Independent Financial Advice Centre

23/12/2025

As we wind down for the Christmas break, we would like to wish all of our clients and contacts a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year! 🎄🎅

Over the festive period, we will be operating with a skeletal staff to ensure any queries are answered.

Our offices will re-open on Monday 5th January at 9am.

Best wishes from all of the IFAC team.

19/12/2025

A huge thank you to everyone who attended and supported our Christmas Coffee Morning last week🎄☕️

We raised a total of £853.75 for Glasgow Children's Hospital Charity!

These funds will help the charity continue the fantastic work they do - ensuring every child who is treated at the Children's hospital receive the extra special care they deserve 💫

04/12/2025

Reminder ⏰

We are hosting a Christmas Coffee morning in support of Glasgow Children's Hospital Charity.

The event will take place one week today, Thursday 11th December from 10.30am at our Clarkston office.

There will be a pop-up shop from the charity themselves, as well as hot drinks and festive treats to go around.

We look forward to welcoming everyone along!

02/12/2025

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) has increased its protection limit to £120,000 per person, per financial institution (previously £85,000).

For joint accounts, that means you’re now covered for up to £240,000 of savings with any one institution.

What this means for you:
- More security
- More confidence
- More protection for your hard-earned savings.

Remember though, some banks are part of a larger group and this means they may split the protection. To see how your bank is protected, you can use the FSCS Protection Checker Tool:

https://www.fscs.org.uk/check/check-your-money-is-protected/

27/11/2025

After months of speculation and rumour, chancellor Rachel Reeves has delivered the Autumn Budget for 2025.

1. Stealth Tax - Freeze on personal allowances and thresholds to 2031.

2. Cash ISA allowance cut to £12,000 from April 2027. No change for over 65s. Stocks & Shares ISA allowance to remain at £20,000.

3. Dividends, rental income and savings income - 2% increase (from 2026 and 2027). Scottish tax rates for rental income differ but similar measures likely to be introduced here.

4. Salary sacrificed pension contributions above £2,000 will no longer be exempt from National Insurance (from April 2029).

6. State pensions will be increased by 4.8% in line with triple lock.

7. Electric vehicles 3p per mile duty charge - April 2028

In this update, we’ll explain the key changes and what they mean for you.

The chancellor has delivered the government’s Autumn Budget. Here’s a summary of the key announcements and what they could mean for your financial plan

23/11/2025

You may be diligently saving a nest egg for children or grandchildren. Yet, without financial education, your efforts might not be as useful as you expect.

Over the years, you’ll have picked up money habits and financial knowledge that could be useful to pass on to your family. Our latest blog explains ways you may do that.

More than a decade after financial education was added to the national curriculum, 53% of children are leaving school without having received “meaningful” education on the topic. When building a nest egg for the next generation, combining it with money lessons could be valuable.

21/11/2025

What’s the most important factor affecting the performance of your investments?

Your mind might jump to the ups and downs of the market, and they do have an effect. When share prices rise, so too will the value of your portfolio. However, the markets aren’t the starting point of a successful investment: your mindset is.

What’s the most important factor affecting the performance of your investments? Your mind might jump to the ups and downs of the market. However, the markets aren’t the starting point of a successful investment: your mindset is.

06/11/2025

Almost half of workers aged over 50 are already phasing into retirement or would like to do so in the future. Find out why a gradual approach to retirement could be attractive, along with some of the options that could allow you to do so.

03/11/2025

For most people, retiring is a goal. Pick an age, create a financial plan to make sure that age is achievable, and then start dreaming of the day that you don’t have to work.

The trouble with this approach is that it focuses on achieving the goal of not working. As a consequence, many people move into retirement without having given sufficient thought to what they will actually do with all this free time.

When footballer Kevin Keegan retired, he realised he’d lost his sense of purpose and returned to the UK as a football manager. Without thinking about how to replace what you lose when you step back from work, retirement may not be fulfilling. Find out what you can learn from Keegan and how to focu...

31/10/2025

Having a stable income when you retire could give you the independence to enjoy a meaningful and fulfilling life after work.

Your State Pension, along with other savings and investments, could provide the stability you need to support the retirement lifestyle you want. However, there is a worrying lack of understanding about the State Pension among UK adults.

This useful guide explains the essential things you need to know about the State Pension, from when and how you can claim it to how the income it provides will increase during your retirement.

Having a stable income when you retire could give you the independence to enjoy a meaningful and fulfilling life after work. Indeed, a July 2023 survey by Legal & General found that 94% of UK adults said that financial security was their most important retirement dream. Your State Pension, along wit...

13/10/2025

It’s not too late to book a holiday to explore a new destination in 2025. In fact, the colder months could be the perfect time to jet off to admire incredible winter vistas.

If you need some winter destination inspiration, here are five options that could leave you in awe.

The summer months might be over, but there are still plenty of opportunities to explore before the year is done. These winter destinations are perfect if you want to admire stunning vistas.

03/10/2025

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is facing some difficult decisions ahead of the Autumn Budget, and one option that’s reportedly under consideration is a wealth tax. Find out how a wealth tax could work in the UK.