3%, this means that you would owe double the amount that you borrowed after approximately 23 years and at 6%, it would take around 11 years.

Are there any other options?

It is less well known that you don’t have to do this and that there are now options to make regular or irregular partial repayments. If you were to make payments equal to the amount of the interest each year this would stop the roll-up, meaning that you would only owe the amount that you borrowed at any time in the future.

Can I repay the capital?

Most lenders will allow you to make repayments of up to 10% each year with no penalty. These can usually be made every month, quarter, year or whenever you like, with a minimum of £50 at any one time. By making repayments that are greater than the interest charged each year you will reduce the amount that you owe. What’s more, you can start or stop these whenever you want, giving you the flexibility to choose what you want to do. So, for example, if there are two of you and your joint income allowed you to afford to make a partial repayment now but one of you were to pass away, reducing your income, you could choose to stop paying at that point and the interest roll-up would start from then. This could significantly increase the amount that you can leave to your estate.

What happens if interest rates go up?

As all Equity Release lifetime mortgages have an interest rate that is fixed for life there is no need to worry that your repayments will need to increase, or that the amount that you choose to pay will have less effect on the balance, if the interest rate goes up. You can use this as a lifetime fixed-rate interest-only mortgage with no chance of defaulting because you can choose to stop the payments at any time.

How Anstee & Co can help you with equity release.

We are Independent Financial Advisers (IFA’s). This means that the financial advice we offer is unbiased.

Equity release is not right for everyone. You need to be over the age of 55 and own your property. If you have a family, it is always a good idea to get them involved. So, why not contact us today to see how we can help you? The first meeting is at our cost and without obligation.

Our Head Office is located at –

• Kettering, Northamptonshire

Our advisers live and make use of meeting rooms in-

• Bedford, Bedfordshire
• Wellingborough, Northampton, and Thrapston, Northamptonshire.

Also, we make full use of video conferencing facilities such as-

• Microsoft Teams
• Facetime

Additionally, we can arrange a conference call. There is no need to visit an office as all work can be handled remotely.

Anstee & Co. are proud members of The Equity Release Council.

If you have any thoughts or comments about this article, ” Equity Release – The interest doesn’t have to roll up”, we would love to hear from you.

Finally, the information contained in this article is for information purposes only and does not constitute advice.

These products are Lifetime mortgages. Equity released from your home will be secured against it.

If you are in your fifties or early sixties now is a good time to start thinking about what your retirement income might look like. With our busy lives, it is always easy to put these reviews off as you may feel that retirement is still a long way off and there is little you should do.

When thinking about retirement the first thing you should do is to get a feel of how much income you will need. You want to be in a position where you can comfortably enjoy your well-deserved leisure time.

Work out your retirement budget.

Initially, it is worth looking at what you spend now and how this might change when you retire. It can be surprising how many costs you will no longer incur. Commuting expenses, work clothes and lunchtime sandwiches to name just a few. On the flip side, you may want to spend more time on your hobbies and those holidays you have always promised yourself.

What retirement income might you have?

Your sources of retirement income might be a combination of-

• State Pension
• Workplace Pension
• Personal Pension
• Property
• Investment
• Savings

The above is only some of the options available to you and it’s important to assess the ways to use your income in the most tax-effective way. It is also a good time to asses the level of risk that you are taking with your pension and investments.

How Anstee & Co can help you with your retirement income.

We are a firm of Independent Financial Advisers (IFA’s). This means that the advice given by our financial planner is unbiased. So, unlike some financial advisers, we look at all the financial solutions available to you.

Why not arrange a meeting to see have we can help you plan? The initial “getting to know you” meeting is at our expense. We make use of cash flow modelling tools that will help you see what your retirement finances will look like. You can view a short video by following this link to see how this works.

Meetings can be arranged at a time and location convenient for you. Our Head Office is located at-

• Kettering, Northamptonshire

Also, our financial planners live and make use of meeting rooms in-

• Bedford, Bedfordshire
• Market Harborough, Leicestershire
• Northampton, Wellingborough and Thrapston in Northamptonshire.

We can also arrange a meeting online so there is no need to visit an office. The choice is yours.

If you have any thoughts or comments on this article, “Retirement income. What choices do you have?”, then we would love to hear your views.

Finally, the information contained in this article is for information purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. No action should be taken based on this information alone. Anstee & Co is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

By Rachel Efetha, Chartered Financial Planner with Anstee & Co.

A while ago, I visited two sets of completely unrelated new clients who are both in a very similar position. Both the husbands are tradesmen and both the wives run the office for them under a limited company. Both got in touch as their businesses were ticking along nicely and they felt that they needed to focus on pensions and do not know much about them. Luckily for them, I know lots about pensions!

One couple was in their 40s with two teenage children, and the other was in their 30s with two preschool children. They all had little or no pension provision to date.  They would like to employ someone to run the businesses and do the trade and take a nice dividend in retirement but appreciate the need to have a backup plan in the form of a pension.

The recommendation.

I explained to them that a company contribution is better than a personal one, as although you get tax relief on a personal contribution, you as the director and as the employer, both must pay National Insurance contributions on salary, whereas none is paid on company pension contributions.

I also explained to them that they should try to build up equal pension provision so that they are using up both personal allowances during retirement.  There is no tax efficiency for one spouse having a taxable income and the other not even using their personal allowance. It also helps with death benefit planning for each to have their own pot.

Once we had set a budget for pension planning, we moved on to insurance. Both couples have Critical Illness Cover on their mortgages which is good, but there is a better way of doing things. A Critical Illness policy will cover just that, a bad, life-threatening disease. However, Income Protection will cover anything that prevents you from doing your job, for the tradesmen, this could be a dodgy knee or a bad back, for the office person, this could be stress-related. Of course, the critical illnesses are all covered too if they prevent you from doing your job. This cover is essential when both of your incomes depend on the business being a success.

How Anstee & Co can help you and your business with pensions.

Do you run your own business with your spouse? Could you benefit from a free financial health check?

We are independent financial advisers (IFA’s). This means that the financial advice we offer is unbiased. We look at all the options from the “whole of market”. The initial “getting to know you” meeting is at our expense and without obligation. Our experience covers all aspects of personal financial planning, including pensions, estate planning, savings and investments and personal protection insurance.

We would welcome the opportunity to have a coffee and discuss how we may be able to provide you with the advice you require. Why not contact us today to arrange an appointment?

Alternatively, there is no need to visit an office as all work can be undertaken remotely. This may be by –

• Microsoft Teams
• Facetime

We can also arrange a telephone conference call. The choice is yours. Whatever works best for you.

Additionally, our financial planners live and make use of meeting rooms in –

• Bedford, Bedfordshire
• Market Harborough, Leicestershire
• Northampton, Thrapston and Wellingborough in Northamptonshire

Finally, if you have any thoughts or views about this article, “Husband and Wife Owner Managed Businesses. “, then we would love to hear from you.

The information contained in this article is for information purpose only and does not constitute advice. No action should be taken based on this information alone. Anstee & Co. is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).