According to the government’s own figures, around a third of retirees who would be entitled to this state benefit aren’t currently claiming it. That means they are potentially missing out on an important boost to their pension.
Even more significantly, it means they may be missing out on a raft of other benefits and discounts too, for which pension credit acts as a gateway. More about this shortly.
Applying for pension credit is especially crucial for people who reached retirement age before April 2016 and therefore receive the old basic state pension rather than the new (higher) one. While it may seem (and indeed be) unfair that older pensioners receive a lower rate, they do have the opportunity to claim the savings credit element of pension credit, which newer retirees don’t.
Savings credit payments can provide an extra boost to your income and entitle you to other payments and benefits as well. And, very importantly, the eligibility rules are different from guarantee credit and (in my view anyway) a bit less stringent. But if you don’t apply for pension credit, you won’t get either.
But before we get into that, let’s recap on what pension credit is.
What is Pension Credit?
Pension credit is a state benefit that comes in two parts: guarantee credit and savings credit.
Guarantee credit boosts your weekly income to £182.60 if you’re single or £278.70 if you’re a couple (figures correct from 6 April 2023). You should be eligible for guarantee credit if you have reached state pension age and your total income is less than these amounts (even if you own your own home).
If you have under £10,000 in savings and investments this will not be taken into consideration. If you have over £10,000, it will be assumed that you earn £1 a week per £500 of savings and investments. This will be added to your total income when working out your eligibility for guarantee credit.
Savings credit is only available to people who reached the state pension age before 6 April 2016. It is meant as a reward for those who have made some additional provision for their retirement. It’s worth up to £15.94 a week for a single person or £17.84 for couples (2023/24 figures). Somewhat counter-intuitively, to qualify you must have a minimum income of £174.49 a week if you’re single and £277.12 a week for a couple (again 2023/24 figures). You must also have some savings or other extra income provision (e.g. a private pension).
It’s worth adding that if you pay mortgage interest or have other housing costs, have caring responsibilities, are responsible for a child, or are severely disabled, you may be entitled to more pension credit. If you receive attendance allowance or carers credit, for example, this may boost the amount that you’re entitled to.
The rules surrounding all this are complicated, but the government has provided a free online calculator you can use to work out whether you qualify and how much you might get. This is for guidance only, however. You can’t apply via the calculator and there is no guarantee you will receive the amount it shows you.
Until recently to actually apply for pension credit you had to phone the DWP’s pension credit helpline on 0800 991234 with your Nl number, details of your income, savings and investments, and your bank account details. The person you spoke to would then then take you through the application process. This option is still available, but recently an option to apply online has been added. This is quite separate from the free online calculator mentioned above.
As I recently helped an elderly friend do this, I can confirm that the online method works well, though the questions asked don’t entirely correspond with the questions on the free online calculator. But using the latter first should give you an idea whether you are likely to qualify for pension credit and how much you might get. You can also try the effect of changing the amount of capital/income in the calculator to see if you might qualify in future even if you don’t at present (perhaps due to having too much in savings).
Additional Benefits
As well as the money – which can amount to thousands of pounds a year – if you receive pension credit you will be entitled to a range of additional discounts and benefits. These may include:
Even if you only receive a small amount of pension credit, you may be eligible for any of the above. So it really is important to apply if there is any chance you may qualify.
More About Savings Credit
As I said above, only older pensioners who retired before April 2016 can get savings credit. But potentially a lot more people in this category may be eligible for it than is the case with guarantee credit.
Whereas guarantee credit is only paid to pensioners on a low income and with limited savings, that isn’t necessarily the case with savings credit. As I noted above, to qualify for savings credit there is actually a minimum earnings limit. And you do actually need to have some savings (or other income source/s apart from the state pension) to be eligible.
The rules are complicated, so – as I said above – the best thing is to use the free online calculator. If it appears you are eligible for savings credit (or guarantee credit) it will tell you, and how much.
It should be said that if you are only awarded savings credit and not guarantee credit, you may not qualify for all of the extra benefits mentioned above (free NHS dental treatment, for example). But even if, with savings credit only, you don’t qualify for the whole of the discounts mentioned, you may at least be eligible for a partial reduction.
For the latest news and information about pension credit, please click here.
Closing Thoughts
To sum up, if you’re of state pension age and have a limited income or savings, you should certainly look into pension credit. Similarly, if you have elderly friends or relatives, you should check eligibility on their behalf (with their permission, of course).
As I’ve said above, this applies especially to anyone who started receiving the state pension before April 2016 and is therefore getting the old basic state pension. This is lower than the new state pension, but you may potentially be eligible for the savings credit element of pension credit (as well as guarantee credit, which anyone of state pension age can qualify for).
While savings credit is generally only a small amount, receiving it will make you eligible for a range of other discounts and benefits, including (as from winter 2024) Winter Fuel Payments. So it really is well worth checking on the free online calculator and then applying (by phone or online) if it appears you might be eligible.
Finally, you might like to know that (thankfully) my friend’s online application was successful. He got a letter a week later saying that he would be receiving pension credit (savings credit only) at a rate of about £5 a week, rising to just over £6 a week the following April. Naturally he was pleased to hear this. And he was even more pleased when he realised he would be getting the other benefits and discounts mentioned earlier as well. As an 84-year-old man who has recently lost his wife, this will certainly help make life a little more bearable for him.
As always, if you have any comments or questions about this article, please do post them below. Just bear in mind that I am not a qualified financial adviser or benefits adviser and cannot provide personal financial advice. If you require specific advice or assistance, your local Citizens Advice office would be one good place to start.
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As you may have heard, the BBC has now confirmed that from 1st August 2020 people over 75 in the UK will lose their automatic right to a free TV licence and have to pay the same £157.50 a year as everyone else. This was originally due to happen in June 2020, but it was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
For many old people, TV is their main (or only) source of company. Suddenly having to find this quite large sum out of (in many cases) a very limited income may cause them financial difficulties or downright hardship. Some may even have to choose between watching television and paying their heating bills.
This parlous situation has arisen because the BBC say they have to make economies, and continuing to subsidise free licences for the elderly would force them to cut back drastically in other areas. Meanwhile the government, despite their pre-election promises, has shown no sign of stepping in to preserve free TV licences for over 75s (which they could perfectly well do). Although charities such as Age UK have been raising petitions and applying as much pressure as they can, it now seems certain that this change is going to happen.
So what can people in this situation – or their relatives/friends/carers – do? The BBC have allowed just one concession – the poorest over-75s can continue to receive a free TV licence if they claim and receive pension credit. So let’s look at this in a bit more detail…
Pension Credit
Pension credit is a state benefit for people above retirement age who are on a low income. It can be paid to single people or to couples. It is usually paid weekly, though you can also choose to have it paid fortnightly or monthly.
Along with attendance allowance – which I discussed in this recent post – pension credit is one of the most under-claimed benefits. According to the Department for Work and Pensions, around 40 percent of eligible people, or two in five, fail to claim it. That’s an estimated 1.5 million eligible households in the UK who are missing out.
Pension credit actually comes in two parts – guarantee credit and savings credit. Guarantee credit boosts your weekly income to £167.25 if you’re single or £255.25 if you’re a couple (all figures correct as of March 2020). You may be eligible for guarantee credit if you have reached state pension age and your total income is less than these amounts (even if you own your own home). If you have under £10,000 in savings and investments this will not be taken into consideration. If you have over £10,000, it will be assumed that you earn £1 a week per £500 of savings and investments (equivalent to an interest rate of 10.4% – if only!). This will be added to your total income when working out your eligibility.
Savings credit is meant to be a reward for those who have saved for their retirement. It’s worth up to £13.73 a week for a single person or £15.35 for couples. To qualify, you must have a minimum income of £144.38 a week if you’re single, and £229.67 a week if you’re in a couple. For every £1 by which your income exceeds this amount, you get 60p of savings credit – up to the £13.73/£15.35 maximum. If your income is less than the £144.38/£229.67 savings credit threshold, you won’t qualify. Savings Credit is only available to people who reached state pension age before 6 April 2016. Couples where only one partner reached state pension age before 6 April 2016 can also retain savings credit if the older partner had reached 65 and qualified for savings credit before that date AND they have remained continuously entitled to it ever since.
It’s worth adding that if you pay mortgage interest or have other housing costs, have caring responsibilities, are responsible for a child, or are severely disabled, you may be entitled to more pension credit. If you receive attendance allowance or carers credit, for example, this may boost the amount you’re entitled to. The rules surrounding all this are complicated, but the government has provided a free online calculator you can use to work out whether you qualify and how much you might get. This is for guidance only, however. You can’t apply via the calculator and there is no guarantee that you will receive the amount it shows you.
