Cherry Hudson Independent Financial Adviser

14/10/2026

💷 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻?

New research from the Pensions Policy Institute suggests that more than 3 million pension pots, worth a combined £18.7 billion, are currently lost in the UK 😯

That's an average of around £6,230 per pot! 💷

If you've changed jobs or moved house over the years, you may have lost track of an old workplace pension.

🔎 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘁?

The government's free Pension Tracing Service can help you find the contact details for pension providers or schemes from previous employment.

Importantly, it doesn't actually find your pension or tell you how much it's worth. 🚫

Once you’ve found the pension provider, you’ll need to contact them directly to establish whether they hold a pension for you. 📲

Sometimes these things are worth spending a bit of time on, to help you towards your future… (link to new article in the comments)

Find the contact details for a pension provider by using the Pension Tracing Service

06/10/2026

🏠 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻…

The average five-year fixed mortgage rate has now reached 6% for the first time in three years.

But why?

Fixed mortgage rates don’t follow the Bank of England base rate. They’re influenced by what financial markets expect interest rates to do in the future, through something called swap rates.

Government borrowing costs matter too. When UK government bond yields (gilt yields) rise, it can be a sign that borrowing costs across the wider market are rising… and that can feed through into mortgage rates. 📊

According to Moneyfacts, a month ago there were 1,494 mortgage deals under 5%. Now there are just nine.

That doesn’t mean anyone can predict what mortgage rates will do next. 🔮

Whether you’re buying your first home, moving house, or your current fixed rate ends in the next six months, speaking to an Independent mortgage adviser can help you understand your options.

Equitas Financial has independent mortgage advisers who can help.

📩 Get in touch if you’d like a chat.

𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘶𝘱 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘺𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘨𝘦.

04/10/2026

𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝗯𝗮𝗱 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗮 𝗦𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘆 🌅

A little caravan break this weekend, only a few miles from home… sometimes a change of scenery is all you need.

Woke up to this beautiful sunrise. ☀️

Hope everyone’s having a lovely weekend 😊

29/09/2026

📣 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗣𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆…

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has today announced plans to change the State Pension triple lock from April 2030, with any savings intended to help fund a new National Care Service.

So what is changing with the triple lock?

Currently, the State Pension increases every April by whichever is highest -

➡️ Inflation
➡️ 2.5%
➡️ Average earnings growth

From April 2030, the proposal is to remove average earnings growth from that calculation, leaving:

➡️ Inflation
➡️ 2.5%

So, effectively, the triple lock becomes a double lock 🔐

For example, if inflation was 2% but wages grew by 5%, under today’s triple lock the 5% could determine the State Pension increase. From 2030, it won’t use the wages growth figure, but will use the higher of the two.

Nothing changes yet, but with the Budget due on 28 October, it feels like there could be plenty more to come… but who knows!

For anyone planning for retirement, it’s another reminder that the rules can change, and your own pension savings can play an important part alongside the State Pension.

𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦.

23/09/2026

𝗔 𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘁 𝗦𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘆 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆 🏉

I’ve been to a Learning & Development Day, with sessions covering everything from investments and long-term planning to AI, compliance and the changing world of financial advice.

Always something new to learn when you’re a financial adviser! 📝

Lots to take away from today… and not a bad view between sessions either! 😊

22/09/2026

𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝟯 𝗶𝗻 𝟱 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳-𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻’𝘁 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁….

When you’re running a business, pension saving can easily slip down the list. ⏬️

But there can be significant tax advantages to pension contributions, making them a valuable part of your wider financial and tax planning. ✅

Think of pension saving as a regular business expense, rather than something you do if there’s money left over. 💷

𝗣𝗮𝘆 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁. 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂. 🙏

And if your accountant hasn’t talked to you about the tax benefits, your financial adviser can! 😊

Blog below…. 👇

Retirement planning for the self-employed |Your Window on Money

17/09/2026

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗼… 😊

Good financial planning is about making sure a client’s plan continues to work for them and keeps them on track for the things that matter.

Always lovely to know the work is appreciated! 🍷

16/09/2026

𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐏𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐖𝐞𝐞𝐤! 🎉

So, what is a pension actually for?

Put simply, it’s money for your future… designed to help replace your income when you eventually reduce your hours or stop work altogether.

The State Pension may form part of your future income, but under current legislation, the State Pension age is already set to rise to 68 for younger generations… and it is regularly reviewed.

Though retirement planning isn’t necessarily about picking a date when you suddenly finish work.

• It might mean being able to drop down to two or three days a week. 🗓️
• Retire a few years earlier. 🧘🏻‍♀️
• Travel more. ✈️
• Help your family. 🏡
• Or simply have the confidence that you can maintain the lifestyle you enjoy without a salary coming in.

Knowing what pension you have is only the starting point, and the earlier you start planning, the more time you have to make a difference.

If you haven’t looked at your pensions for a while, Pension Awareness Week is a pretty good reminder to give them some attention. 👀

Not sure where to start? Give me a shout if you have any questions. 😊

14/09/2026

Consumer Duty - putting yourself in the client’s shoes 👞

I’ve been completing some Consumer Duty training today, and it reminded me just how much I welcomed its introduction in 2023.

For anyone outside financial services, Consumer Duty is a set of rules set by the Financial Conduct Authority, designed to ensure firms deliver good outcomes for their customers… from fair value and appropriate products, to clear communication and good client support.

For me, it comes back to one simple principle I've always tried to follow as an adviser:

Put yourself in the client’s shoes.

• Would I understand this? 🤔
• Would I feel comfortable asking questions?
• Do I understand what I'm paying for and the value I'm receiving? 🪎
• Is this genuinely right for me and what I'm trying to achieve? 👌🏼

Financial advice can be complex, but it shouldn't feel unnecessarily complicated.

For me, good advice starts with treating clients in the way I'd want to be treated myself. 😊

09/09/2026

1977…

That’s the last time there were this few babies born in England and Wales.

Figures released by the Office for National Statistics show there were 585,396 live births in 2025 – 1.6% fewer than in 2024.
The fertility rate also fell to 1.39 children per woman.

You might wonder what this has got to do with financial planning.

Quite a lot, over the longer term.

The size and age of our population influences the economy, the workforce, public finances and ultimately things such as pensions and taxation.

Today's babies will, after all, become tomorrow's workers and taxpayers, while the proportion of the population reaching retirement continues to change.

Just one of those statistics that caught my attention this morning. 📊

585,396 live births were recorded in England and Wales in 2025, 1.6% fewer than in 2024.

Total Fertility Rate was 1.39 children per woman in England and Wales in 2025, a decrease of 0.02 from 2024.

Both mothers’ and fathers’ standardised mean age (SMA) increased by 0.1 from 2024. Mothers’ SMA was 31.1 years, and fathers’ SMA was 34.0 years in 2025.

Read more ➡ https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/livebirths/bulletins/birthsummarytablesenglandandwales/2025finalrates