Andrew Ingram

Cancel useful cover, buy the cheapest replacement, invest the difference. Then a claim or breakdown wipes out years of contributions. Which cuts actually last?

Your wife knows the bank password. Then you die or lose capacity, and the password solves nothing. Which signatures actually give her money or authority?

You spotted a winner last year. This year it halved. Before you chase the next star, count the fees, tax and time your hunch costs.

The first cold morning is a rotten time to discover your boiler has packed in. September’s advantage may be availability, not a cheaper service.

Your pension statement has arrived. Before you file it away, check whether cash, charges or a missed employer contribution are quietly shrinking your retirement pot.

Planning to finish work at 65? Under current rules, your State Pension starts at 67, leaving 24 months of bills to cover before it arrives.

Your retirement plan might say you’ll work until 65. But what happens if your final paycheque arrives at 57? Most retirement calculations contain one enormous assumption: You get to choose when you stop working. Perhaps you’re 52, earning well and planning another 13 years of salary, pension contributions and mortgage payments before retiring at 65. […]

If you’re 55 and planning to retire at 65, you may have only another 120 monthly paycheques left. What you do with them could matter more than you think. For many men, the decade before retirement coincides with some of their highest-earning years. Your salary may finally be where you always hoped it would be. […]

You’ve got £500 or £1,000 spare each month. Should it go into the mortgage, your pension or investments? In your 50s, that decision can have a surprisingly big effect on retirement. For many people approaching retirement, being mortgage-free is an important psychological milestone. No monthly payment. No debt hanging over you. And considerably lower living […]

Changed jobs a few times? Your retirement money may be scattered across pensions you barely remember — and some simple changes now could make a surprisingly large difference later. By the time you reach your 50s, there’s a good chance you’ve collected several workplace pensions. One from the job you had in your 30s. Another […]

You may know the size of your pension pot. But do you know what kind of retirement it will actually buy you? For many men in their 40s, 50s and early 60s, retirement has a number attached to it: £100,000, £250,000, perhaps £500,000 sitting across several pension schemes. The problem is that a pension pot […]