To actually apply you will need to phone the DWP’s Pension Credit helpline on 0800 991234. You will need your National Insurance number, information about your income, savings and investments and your bank account details. The person you speak to will then take you through the application process. This is a subject I discussed in more detail in this blog post, as I recently helped an older friend to do this successfully.
What Does Pension Credit Entitle You To?
As well as the money – which can amount to thousands of pounds a year – if you receive pension credit you will be entitled to a range of additional benefits. A free TV licence if you are over 75 is just one of them. You may also get:
reduced council tax (or free if you are awarded guarantee credit)
Even if you only receive a small amount of pension credit, you will be eligible for all of the above. So it really is well worth applying if there is any chance you may qualify. As mentioned above, you can check first using the free online calculator here and then apply by phoning the DWP’s Pension Credit helpline on 0800 991234.
Don’t delay, as there are now just seven weeks left before the free TV licence for all over-75s becomes a cherished memory.
Equity Release to Boost Your Income
If you’re still struggling to pay the bills even with pension credit, there are other methods to help boost your income. In particular, UK homeowners are fortunate to have opportunities to unlock their property value. An equity release loan could provide the security you desire if you require the means to pay for life’s simple pleasures or cover essential costs.
What’s more, homeowners can unlock up to 65% of their property value, with no compulsory payments required during their lifetime. There’s no limit on how you can use the tax-free cash you receive, so an income lifetime mortgage could be the ideal way to pay your bills and have a bit extra for luxuries as well.
In this recent blog post I discussed how over-75s may be able to avoid losing their free TV licence by claiming pension credit.
As I said then, I have recently done this myself on behalf of an elderly couple who are friends of mine. As promised, today I’ll be sharing my experience of the telephone application process. I hope anyone thinking of doing this themselves or on behalf of elderly friends or relatives may find this helpful.
But first, let’s recap on what pension credit is…
Pension Credit
Pension credit is a state benefit for people above retirement age who are on a low income. It can be paid to single people or to couples. It is usually paid weekly, though you can also choose to have it paid fortnightly or monthly.
Along with attendance allowance – which I discussed in this recent post – pension credit is one of the most under-claimed benefits. According to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), around 40 percent of eligible people, or two in five, fail to claim it. That’s an estimated 1.5 million eligible households in the UK who are missing out.
Pension credit actually comes in two parts – guarantee credit and savings credit. Guarantee credit boosts your weekly income to £167.25 if you’re single or £255.25 if you’re a couple (all figures correct as of March 2020). You may be eligible for guarantee credit if you have reached state pension age and your total income is less than these amounts (even if you own your own home). If you have under £10,000 in savings and investments this will not be taken into consideration. If you have over £10,000, it will be assumed that you earn £1 a week per £500 of savings and investments (equivalent to an interest rate of 10.4%). This will be added to your total income when working out your eligibility.
Savings credit is meant to be a reward for those who have saved for their retirement. It’s worth up to £13.73 a week for a single person or £15.35 for couples. To qualify, you must have a minimum income of £144.38 a week if you’re single, and £229.67 a week if you’re in a couple. For every £1 by which your income exceeds this amount, you get 60p of savings credit – up to the £13.73/£15.35 maximum. If your income is less than the £144.38/£229.67 savings credit threshold, you won’t qualify.
While for most people pension credit won’t be a huge amount, it has the big advantage that it acts as a gateway to a range of other discounts and benefits. The free TV licence for over-75s is just one of them. Pension credit recipients may also get reduced council tax (or free if awarded guarantee credit), free NHS dental treatment, help towards the cost of glasses, help with the cost of travel to hospital, cold weather payments, automatic entitlement to the Warm Home Discount, help with rent, free home insulation and boiler grants, and more. All of this means it is well worth applying for, even if you’re not certain whether you qualify.
Checking Your Entitlement
The government is keen that anyone eligible for pension credit should claim it. To that end they recently launched a free online calculator you can use to work out whether you qualify and how much you might get.
You can use the calculator anonymously to check your entitlement (or someone else’s), either as an individual or a couple. You can’t actually apply via the calculator, though. It is just for guidance, to help you decide whether it’s worth putting in a claim.
The calculator asks a variety of questions about your circumstances and current income, including any pensions or other benefits you may receive. The latter may actually improve your chances of getting pension credit. For example, if you receive attendance allowance and/or carer’s credit (as my friends do) this can improve your chances of qualifying. When I did this on behalf of my friends, the calculator showed that they should be eligible for a payment of just over £10 a week.
As mentioned above, the results on the calculator are for guidance only, and there is no guarantee that you will receive the amount shown. However, in my friends’ case it definitely confirmed that applying would be worth doing.
Applying for Pension Credit
By far the easiest way to apply for pension credit is to phone the DWP’s Pension Credit Helpline on 0800 991234. You will need to have your National Insurance number, information about your income, savings and investments and your bank account details to hand.
If you’re applying on someone else’s behalf, the DWP like you to have the person concerned with you at the time. The call handler spoke briefly to my friend to confirm her personal details and that she was happy for me to take over the application process.
It turned out to be a two-stage procedure. Initially I spoke to a male call handler who asked a list of questions about my friends’ circumstances and their finances. This was basically the same set of questions I had answered on the online calculator. It was reasonably straightforward, and at the end he informed me that my friends did indeed appear to have a valid claim, so he was going to put me through to his colleague who would take me through the actual application.
This meant that I had to answer the same set of questions again from another DWP employee – a woman this time, as it happens. This did strike me and my friend as rather a waste of everyone’s time. We wondered why the answers I had given initially couldn’t just be passed on to the second person, but I suppose the DWP must have their reasons.
Anyway, we duly went through all the questions (and a few more) again. I would, incidentally, comment that the young woman I spoke to – who told me her name was Jenny – was extremely pleasant and helpful. At one point we went off at a tangent and started talking about our favourite cakes (well, it was tea-time by then). I felt she went out of her way to help us, and she certainly made the whole application process a lot less stressful.
After going through all the questions, Jenny said she would need information about how much exactly was in my friends’ bank accounts and when their (small) private pensions were paid in. This could have been problematic, as it involved logging in to my friends’ online bank accounts and finding this information there. But Jenny was patient and flexible about this, and in the end we found all the information she needed.
The whole process took a little over an hour. if you have to break off half-way through that is possible and you can ask for a reference number so you can complete the application another time. But I really wanted to get the whole thing done and dusted in one call, and thankfully – with Jenny’s help – we achieved that.
The Outcome
After about six weeks my friends received a letter from DWP saying their application had been successful and they had been awarded pension credit.
The amount was the same as had been shown on the online calculator. It was about £10.50 a week, going up to almost £12 in April (I’m sorry I can’t remember the exact figures). This money was savings credit rather than guarantee credit, but that makes no difference as far as the free TV licence is concerned. If you are over 75 and qualify for either type of pension credit (or both) you are entitled to a free TV licence.
We then submitted the short application form to the TV licence people, with a copy of the first page of the DWP letter confirming the award of pension credit. We haven’t heard any more since, but presumably my friends will receive their free TV licence in the coming weeks.
So that was my experience of applying for pension credit on my friends’ behalf. I hope it has encouraged you to proceed with your own application if you are considering making one. If you get to speak to the lovely Jenny in Scotland, do pass on my regards to her!
And if you have any comments or questions about this post, of course, pleased free free to leave them below as usual.
This is a fully updated repost of my March 2020 article.
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The number of people applying for Universal Credit has surged to record levels as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic and the numbers are set to rise further with the ongoing economic uncertainty.
In addition to a loss of income, households could also be facing a rise in energy-bills due to more time spent at home and cold weather approaching. Many will be coming to grips with the benefits system for the first time and starting to understand the rules, regulations and complexities around making a claim.
However, there is a little known silver lining for these claimants. Anyone who has claimed Universal Credit successfully will also be eligible for home improvements under the Government’s Energy Company Obligation (ECO) scheme.
This current scheme, called ECO3, targets people that have high energy costs comparative to household income. The scheme has a list of ‘qualifying benefits’ for eligibility. Universal Credit is on that list.
Plus, there are no savings or income-tests for the qualifying benefit part of the application, so if you receive any benefit on the list below (excluding Child Benefit, as that has an income cap), it’s likely you’ll be eligible.
According to Ofgem (who administer the ECO scheme), claimants will still be eligible for a period of 18 months following the date of the letter for the Universal Credit award (page 44 of the Ofgem ECO3 guidance has full details).
So if, say, you were awarded your Universal Credit in April but you got a job last week and came off Universal Credit today (for example), you still have a significant period of time (a year and a half) to apply for and install the measure, as you would still be classed as eligible even when you return to work. While you can wait to apply, it’s advisable to apply sooner rather than later, as funding rules can change at any time.
