“The problem with traditional inheritance planning is that the money often arrives when it is least needed. We typically see people passing on wealth in their 70s or 80s, meaning their children are already in their 50s and may be financially established. That is why planning should be genuinely intergenerational, including grandchildren.”

“A grandparent can fund a bare trust for a grandchild and, if they have little or no other income, the child could potentially receive up to £18,570 of savings income tax-free each year, using their £12,570 Personal Allowance, £5,000 starting savings rate and £1,000 Personal Savings Allowance, plus their £3,000 CGT exemption.”

“We often see this used for education or university costs rather than building a large house deposit. The important catch is that the money belongs to the child and they can take control at 18, which understandably may make grandparents wary of building up too large a sum.”

“We generally plan retirement income around maintaining spending power, so inflation matters far more than what average wages happen to be doing.”

“The state pension is one part of the picture alongside personal pensions, investments and other assets.”

“Reverse bringing pensions into estates for inheritance tax and unfreeze IHT thresholds as fiscal drag is pulling more ordinary families into the tax. Then leave pensions alone.”

“Also give business owners stability on CGT and Business Asset Disposal Relief. Selling a business can represent 30 years' work; they need a runway, not a Budget cliff edge.”

“The biggest improvement would be boring but valuable – fewer surprises, longer-term planning and rules that survive more than one Budget.”

“Inheritance tax is often described as a tax on the unprepared, and we are definitely seeing a growing focus on estate planning and intergenerational wealth transfers.”

“We are also having far more conversations about retirement lifestyle planning. Clients are increasingly asking not just whether they can afford to retire, but how early they can retire and what level of income they can realistically sustain.”

“The focus has shifted from simply building wealth to understanding how and when it can be used.”

“The data on how active funds perform relative to trackers is astonishing and is something more regular investors need to be aware of. For example, I often draw people's attention to research from Standard & Poor's Indices Versus Active (SPIVA), which shows that, in Europe, 97% of active funds have underperformed the S&P Europe 350 index over a 10-year period.”

“So many investors are paying higher fees for active funds despite the evidence showing that a large majority underperform comparable tracker funds over the long term. In short, many people are paying through the nose for underperformance.”

“This is not about ruling active funds out altogether, but rather using them strategically in a portfolio, for example to give you exposure to a specialist sector or emerging market. But for many investors, having low-cost tracker funds doing the heavy lifting in their portfolio will often be the starting point.”

“For regular households, financial advice can absolutely be worth it because the biggest benefits are often about avoiding expensive mistakes and building long-term financial security. A good adviser can help families budget more effectively, use tax allowances properly, put the right protection in place, invest consistently and create a realistic financial plan around goals like buying a home, retiring comfortably or supporting children financially.”

“Historically, cost has been a barrier for some households, but AI and better technology are helping make advice more affordable and accessible by reducing administration and improving efficiency, allowing firms to support a much wider range of families.”

“Much of the increased demand would depend on education around how annuities can be used in retirement planning. Once clients understand the range of uses annuities can have, rather than seeing them as outdated products, I think we are likely to see a significant increase in demand over the coming years.”

“It is important to dispel the myth that annuities are the ‘old way’ of retirement planning. They are simply another tool in the retirement toolkit and, for the right client, can be extremely valuable. Fixed-term annuities can help bridge an income gap, for example between retirement and state pension age, while preserving future flexibility.”

“The VCT market remains resilient, yet the drop in investor numbers signals greater selectivity.”

“Higher interest rates, economic uncertainty and attractive lower-risk returns have curbed appetite for pure tax-driven venture bets.”

“Welfare spending now exceeds income tax revenues and is still rising. At some point politicians have to decide whether they keep making promises or start dealing with reality.”

“Reform is inevitable. Scrapping it outright would be politically toxic, but moving to a link based on earnings or inflation over a longer timeframe is far more likely.”

“Labour already appears politically paralysed, with every significant policy meeting backlash and a prompt U-turn. That makes meaningful reform harder, but delaying it simply means the eventual changes are likely to be far harsher.”

“This move would protect the pension pots of those working for companies taken over in cross-company deals.”

“In a worst-case scenario, this could push the insurer into difficulty, ultimately landing costs on the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, which is funded by levies on the wider financial services industry.”

“Overall, it should lead to a more resilient insurance sector, [with] fewer incentives to favour funded reinsurance over direct UK investment.”

“My best piece of practical advice is... follow the ‘never saw it’ rule. Start contributing to a pension the moment you start working. Every time you get a pay rise, immediately divert 10% of that increase into your pension. If you never see the money in your bank account, you won't miss it - but your 60-year-old self will treat you like a hero.”

“The smallest habit that can have the most explosive impact is… starting a pension when you get your first payslip. Some people wait until their 30s or 40s, but by then, they've already missed the most powerful growth years. Assume a 7% growth rate, and your money doubles every 10 years. If a 27-year-old starts now, their money has 40 years to grow before they hit state pension age.”

“People who would not have been exposed five or ten years ago are now being caught simply due to rising asset values. With straightforward steps taken in good time, this is often a tax that can be significantly reduced or avoided altogether.”

“BADR has now increased by 80 per cent over the past decade and by a further 28 per cent in this latest change alone, this is not a one-off adjustment, it's an ever-increasing tax on entrepreneurial success.”

“And this doesn't exist in isolation. Employer NI increases and minimum wage rises, which ripple upward through salary structures, not just the lowest tier, are already squeezing owners before they even think about exit.”