Polestar Financial Advice

28/07/2026

Mileage rates are rising after 15 years but are still behind inflation. A small thaw in HMRC policy highlights a much bigger long-term freeze. Read more here

One element of the Chancellor’s ‘Great British Summer Saving’ package was an increase in tax-free mileage rates. There is a curious divide in the way in whi ...

26/07/2026

The Treasury has announced a new scheme for dealing with unclaimed Child Trust Funds

The Treasury has announced a new campaign aimed at reducing the number of unclaimed Child Trust Funds. On 4 July 2026, the US government will officially lau ...

24/07/2026

New data published by HMRC reveal the government’s reliance on the big four taxes: income tax, NI, VAT and corporation tax. Read more here

New data from HMRC shows how much the government relies on just four taxes. The Labour Party went into the 2024 general election with pledges on four major ...

23/07/2026

Could the State pension be replaced with a more flexible income scheme? A new report by the Tony Blair Institute thinks so. Find out more

Could the State pension be replaced with a more flexible income scheme? A new report thinks it would be possible. There are now 12.6 million people over Sta ...

21/07/2026

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revised life expectancy calculations. How does your pension planning look now? Read more

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has thought again about our life expectancy calculations. Life expectancy calculations matter, and not just to answ ...

19/07/2026

The new Pensions Commission warns millions are under-saving for retirement — and higher auto-enrolment contributions may follow. Is your pension saving on track?

The new Pensions Commission has issued an important interim report that could signal a stark warning for pension planning. The first Pensions Commission was ...

18/07/2026

Wealth tax is back, but big questions remain over how proposals would work. For now, planning around taxes that don’t yet exist may do more harm than good. Read more here

17/07/2026

What would you have expected for the investment markets for the first half of 2026 at the beginning of the year? The answer has again proved that markets don’t always behave as expected. Read more here

The world’s investment markets survived the first half of 2026 better than expected. Consider that you were told at the start of 2026 that by the end of Ju ...

31/05/2026

A new 6% cap on student loan interest sounds helpful – but is it really? Here’s the reality

The government has announced an interest rate cap for some student loans. It is not all it seems. Following Easter, the Department for Education (DfE) annou ...

29/05/2026

Homes over £2m may face new council tax surcharges from 2028. But what could it mean for prices? Find out here

Further details have emerged about the potential impact of the ‘mansion tax’ announced in the last Budget. Rachel Reeves’ first two Budgets have so far feat ...