Even if you have returned to work or are planning to return to work, you will still be eligible, providing you have had at least one award for Universal Credit.
And it isn’t just Universal Credit recipients who are eligible for grants. Also on the ‘qualifying benefits’ list are the following:
You will still be eligible if you return to work as you can claim for a period of 18 months after claiming benefits.
What Grants Are Available?
There are a range of energy-efficiency measures that can be installed under the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) scheme, including boiler upgrades, home insulation and heating upgrades. The Scheme is funded by the major energy companies and if you claim benefits, you are entitled to this funding.
Table: Measures Available Under the Energy Company Obligation Scheme
Measure
Homeowners
Private Tenants
Housing Association Tenants
Landlords
Council Tenants
Air Source Heat Pump (ASHP)
✅
✅
✅
❌ Landlords ✅ Private tenants can apply
❌
Boiler Upgrade or Repair
✅
❌
❌
❌
❌
Cavity Wall Insulation
✅
✅
✅
❌ Landlords ✅ Private tenants can apply
❌
Electric Heating Upgrade
✅
✅
✅
❌ Landlords ✅ Private tenants can apply
❌
First Time Central Heating (FTCH)
✅
✅
✅
❌ Landlords ✅ Private tenants can apply
❌
Internal Wall Insulation
✅
✅
✅
❌ Landlords ✅ Private tenants can apply
❌
Underfloor Insulation
✅
✅
✅
❌ Landlords ✅ Private tenants can apply
❌
How Much Could You Get?
The amount of funding available depends on a range of factors, including property type, your existing heating, wall type and potential energy savings from proposed work.
The first step in working out what you could get is to check your eligibility online. There’s a quick form on the Energy Saving Genie website where you can enter your details to see if you are eligible.
If you meet the criteria, you can choose to apply and once your application has been submitted, it will be passed to a Registered Installer.
The Registered Installer will arrange a free survey of your property. You can choose to proceed ASAP with a survey taking place following strict health and safety guidelines or you can choose to wait until after Covid-19.
Once the survey has taken place, the surveyor will report back to the Registered Installer, who will talk you through the grants that are available towards energy-efficiency measures at your property.
The grant is paid directly to the installer and they are awarded on lifetime savings (LTS) scores. Currently electric heated properties and larger properties tend to receive the most funding. But even if your home isn’t large or heated by electricity, it is worth applying as you could still receive a significant grant towards home improvements.
So if you are one of the many million new Universal Credit claimants due to Covid-19, you can start the process of applying for a home improvement grant that will knock £££s of your energy bills for years to come, well after the pandemic has passed.
Disclosure; This is an adapted reblog of an original post by Energy Saving Genie. It is also a sponsored post. If you click through and end up taking advantage of this government scheme, I will receive a fee for introducing you. This will not affect any products or services you may receive or the value of any grants you may be awarded.
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Today I am looking at the Warm Home Discount scheme. The 2024/25 version of this has just launched.
The WHD scheme provides people on low incomes and/or certain means-tested benefits with a discount of £150 on their electricity bill. This is a one-off payment that will be credited to your electricity account by March 2025. It won’t be paid to you in cash.
If you have a pre-payment electricity meter you can still get WHD. You may be given a voucher you can use to top up your payments. Your electricity supplier will tell you exactly how and when you will receive this.
You may be able to get the discount on your gas bill instead if your supplier provides you with both gas and electricity. You will need to ask your supplier about this.
To get the £150 discount, you need to have your name on the bill and either receive a qualifying benefit or (in Scotland) qualify under your supplier’s low-income criteria (see below).
If you live in England or Wales, you will qualify if you either:
An important thing to note is that only pensioners who receive the Guarantee element of Pension Credit will qualify automatically for the Warm Home Discount. These people are known as ‘Core Group 1’ in England and Wales and the ‘Core Group’ in Scotland. If you’re in this group you should receive a letter between October 2024 and early January 2025 telling you when and how the discount will be paid. If you don’t get a letter and think you are eligible for the core group, you should contact the Warm Home Discount helpline on 0800 030 9322.
You should also still qualify for WHD if you live in England or Wales and:
your energy supplier is part of the scheme (see below)
you get certain means-tested benefits or tax credits
your property has a high energy cost score (see below)
your name (or your partner’s) is on the bill
This is known as being in ‘Core Group 2’. The qualifying means-tested benefits are:
Housing Benefit
income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
Income Support
the ‘Savings Credit’ part of Pension Credit
Universal Credit
You could also qualify if your household income falls below a certain threshold and you get either:
Again, you should receive a letter between October 2024 and early January 2025 telling you about the discount if you’re eligible. In most cases you are no longer required to apply for it.
Most eligible households will receive an automatic discount. Your letter will say if you need to call a helpline by 28 February 2025 to confirm your details.
If you’re eligible, your electricity supplier will apply the discount to your bill by 31 March 2025.
If you live in Scotland and don’t get the Guarantee Element of Pension Credit, you may qualify to receive WHD if:
your energy supplier is part of the scheme
you (or your partner) get certain means-tested benefits or tax credits
your name (or your partner’s) is on the bill
Your supplier may have additional criteria so you will need to check with them if you’re eligible. This is known as being in the ‘broader group’. To get the discount you’ll need to stay with your supplier until it’s paid.
As mentioned above, if you are not in Core Group 1 in England and Wales, to qualify for WHD your property must also have a high energy cost score.
The Government models the energy cost score of your property based on official data about its characteristics. These include the property type, age, and floor area. The Government uses data from the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) to model your property’s energy cost score. They may also use your property’s Energy Performance Certificate (EPC), assuming it has one. Other sources and statistical methods may also be used for the small proportion of households where data is not otherwise available.
Each year the Government will decide what constitutes a high energy cost score. It’s not straightforward for an individual to determine whether they will be eligible under this criterion. If you fill in the online eligibility checker, however, it should indicate whether or not you are likely to qualify (when I tried this for some elderly friends, it said they would ‘probably’ qualify and should wait to receive a letter).
Which Suppliers Offer Warm Home Discount?
All the large energy suppliers offer WHD and some of the lesser-known ones as well. Below is a list of suppliers copied from the government webpage devoted to Warm Home Discount. You can check your eligibility on the supplier’s website or phone them up and ask.
100Green (formerly Green Energy UK or GEUK)
Affect Energy – see Octopus Energy
Boost
British Gas
Bulb Energy – see Octopus Energy
Co-op Energy – see Octopus Energy
E – also known as E (Gas and Electricity)
Ecotricity
E.ON Next
EDF
Fuse Energy
Good Energy
Home Energy
London Power
Octopus Energy
Outfox the Market
OVO
Rebel Energy
Sainsbury’s Energy
Scottish Gas – see British Gas
ScottishPower
Shell Energy Retail
So Energy
Tomato Energy
TruEnergy
Utilita
Utility Warehouse
The government say that if the electricity supplier you were with stops trading, you may still be eligible for the Warm Home Discount. Ofgem will appoint your new supplier for you, and you should check with the new supplier to find out if you’re eligible for the discount.
If you are in the market for a new energy supplier, you may like to know that if you switch to EDF Energy you can get £50 credited to your account by clicking on my EDF referral link. I am an EDF customer myself and will also get £50 credited to my account if you do this and switch to EDF. This will not affect in any way the service you receive or the rate you are charged.
Other Winter Fuel Benefits
Two other benefits are also available to qualifying individuals.
1. People born before 23rd September 1958 and in receipt of pension credit or certain other welfare benefits are eligible for a Winter Fuel Payment. This is worth £200 or £300 per person and will be paid in November or December 2024. More information including eligibility details can be found on the official government website. As you may know, previously all state pensioners were entitled to WFP, but the new Labour government has chosen to restrict it to the poorest pensioners only.
2. In the event of a prolonged cold spell, most people receiving Pension Credit will receive Cold Weather Payments. People on Income Support, Jobseeker’s Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and Universal Credit may also qualify depending on their circumstances, e.g. if they have a disability and/or a disabled child living with them. You will get this payment if the average temperature in your area is recorded as, or forecast to be, zero degrees Celsius or below for seven consecutive days. You get £25 for each seven-day period of very cold weather between 1 November and 31 March. Note that people in Scotland don’t get Cold Weather Payments but might get an annual £50 Winter Heating Payment instead. This is paid regardless of weather conditions in your area.
As always, if you have any comments or questions about this post, please do leave them below.
This is the 2024 update of an annual post.
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I’ll begin as usual with my Nutmeg Stocks and Shares ISA. This is the largest investment I hold other than my Bestinvest SIPP (personal pension).
As the screenshot below for the year to date shows, my main Nutmeg portfolio is currently valued at £24,625. Last month it stood at £24,525, so that is an increase of £100.
