QA61 - Listener Questions, Episode 61

In this Meaningful Money Q&A, Pete Matthew and Roger Weeks answer six listener questions on the UK money decisions that trip people up. We look at the best place to hold an emergency fund (cash ISA, Premium Bonds or stocks and shares ISA), how the £10,000 Money Purchase Annual Allowance works if you retire part-way through the tax year, and whether moving pension income into an ISA can help fund future care home costs. We also cover claiming a refund on overdraft charges, balancing a police CARE pension with a SIPP, LISA and ISA to retire at 55, and paying employee share scheme proceeds into a SIPP tax-efficiently.

Shownotes: https://meaningfulmoney.tv/QA61

01:51 Question 1 Hi Pete and Roger - I'm quite a new listener to the podcast having come across it in my current pursuit of career-changing into the marvellous world of Financial Planning, from Accounting. The mini-series on what makes a good financial adviser was very eye opening and helped me take the decision to make the leap into financial advice - so thank you! Currently only 4 days left of my notice period as of writing. My question is hopefully a VERY simple one, especially for gentlemen of your calibre - I'm undecided and procrastinating on where the best place to hold my emergency fund is. With some indecision and flippancy over the past few years I've managed to end up with a little bit in a number of different pots, ranging from: - around £2,500 in Premium Bonds (yet to win a prize) - around £4,000 in a S&S ISA which of course is taking a bit of a hit as-of late - the remaining £2,000-£3,000 in a Cash ISA I know the short-term volatility of the S&S ISA is not well suited for an emergency fund, as evidenced in the last few months, but the amount just slowly grew over time while I was haphazardly saving. In your opinion, is this just as simple as putting everything into the Cash ISA and just having to eat the small inflation erosion vs interest gains? Naturally I want the funds to be available quickly were I to ever need them. Thanks for all the fantastic podcast episodes and apologies for my question being as long as it was for such a simple ask. Chris

06:25 Question 2 Hi Pete & Rog I only discovered your podcast last year but think it's excellent. You make complex topics easy to follow - thank you. I've just turned 65 and am planning to give up work later this year (I currently work three days a week). I've watched a lot of Meaningful Money content over the past few years, and great stuff from others, and last month re-read the Meaningful Money Retirement Guide just to keep on the right track & I think we're in a good place. I intend to keep making contributions into my workplace pension up to my retirement - salary sacrifice, employer contribution, low fees, etc. My question: If I retire part way through the tax year and have already made pension contributions in excess of the £10,000 MPAA does this mean I'd have to wait until the following 6th April to access my pension (other than tax free cash) to avoid a tax charge? I hope this question makes sense. Thanks and keep up the good work. Regards Kev

09:00 Question 3 Hi folks. Both Roger and Pete are doing a sterling job. My question/observation. Given there is a good probability of myself entering a rest/retirement/nursing home, and we know how expensive these are. Also there is now not the carrot of passing on DC pension pots free of IHT (from April 2027). Would not the best strategy be to max out the Basic rate income from ones DC pot, moving it say into an ISA (£20k p.y. as I write). The reason being, the expense of the retirement care and accommodation may be such that any income needed at that time from the DC pot, should funds allow, may be subject to higher rate income tax, in order to meet the bills. Just a thought Best regards John

12:11 Question 4 Hi Pete and Roger, I started listening to your podcast about 18 months ago and it really inspired me to turn my finances