Apart from my main portfolio, I also have a second, smaller pot using Nutmeg’s Smart Alpha option. This is now worth £3,954 (rounded up) compared with £3,937 a month ago, a rise of £17. Here is a screen capture showing performance over the year to date.
Finally, at the start of December 2023 I invested £500 in one of Nutmeg’s new thematic portfolios (Resource Transformation). In March I also invested a further £200 from ‘Refer a Friend’ bonuses. As you can see from the YTD screen capture below, this portfolio is now worth £781 compared with £772 last month, a small rise of £9.
As you can see, September was another decent though unspectacular month for my Nutmeg investments. Their overall value has risen by £126 or 0.43% since the start of September. They are also up by £3,045 or 11.57% since the start of the year.
You can read my full Nutmeg review here. If you are looking for a home for your annual ISA allowance, based on my overall experience over the last eight years, they are certainly worth considering. They offer self-invested personal pensions (SIPPs), Lifetime ISAs and Junior ISAs as well.
Note that I am no longer an affiliate for Nutmeg. That means you won’t find any affiliate links in my review (or anywhere else on PAS). And you will no longer see the no-fees-for-six-months offer I used to promote as an affiliate. However, the better news is that you can still get six months free of any management fees by registering with Nutmeg via my Refer a Friend link. I will receive a gift voucher if you do this, which is duly appreciated
Don’t forget, also, that the current tax year began on 6 April 2024 and you have a full £20,000 tax-free ISA allowance for 2024/25. In a change to the rules, you can now open any number of ISAs with different providers in the same tax year, as long as you don’t exceed your overall £20,000 allowance. So opening a stocks and shares ISA with Nutmeg won’t prevent you from also opening one with another S&S ISA provider (should you wish to) later in the financial year.
Moving on, I also have investments with the property crowdlending platform Kuflink. They continue to do well, with new projects launching every week. I currently have around £833 invested with them in 7 different projects paying interest rates averaging around 7%. I also have £40 in my Kuflink cash account.
To date I have never lost any money with Kuflink, though some loan terms have been extended once or twice. On the plus side, when this happens additional interest is paid for the period in question.
There is now an initial minimum investment of £1,000 and a minimum investment per project of £500. Kuflink say they are doing this to streamline their operation and minimize costs. I can understand that, though it does mean that the option to test the water with a small first investment has been removed. It also makes it harder for small investors (like myself) to build a well-diversified portfolio on a limited budget.
One possible way around this is to invest using Kuflink’s Auto/IFISA facility. Your money here is automatically invested across a basket of loans over a period from one to five years. Interest rates range from 7% to around 10%, depending on the length of term you choose. Full up-to-date details can be found on the Kuflink website.
You can invest tax-free in a Kuflink Auto IFISA. Or if you have already used your annual ISA allowance elsewhere, you can invest via a taxable Auto account. You can read my full Kuflink review here if you wish.
Moving on, my Assetz Exchange investments continue to generate steady returns. Regular readers will know that this is a P2P property investment platform focusing on lower-risk properties (e.g. sheltered housing). I put an initial £100 into this in mid-February 2021 and another £400 in April. In June 2021 I added another £500, bringing my total investment up to £1,000.
Since I opened my account, my AE portfolio has generated a respectable £208.97 in revenue from rental income. Capital growth has slowed, though, in line with UK property values generally.
At the time of writing, 11 of ‘my’ properties are showing gains, 5 are breaking even, and the remaining 17 are showing losses. My portfolio of 33 properties is currently showing a net decrease in value of £42.75, meaning that overall (rental income minus capital value decrease) I am up by £166.22. That’s still a decent return on my £1,000 and does illustrate the value of P2P property investments for diversifying your portfolio. And it doesn’t hurt that with Assetz Exchange most projects are socially beneficial as well.
The overall fall in capital value of my AE investments is obviously a little disappointing. But it’s important to remember that until/unless I choose to sell the investments in question, it is largely theoretical, based on the latest price at which shares in the property concerned have changed hands. The rental income, on the other hand, is real money (which in my case I’ve reinvested in other AE projects to further diversify my portfolio).
To control risk with all my property crowdfunding investments nowadays, I invest relatively modest amounts in individual projects. This is a particular attraction of AE as far as i am concerned (especially after Kuflink raised their minimum investment per project to £500). You can actually invest from as little as 80p per property if you really want to proceed cautiously.
As I noted in this recent post, Assetz Exchange is particularly good if you want to compound your returns by reinvesting rental income. This effectively boosts the interest rate you are receiving. Personally, once I have accrued a minimum of £10 in rental payments, I reinvest this money in either a new AE project or one I have already invested in (thus increasing my holding). Over time, even if I don’t invest any more capital, this will ensure my investment with AE grows at an accelerating rate and becomes more diversified as well.
My investment on Assetz Exchange is in the form of an IFISA so there won’t be any tax to pay on profits, dividends or capital gains. I’ve been impressed by my experiences with Assetz Exchange and the returns generated so far, and intend to continue investing with them. You can read my full review of Assetz Exchange here. You can also sign up for an account on Assetz Exchange directly via this link [affiliate]. Bear in mind that, as from this financial year (2024/25), you can open more than one IFISA per year.
In 2022 I set up an account with investment and trading platform eToro, using their popular ‘copy trader’ facility. I chose to invest $500 (then about £412) copying an experienced eToro trader called Aukie2008 (real name Mike Moest).
In January 2023 I added to this with another $500 investment in one of their thematic portfolios, Oil Worldwide. I also invested a small amount I had left over in Tesla shares.
As you can see from the screen captures below, my original investment totalling $1,022.26 is today worth $1,305.31 an overall increase of $283.05 or 27.69%.
As you can see, my Oil WorldWide investment is showing 7.30% profit. That’s okay but not spectacular. Obviously my copy trading investment with Aukie2008 has been doing much better. The Oil WorldWide port was recently rebalanced by eToro, so I hope this may boost its performance. The investment team at eToro periodically rebalance all smart portfolios to ensure that the mix of investments remains aligned with the portfolio’s goals, and to take advantage of any new opportunities that may present themselves.
As a matter of interest, since I wrote the above war has effectively broken out in the Middle East. This has led to fears that oil supplies from the region will be compromised and the price of oil will rise. As a consequence of this (I assume) the value of my Oil Worldwide investment has gone up. I say this not to gloat over the tragedy that is unfolding in the area, but to highlight the fact that a diversified portfolio can often help to hedge against economic downturns resulting from world events.
You might also notice that I have a small holding in Prosus NV, a Dutch internet group. To be honest I don’t understand how I acquired this, but it may be connected to my copy trading investment with MIke Moest (who is Dutch). In any event, I am happy to have it in my portfolio as well!
eToro also offer the free eToro Money app. This allows you to deposit money to your eToro account without paying any currency conversion fees, saving you up to £5 for every £1,000 you deposit. You can also use the app to withdraw funds from your eToro account instantly to your bank account. I tried this myself and was impressed with how quickly and seamlessly it worked. You can read my blog post about eToro Money here. Note that it can also serve as a cryptocurrency wallet, allowing you to send and receive crypto from any other wallet address in the world.
I had three more articles published in September on the excellent Mouthy Money website. The first is Are Electric Boilers Better Than Heat Pumps?. As you doubtless know, the government are pushing heat pumps hard as a means of achieving their Net Zero goals. They are definitely not a one-size-fits-all solution, though. In this article I highlighted an alternative that may be more suitable for some, electric boilers. These are cheaper, smaller and quieter than heat pumps (though their running costs may be higher). You can read all about the pros and cons of heat pumps versus electric boilers in the article.
Also in September I revealed How to Get Free Stuff Online. In this article, I explained how you can get your hands on a wide range of freebies online, from samples and giveaways to promotional offers and rewards programmes – all without having to spend a single penny!
Finally, in September I discussed How to Save Money With Cashback Sites. If you ever buy anything online, you can almost certainly save by signing up with these sites. In this article I revealed how they work and set out some hints and tops for making the most of them.
As I’ve said before, Mouthy Money is a great resource for anyone interested in money-making and money-saving. From the variety of articles published in September, I particularly enjoyed Secondhand September: Good for Your Purse and the Planet by regular MM contributor Shoestring Jane. Jane writes mainly about money saving and frugal living. You can see all of her articles for Mouthy Money via this web page.
I also published (or republished) several posts on Pounds and Sense in September. Some are no longer relevant due to closing dates having passed, but I have listed the others below.
In Can You Still Make Money From Matched Betting? I discussed this tax-free money-making opportunity. As I said in the article, this is something I did for several years and earned about £3,000 from. I am not doing it nearly as much these days, for reasons explained in the article. But if you’ve never done it before, I do still highly recommend it as a way of making some quick tax-free cash. The article explains what matched betting is and how to get started.
The price of stamps is rising again on Monday 7 October 2024. That is the second price rise this year, after they also went up in April. So in How to Beat the Postage Stamp Price Rise, I revealed just how much (some) prices are rising and suggested ways to mitigate this.
In case you didn’t know, October is Free Wills Month. So in Get Your Will Written Free of Charge in October, I discussed how you can use this no-strings scheme to get your will written free at a range of participating solicitors across the UK. There are only limited slots available, so I recommend moving quickly if you want to take advantage of this opportunity.
Also in September I published How to Save Money on Your Heating Bills This Winter. As you doubtless know, gas and electricity bills have gone up considerably in the last year or two. And many older people will no longer get Winter Fuel Payments, as the new Labour government have opted to restrict this to just the very poorest pensioners (those in receipt of Pension Credit). So in this article I set out a range of ways you may be able to save money on your heating and energy bills. Following these tips could save you hundreds of pounds in the months and years ahead.
Finally, I published Amazon Big Deals Day is Almost Here. This annual event extends over two days, Tuesday 8th and Wednesday 9th October 2024. It is is a special event for Amazon Prime members only. Amazon say they will be offering members their lowest prices of the year on selected products from leading brands including Philips, Logitech, Oral-B, Braun, Tefal, Ghd, Swarovski, Bosch, Shark, and so on.
Next, some odds and ends. First up, Trading 212 recently reopened their free share offer, so I have updated my post Get a Free Share Worth Up to £100 With Trading 212. This explains how, if you haven’t done so already, you can get a free share when you open a new Invest or Stocks ISA with Trading 212. Note that opening a Cash ISA with T212 alone will not qualify you for a free share, but of course you can do both. My advice is to start by opening a Stocks ISA or (non-ISA) Invest account to qualify for your free share and apply (if you wish) for the Cash ISA after that. This new free share offer closes on 6 November 2024.
A few months ago I invested just over £1,000 in a Scottish wind farm project via a platform called Ripple Energy. The way this works is that you pay a fee towards building the wind farm, and in exchange receive lower-cost, ‘green’ electricity once the wind farm is up and running. This will continue for the life of the wind farm (an estimated 20 years). The original closing date for this was the end of May, but the date was extended and the share offer is still open at the time of writing. You can pay by 12 monthly instalments rather than a single lump sum if you like. If you’re interested in learning more, you can visit the Ripple website via my referral link. If you decide to invest, you will get a £25 bonus credited to your account when generation starts (and so will I). Note that you will need to invest a minimum of £1,000 to qualify for the £25 bonus, but you can invest from as little as £25 if you wish.
Speaking of energy, a quick reminder that if you switch to EDF Energy via my refer-a-friend link (below) you can get a FREE £50 credited to your energy account (and so will I). For more info and to sign up, click on https://edfenergy.com/quote/refer-a-friend/sunny-koala-9462
Finally, I wanted to highlight (again) the decision by the new government to abolish Winter Fuel Payments for all pensioners except those on pension credit. Like many others, I feel this is a terrible decision that will badly impact some of the poorest people in society and quite likely lead to increased deaths by hypothermia in the winter ahead (and others to follow).
it is therefore more important than ever that older people who may be eligible for pension credit apply for it. I recently updated my blog post about pension credit in light of the announcement. If you have older relatives, friends or neighbours, please encourage them to apply if they may be eligible. The application process is not as straightforward as it should be, so they may well appreciate some help with it
Even so, be aware that only the very poorest pensioners qualify for pension credit. If you get the full new state pension, even with no other source of income, you likely won’t qualify. I do therefore recommend writing to your MP and asking for this Draconian decision to be reversed. You may also like to sign one of the various petitions that have sprung up, including this one on Change.org and this one from Age UK. The former has over 100,000 signatures now and the latter over half a million.
That’s all for now. If you have any comments or queries about this update, as ever, feel free to leave them below. I am always delighted to hear from PAS readers
Disclaimer: I am not a qualified financial adviser and nothing in this blog post should be construed as personal financial advice. Everyone should do their own ‘due diligence’ before investing and seek professional advice if in any doubt how best to proceed. All investing carries a risk of loss. Note also that posts on PAS may include affiliate links. If you click through and perform a qualifying transaction, I may receive a commission for introducing you. This will not affect the product or service you receive or the terms you are offered, but it does help support me in publishing PAS and paying my bills. Thank you!
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For older people in particular, heating bills can be among their biggest expenses. And it’s especially important for older people to keep warm, as getting chilled can lower your body’s resistance to infection and – in the worst cases – lead to hypothermia.
In addition, as you doubtless know, gas and electricity bills have gone up considerably in the last year or two. And many older people will no longer get Winter Fuel Payments, as the new government have opted to restrict this to just the very poorest pensioners (those in receipt of Pension Credit).
So today I thought I’d set out some ways you may be able to save money on your heating and energy bills. Following these tips could save you hundreds of pounds in the months and years ahead.
Switch Energy Supplier
It’s important to check regularly whether you could save money by switching to a different supplier and/or tariff. The quick and easy way of doing this is via a price comparison website. There are a number of these available, including GoCompare and USwitch.
Just visit the comparison site and enter a few details, including your current supplier and tariff and how much you spend on gas and electricity in the course of a year (it doesn’t have to be exact). The site will then display the best deals currently open to you and how much you might be able to save by switching to them. In most cases you can also start the switching process by clicking on the relevant link. Before you do, though, it’s worth checking on cashback sites like Quidco and Top Cashback, as some energy companies pay cashback via these sites to people switching their supply to them.
If you are one of the 1.1 million households who use oil for heating, you can save money by shopping around for suppliers too. Check out the oil price comparison service BoilerJuice. Type in your postcode and how many litres of heating oil you’re looking to buy, and BoilerJuice will show you quotes from suppliers covering your area.
Switching energy suppliers is generally quick and easy, and can save you hundreds of pounds a year at a stroke. In these challenging times, it should be high on your list of potential money-saving strategies this winter.
Special Offer! If you switch to EDF Energy via my link, you can get a FREE £50 credited to your energy account. Terms and conditions apply. For more info, click on https://edfenergy.com/quote/refer-a-friend/sunny-koala-9462 [referral link].
Get Financial Help
If you’re in certain priority groups, you may be able to get cash payments to help offset your energy bills.
Winter Fuel Payment is a one-off annual payment of £200 to £300 which was previously made to everyone over state pension age. Unfortunately, as mentioned above, the new government have decided to limit this benefit to the very poorest pensioners who are in receipt of pension credit (or certain other welfare benefits). To qualify this winter, you must have been born on or before 23 September 1958 and been in receipt of a qualifying benefit for at least one day during the week of 16 to 22 September 2024 (the ‘qualifying week’). If that applies to you, this money should be paid automatically, but you can phone the Winter Fuel Payment Centre on 0800 731 0160 if you haven’t received the payment before and need to claim.
If you think you might be eligible for Pension Credit but are not currently receiving it, it’s now more important than ever to apply. Not only will it qualify you to receive Winter Fuel Payments, it can act as a gateway to a range of other discounts and benefits as well. See my blog post about applying for Pension Credit for more information.
In addition, those on certain welfare benefits (including Pension Credit, Income Support and Universal Credit) may be eligible for Cold Weather Payments. This is £25 for any period of seven consecutive days when temperatures fall below zero. More information can be found on this page of the government website.
You may also be eligible for £150 off your energy bill under the Warm Home Discount Scheme. This is run by some (not all) of the energy companies. If you get the Guaranteed Credit element of Pension Credit you will qualify automatically. But if you’re on a low income and meet the energy supplier’s other criteria, you may also qualify. Contact your supplier directly for more information. The large energy companies such as EDF and British Gas all operate this scheme, but some of the smaller ones don’t. The Warm Home DIscount scheme for 2024/25 opens in October 2024. More information can be found on the official website.
Finally, if you’re on a very low income, you may qualify for help from the Household Support Fund: This is money provided to councils by the government to assist pensioners and others on very low incomes. You will need to contact your local council to find out if you’re eligible.
More Top Tips
Here are some more ways you may be able to save money on your heating and energy bills.
Have your boiler serviced regularly, to ensure it is operating at peak efficiency.
If you have an old boiler that keeps breaking down, the time may have come to replace it. The Energy Saving Trust say that you could save up to up to 40 percent on your gas bill by installing a new ‘A’ rated condensing boiler with a programmer, room thermostat and thermostatic radiator controls.
Upgrading your insulation can also cut bills by reducing the amount of heat going to waste. Depending on your circumstances, you may be able to get a free boiler and/or insulation under the government’s Energy Company Obligation (ECO) scheme. You can apply for this via your energy company. Even if you’re not on a low income, you may be able to get a discount on home insulation, so it’s worth checking to see what’s available.
If your radiators aren’t heating up properly at the top, you may need to bleed them to release air in the pipes. Depending on the radiator, you may need a special key to do this or a flat-bladed screwdriver.
Turn down your thermostat by one degree - this can reduce your heating bill by up to 10%.
Ensure you don’t put furniture right in front of radiators, as this can block heat from entering the room.
Replace old light-bulbs with new energy-saving bulbs. The latest LED bulbs are just as bright as old incandescent bulbs and use a tenth of the energy. They last longer too.
Exclude draughts with heavy curtains and draught excluders by doors.
Turn off heaters in rooms you aren’t using and close the doors to keep heat in.
Place reflective foil behind radiators on exterior walls to bounce heat back into the room.
Don’t leave electrical appliances on standby.
Wash clothes at 30 degrees and try to avoid using tumble driers. Hang washing outside whenever possible or place it over an airer.
Consider investing in a smart thermostat system such as Nest or Hive. This will give you precise, automated control over your heating system, allowing you to use just as much energy as you need and no more. See this Money Supermarket article for more information.
If your funds are limited and you have or develop a disability you may be able to get a Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) from your local authority to pay for adaptations such as stairlifts.
By taking these steps you should be able to cut your heating and energy bills significantly this winter.
If you have any comments or questions about this post, as always, please do leave them below.
This is a fully updated version of my original post on this subject.
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I’ll begin as usual with my Nutmeg Stocks and Shares ISA. This is the largest investment I hold other than my Bestinvest SIPP (personal pension).
As the screenshot below for the year to date shows, my main Nutmeg portfolio is currently valued at £24,525 (rounded up). Last month it stood at £24,237, so that is an increase of £288.
Apart from my main portfolio, I also have a second, smaller pot using Nutmeg’s Smart Alpha option. This is now worth £3,937 compared with £3,895 a month ago, a rise of £42. Here is a screen capture showing performance over the year to date.
Finally, at the start of December 2023 I invested £500 in one of Nutmeg’s new thematic portfolios (Resource Transformation). In March I also invested a further £200 from ‘Refer a Friend’ bonuses. As you can see from the YTD screen capture below, this portfolio is now worth £772 compared with £769 last month, a small rise of £3.
As you can see from the charts, August was generally a decent month for my Nutmeg investments, despite a hiccup early in the month. Their overall value has risen by £333 or 1.16% since the start of August. They are also up by £2,919 or 11.08% since the start of the year.
You can read my full Nutmeg review here. If you are looking for a home for your annual ISA allowance, based on my overall experience over the last eight years, they are certainly worth considering. They offer self-invested personal pensions (SIPPs), Lifetime ISAs and Junior ISAs as well.
Note that I am no longer an affiliate for Nutmeg. That means you won’t find any affiliate links in my review (or anywhere else on PAS). And you will no longer see the no-fees-for-six-months offer I used to promote as an affiliate. However, the better news is that you can still get six months free of any management fees by registering with Nutmeg via my Refer a Friend link. I will receive a gift voucher if you do this, which is duly appreciated
Don’t forget, also, that the current tax year began on 6 April 2024 and you have a full £20,000 tax-free ISA allowance for 2024/25. In a change to the rules, you can now open any number of ISAs with different providers in the same tax year, as long as you don’t exceed your overall £20,000 allowance. So opening a stocks and shares ISA with Nutmeg won’t prevent you from also opening one with another S&S ISA provider (should you wish to) later in the financial year.
Moving on, I also have investments with the property crowdlending platform Kuflink. They continue to do well, with new projects launching every week. I currently have around £833 invested with them in 7 different projects paying interest rates averaging around 7%. I also have £40 in my Kuflink cash account.
To date I have never lost any money with Kuflink, though some loan terms have been extended once or twice. On the plus side, when this happens additional interest is paid for the period in question.
There is now an initial minimum investment of £1,000 and a minimum investment per project of £500. Kuflink say they are doing this to streamline their operation and minimize costs. I can understand that, though it does mean that the option to test the water with a small first investment has been removed. It also makes it harder for small investors (like myself) to build a well-diversified portfolio on a limited budget.
One possible way around this is to invest using Kuflink’s Auto/IFISA facility. Your money here is automatically invested across a basket of loans over a period from one to five years. Interest rates range from 7% to around 10%, depending on the length of term you choose. Full up-to-date details can be found on the Kuflink website.
You can invest tax-free in a Kuflink Auto IFISA. Or if you have already used your annual ISA allowance elsewhere, you can invest via a taxable Auto account. You can read my full Kuflink review here if you wish.
Moving on, my Assetz Exchange investments continue to generate steady returns. Regular readers will know that this is a P2P property investment platform focusing on lower-risk properties (e.g. sheltered housing). I put an initial £100 into this in mid-February 2021 and another £400 in April. In June 2021 I added another £500, bringing my total investment up to £1,000.
Since I opened my account, my AE portfolio has generated a respectable £200.41 in revenue from rental income. Capital growth has slowed, though, in line with UK property values generally.
At the time of writing, 10 of ‘my’ properties are showing gains, 6 are breaking even, and the remaining 17 are showing losses. My portfolio of 33 properties is currently showing a net decrease in value of £43.69, meaning that overall (rental income minus capital value decrease) I am up by £156.72. That’s still a decent return on my £1,000 and does illustrate the value of P2P property investments for diversifying your portfolio. And it doesn’t hurt that with Assetz Exchange most projects are socially beneficial as well.
The overall fall in capital value of my AE investments is obviously a little disappointing. But it’s important to remember that until/unless I choose to sell the investments in question, it is largely theoretical, based on the most recent price at which shares in the property concerned have changed hands. The rental income, on the other hand, is real money (which in my case I’ve reinvested in other AE projects to further diversify my portfolio).
To control risk with all my property crowdfunding investments nowadays, I invest relatively modest amounts in individual projects. This is a particular attraction of AE as far as i am concerned (especially after Kuflink raised their minimum investment per project to £500). You can actually invest from as little as 80p per property if you really want to proceed cautiously.
As I noted in this recent post, Assetz Exchange is particularly good if you want to compound your returns by reinvesting rental income. This effectively boosts the interest rate you are receiving. Personally, once I have accrued a minimum of £10 in rental payments, I reinvest this money in either a new AE project or one I have already invested in (thus increasing my holding). Over time, even if I don’t invest any more capital, this will ensure my investment with AE grows at an accelerating rate and becomes more diversified as well.
My investment on Assetz Exchange is in the form of an IFISA so there won’t be any tax to pay on profits, dividends or capital gains. I’ve been impressed by my experiences with Assetz Exchange and the returns generated so far, and intend to continue investing with them. You can read my full review of Assetz Exchange here. You can also sign up for an account on Assetz Exchange directly via this link [affiliate]. Bear in mind that, as from this financial year (2024/25), you can open more than one IFISA per year.
In 2022 I set up an account with investment and trading platform eToro, using their popular ‘copy trader’ facility. I chose to invest $500 (then about £412) copying an experienced eToro trader called Aukie2008 (real name Mike Moest).
In January 2023 I added to this with another $500 investment in one of their thematic portfolios, Oil Worldwide. I also invested a small amount I had left over in Tesla shares.
As you can see from the screen captures below, my original investment totalling $1,022.26 is today worth $1,303.27 an overall increase of $281.01 or 27.51%.
As you can see, my Oil WorldWide investment is showing 12.85% profit. That’s okay but not spectacular. Obviously my copy trading investment with Aukie2008 has been doing better. The Oil WorldWide port was recently rebalanced by eToro, so I hope this may boost its performance. The investment team at eToro periodically rebalance all smart portfolios to ensure that the mix of investments remains aligned with the portfolio’s goals, and to take advantage of any new opportunities that may present themselves.
You might also notice that I have a small holding in Prosus NV, a Dutch internet group. To be honest I don’t understand how I acquired this, but it may be connected to my copy trading investment with MIke Moest (who is Dutch). In any event, I am happy to have it in my portfolio as well!
eToro also offer the free eToro Money app. This allows you to deposit money to your eToro account without paying any currency conversion fees, saving you up to £5 for every £1,000 you deposit. You can also use the app to withdraw funds from your eToro account instantly to your bank account. I tried this myself and was impressed with how quickly and seamlessly it worked. You can read my blog post about eToro Money here. Note that it can also serve as a cryptocurrency wallet, allowing you to send and receive crypto from any other wallet address in the world.
I had three more articles published in August on the excellent Mouthy Money website. The first is Win Fame and (Maybe) Fortune as a TV Quiz Show Contestant. This can be an exciting and occasionally lucrative pastime. I revealed how to find opportunities and apply for them. I also explained how the auditioning process works, and offered some tips on how to boost your chances of success.
Also in August I revealed my Ten Top Tips for Working From Home. This is something I’ve done for over 30 years now, so in this article I set out my top ten tips based on my experience. If you have recently started working from home, or expect to do so in future, you may find this article helpful.
Finally, I wrote an article titled How Understanding Cognitive Dissonance Theory Can Help Us Manage Our Finances Better. This article drew on my experiences of studying psychology back in the 1970s. Developed by psychologist Leon Festinger in 1957, cognitive dissonance theory explores the discomfort we experience when we simultaneously hold conflicting beliefs or attitudes. By understanding this, we can gain insights into our financial behaviour, helping us make more informed decisions and achieve better financial results.
As I’ve said before, Mouthy Money is a great resource for anyone interested in money-making and money-saving. From the variety of articles published in August, I particularly enjoyed How to Save Money on Your Home Removal by regular MM contributor Shoestring Jane. Jane writes mainly about money saving and frugal living. You can see all of her articles for Mouthy Money via this web page.
I also published several posts on Pounds and Sense in August. Some are no longer relevant due to closing dates having passed, but I have listed the others below.
In these challenging times, we all need to ensure our savings stretch as far as possible. So in How to Maximize Your Savings Interest l set out a range of tax-free allowances you can use to help do this. They include the Personal Savings Allowance (PSA), Starting Rate for Savings, Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs), and various others.
I also published How to Win Cash and Prizes in Online Competitions. This can be another tax-free way to boost your finances! In this post I revealed how to find online competitions to enter, why you should set up dedicated ‘comping’ accounts, how to identify potential scams, and more. Good luck if you decide to try this 🤞
As we all know Labour achieved a landslide victory in the general election, and it appears that austerity measures are on the way now. So in How to Reduce the Impact of Tax Rises in Rachel Reeves’ First Budget, I set out some recommended steps to try to protect your finances in the months (and years) ahead. The Chancellor’s first budget is scheduled for 30th October 2024, with tax rises and cuts to public services widely anticipated.
Finally, in August I published What Alternatives Are There to Heat Pumps? The government are currently pushing heat pumps hard in their frantic quest to achieve Net Zero. For a range of reasons, however, they are not suitable for every property. And even if your home might theoretically be suitable, there are good reasons you might not want one (discussed a while ago in this Mouthy Money article). So in this post I set out some possible alternatives you might like to consider instead.
Next, a few odds and ends. I recently invested some money (just over £1,000) in a Scottish wind farm project via a platform called Ripple Energy. The way this works is that you pay a one-off fee towards building the wind farm, and in exchange receive lower-cost, ‘green’ electricity once the wind farm is up and running. This will continue for the life of the wind farm (an estimated 20 years). The original closing date for this was the end of May, but the date was extended and the share offer is still open at the time of writing.
If you’re interested in learning more, you can visit the Ripple website via my referral link. If you decide to invest, you will get a £25 bonus credited to your account when generation starts (and so will I). Note that you will need to invest a minimum of £1,000 to qualify for the £25 bonus, but you can invest from as little as £25 if you like.
Speaking of energy, a quick reminder that if you switch to EDF via my refer-a-friend link (below) you can get a FREE £50 credited to your energy account (and so will I). For more info and to sign up, click on https://edfenergy.com/quote/refer-a-friend/sunny-koala-9462
Finally, I wanted to highlight the decision by the new Labour government to abolish Winter Fuel Payments for all pensioners except those on pension credit. Like many others, I feel this is a terrible decision that will badly impact some of the poorest people in society and quite likely lead to increased deaths by hypothermia in the winter ahead (and others to follow).
it is therefore more important than ever that older people who may be eligible for pension credit apply for it. I recently updated my blog post about pension credit in light of the announcement. If you have older relatives, friends or neighbours, please encourage them to apply if they may be eligible. The application process is not as straightforward as it should be, so they may well appreciate some help with it
Even so, be aware that only the very poorest pensioners qualify for pension credit. If you have any source of income apart from the state pension, even a tiny one, the chances are you won’t be eligible. I do therefore recommend writing to your MP and asking for this Draconian decision to be reversed. You may also like to sign one of the various petitions that have sprung up, including this one on Change.org and this one from Age UK. The latter is up to almost half a million signatures now.
That’s all for now. If you have any comments or queries about this update, as ever, feel free to leave them below. I am always delighted to hear from PAS readers
Disclaimer: I am not a qualified financial adviser and nothing in this blog post should be construed as personal financial advice. Everyone should do their own ‘due diligence’ before investing and seek professional advice if in any doubt how best to proceed. All investing carries a risk of loss. Note also that posts on PAS may include affiliate links. If you click through and perform a qualifying transaction, I may receive a commission for introducing you. This will not affect the product or service you receive or the terms you are offered, but it does help support me in publishing PAS and paying my bills. Thank you!
If you enjoyed this post, please link to it on your own blog or social media:
I’ll begin as usual with my Nutmeg Stocks and Shares ISA. This is the largest investment I hold other than my Bestinvest SIPP (personal pension).
As the screenshot below for the year to date shows, my main Nutmeg portfolio is currently valued at £24,237 (rounded up). Last month it stood at £24,250, so that is a small decrease of £13.
Apart from my main portfolio, I also have a second, smaller pot using Nutmeg’s Smart Alpha option. This is now worth £3,895 compared with £3,911 a month ago, a fall of £16. Here is a screen capture showing performance over the year to date.
Finally, at the start of December 2023 I invested £500 in one of Nutmeg’s new thematic portfolios (Resource Transformation). In March I also invested a further £200 from ‘Refer a Friend’ bonuses. As you can see from the all-time screen capture below, this portfolio is now worth £769 compared with £772 last month, a small decrease of £3.
As you can see from the charts, July was an up-and-down month for my Nutmeg investments. Their overall value has fallen by a modest £32 or 0.11% since the start of July.
Although any fall is disappointing, short-term ups and downs are very much very much to be expected with stock market investments. And it is worth observing that the overall value of my Nutmeg investments is still up by £2,586 or 9.82% since the start of the year.
You can read my full Nutmeg review here. If you are looking for a home for your annual ISA allowance, based on my overall experience over the last eight years, they are certainly worth considering. They offer self-invested personal pensions (SIPPs), Lifetime ISAs and Junior ISAs as well.
You may like to note that I am no longer an affiliate for Nutmeg. That means you won’t find any affiliate links in my review (or anywhere else on PAS). And you will no longer see the no-fees-for-six-months offer I used to promote as an affiliate. However, the better news is that you can still get six months free of any management fees by registering with Nutmeg via my Refer a Friend link. I will receive a gift voucher if you do this, which is duly appreciated
Don’t forget, also, that the new tax year began on 6 April 2024 and and you have a whole new £20,000 tax-free ISA allowance for 2024/25. In a change to the rules, you can now open any number of ISAs with different providers in the same tax year, as long as you don’t exceed your overall £20,000 allowance. So opening a stocks and shares ISA with Nutmeg won’t prevent you from also opening one with another S&S ISA provider (should you so wish) later in the financial year.
Moving on, I also have investments with the property crowdlending platform Kuflink. They continue to do well, with new projects launching every week. I currently have around £833 invested with them in 7 different projects paying interest rates averaging around 7%. Last month I withdrew £500 from completed loans and now have £40 remaining in my Kuflink cash account.
To date I have never lost any money with Kuflink, though some loan terms have been extended once or twice. On the plus side, when this happens additional interest is paid for the period in question.
There is now an initial minimum investment of £1,000 and a minimum investment per project of £500. Kuflink say they are doing this to streamline their operation and minimize costs. I can understand that, though it does mean that the option to test the water with a small first investment has been removed. It also makes it harder for small investors (like myself) to build a well-diversified portfolio on a limited budget.
One possible way around this is to invest using Kuflink’s Auto/IFISA facility. Your money here is automatically invested across a basket of loans over a period from one to five years. Interest rates range from 7% to around 10%, depending on the length of term you choose. Full up-to-date details can be found on the Kuflink website.
You can invest tax-free in a Kuflink Auto IFISA. Or if you have already used your annual ISA allowance elsewhere, you can invest via a taxable Auto account. You can read my full Kuflink review here if you wish.
Moving on, my Assetz Exchange investments continue to generate steady returns. Regular readers will know that this is a P2P property investment platform focusing on lower-risk properties (e.g. sheltered housing). I put an initial £100 into this in mid-February 2021 and another £400 in April. In June 2021 I added another £500, bringing my total investment up to £1,000.
Since I opened my account, my AE portfolio has generated a respectable £195.87 in revenue from rental income. As I said in last month’s update, capital growth has slowed, though, in line with UK property values generally.
At the time of writing, 13 of ‘my’ properties are showing gains, 5 are breaking even, and the remaining 15 are showing losses. My portfolio is currently showing a net decrease in value of £28.74, meaning that overall (rental income minus capital value decrease) I am up by £167.13. That’s still a decent return on my £1,000 and does illustrate the value of P2P property investments for diversifying your portfolio. And it doesn’t hurt that with Assetz Exchange most projects are socially beneficial as well.
The overall fall in capital value of my AE investments is obviously a little disappointing. But it’s important to remember that until/unless I choose to sell the investments in question, it is largely theoretical, based on the most recent price at which shares in the property concerned have changed hands. The rental income, on the other hand, is real money (which in my case I’ve reinvested in other AE projects to further diversify my portfolio).
To control risk with all my property crowdfunding investments nowadays, I invest relatively modest amounts in individual projects. This is a particular attraction of AE as far as i am concerned (especially after Kuflink raised their minimum investment per project to £500). You can actually invest from as little as 80p per property if you really want to proceed cautiously.
As I noted in this recent post, Assetz Exchange is particularly good if you want to compound your returns by reinvesting rental income. This effectively boosts the interest rate you are receiving. Personally, once I have accrued a minimum of £10 in rental payments, I reinvest this money in either a new AE project or one I have already invested in (thus increasing my holding). Over time, even if I don’t invest any more capital, this will ensure my investment with AE grows at an accelerating rate and becomes more diversified as well.
My investment on Assetz Exchange is in the form of an IFISA so there won’t be any tax to pay on profits, dividends or capital gains. I’ve been impressed by my experiences with Assetz Exchange and the returns generated so far, and intend to continue investing with them. You can read my full review of Assetz Exchange here. You can also sign up for an account on Assetz Exchange directly via this link [affiliate]. Note that as from this financial year (2024/25), you can open more than one IFISA per year.
In 2022 I set up an account with investment and trading platform eToro, using their popular ‘copy trader’ facility. I chose to invest $500 (then about £412) copying an experienced eToro trader called Aukie2008 (real name Mike Moest).
In January 2023 I added to this with another $500 investment in one of their thematic portfolios, Oil Worldwide. I also invested a small amount I had left over in Tesla shares.
As you can see from the screen captures below, my original investment totalling $1,022.26 is today worth $1,303.60 an overall increase of $281.34 or 27.52%.
As you can see, my Oil WorldWide investment is showing just over 12% profit. That’s okay but not spectacular. Obviously my copy trading investment with Aukie2008 has been doing better. The Oil WorldWide port was recently rebalanced by eToro, so I hope this may boost its performance. The investment team at eToro periodically rebalance all smart portfolios to ensure that the mix of investments remains aligned with the portfolio’s goals, and to take advantage of any new opportunities that may present themselves.
eToro also offer the free eToro Money app. This allows you to deposit money to your eToro account without paying any currency conversion fees, saving you up to £5 for every £1,000 you deposit. You can also use the app to withdraw funds from your eToro account instantly to your bank account. I tried this myself and was impressed with how quickly and seamlessly it worked. You can read my blog post about eToro Money here. Note that it can also serve as a cryptocurrency wallet, allowing you to send and receive crypto from any other wallet address in the world.
I had two more articles published in June on the excellent Mouthy Money website. The first is Seven Ways to Make Money From Your Garden. In this article I set out seven ways you can make money from your garden (if you’re lucky enough to have one). None of these is likely to make you a fortune, but they can all help your finances stretch further in these challenging times.
Also in July I revealed how you can Make a Sideline Income Renting Out Your Driveway. If you have a parking space or driveway that sits empty most of the day, turning it into a source of passive income is easier than you might think. In this article I explained how you can get started and make the most from this opportunity.
As I’ve said before, Mouthy Money is a great resource for anyone interested in money-making and money-saving. From the wide range of articles published in July, I particularly enjoyed Five Ways Tracking Your Spending Can Improve Your Finances by regular MM contributor Shoestring Jane. Jane writes mainly about money saving and frugal living, and this article is a good example of her work. You can see all of Jane’s articles for Mouthy Money via this web page.
I also published several posts on Pounds and Sense in June. Some are no longer relevant due to closing dates having passed, but I have listed the others below.
How to Protect Your Savings and Investments Under a Labour Government was originally written and published before the general election. I revised and updated it after Labour’s widely anticipated victory, but the advice remains largely the same. A significant part of this involves making the most of tax-free opportunities such as ISAs and (to an extent) pensions, but various other methods and strategies are suggested as well. Nothing that has happened since Labour came into power has suggested to me that the advice in the article needs changing.
Also in July I published Ten Tax-Free Ways to Boost Your Finances. As you may have heard, UK citizens currently bear the highest tax burden since WW2. And with the new government looking to raise more money to pay for its ambitious spending plans, there is no sign of that changing any time soon. So in this article I set out some ways you may be able to boost your finances without increasing your tax liability. As you’ll see, doing this needn’t involve complicated investment strategies or seeking ‘loopholes’ in tax law. The article sets out ten perfectly legal ways you can boost your finances without having to worry about the taxman.
Next, a few odds and ends. I recently invested some money (just over £1,000) in a Scottish wind farm project via a platform called Ripple Energy. The way this works is that you pay a one-off fee towards building the wind farm, and in exchange receive lower-cost, ‘green’ electricity once the wind farm is up and running. This will continue for the life of the wind farm (an estimated 20 years). The original closing date for this was the end of May, but the date was extended and the share offer is still open at the time of writing.
If you’re interested in learning more, you can visit the Ripple website via my referral link. If you then decide to invest yourself, you will get a £25 bonus credited to your account when generation starts (and so will I). Note that you will need to invest a minimum of £1,000 to qualify for the £25 bonus, but you can invest from as little as £25 if you like.
Speaking of energy, a quick reminder that if you switch to EDF via my refer-a-friend link (below) you can get a FREE £50 credited to your energy account (and so will I). For more info and to sign up, click on https://edfenergy.com/quote/refer-a-friend/sunny-koala-9462
Finally, I wanted to highlight the decision by the new government to abolish Winter Fuel Payments for all pensioners except those on pension credit. Like many others, I feel this is a terrible decision that will badly impact some of the poorest people in society and quite likely lead to increased deaths by hypothermia in the winter ahead (and others to follow).
it is therefore more important than ever that older people who may be eligible for pension credit apply for it. I recently updated my blog post about pension credit in light of the announcement. If you have older relatives, friends or neighbours, please encourage them to apply if they may be eligible. The application process is not as straightforward as it should be, so they may well appreciate some help with it 🙏
Even so, be aware that only the very poorest pensioners qualify for pension credit. If you get the full state pension and/or a private pension (even just a tiny one) the chances are you won’t be eligible. I do therefore recommend writing to your MP and asking for this Draconian decision to be rescinded. You may also like to sign one of the various petitions that have sprung up, including this one on Change.org and this one from Age UK.
Sorry to end on a downbeat note. At least in this cold, damp, depressing summer we are currently enjoying a few days of warm sunshine, so I hope you have been able to get out and make the most of it. I am sure normal service will be resumed soon!
As always, if you have any comments or queries, feel free to leave them below. I am always delighted to hear from PAS readers
Disclaimer: I am not a qualified financial adviser and nothing in this blog post should be construed as personal financial advice. Everyone should do their own ‘due diligence’ before investing and seek professional advice if in any doubt how best to proceed. All investing carries a risk of loss. Note also that posts on PAS may include affiliate links. If you click through and perform a qualifying transaction, I may receive a commission for introducing you. This will not affect the product or service you receive or the terms you are offered, but it does help support me in publishing PAS and paying my bills. Thank you!
If you enjoyed this post, please link to it on your own blog or social media:
As is customary for bloggers at this time of year, here are the top twenty posts on Pounds and Sense in 2023, based on comments, page-views and social media shares. They are in no particular order. I have excluded any posts that are no longer relevant.
I hope you will enjoy revisiting these posts, or seeing them for the first time if you are new to PAS.
All posts in the list below should open in a new tab/window when you click on the link concerned.
I’ll be taking a break from blogging over the festive period (though I’ll still be around on X/Twitter and Facebook). I’ll therefore close by wishing you a Very Merry Christmas (strikes and cost-of-living crisis permitting) and for all of us a brighter, more prosperous new year 🍾
If you have any comments or questions, of course, feel free to leave them below as usual.
If you enjoyed this post, please link to it on your own blog or social media:
I also published (or republished) several posts on 
