Pension contributions – How they can help business owners.

How pension contributions can help business owners

The dividend tax changes have strengthened the case for business owners taking more of their profits in the form of pension contributions. Many directors of small and medium sized companies face an increased tax bill this year as a result of how dividends are now taxed. And pension contributions could provide the best outcome by cutting their future tax bills.

Dividends have long been preferable to salary or bonus as a way for shareholding directors to extract profits. But that advantage has narrowed for many high earning directors. It reinforces the case for directors taking at least part of their benefits as a pension contribution where possible.

Dividend changes

Paying themselves dividends remains a better option than salary. But the gap has narrowed for high earning directors. A director receiving a dividend of £100,000 could be £6,300 worse off under the new rules.

Everyone now gets a £5,000 tax free dividend allowance. Dividends in excess of the allowance will be taxable at 7.5%, 32.5% or 38.1%. Previously, business owners only paid tax on dividends when they took income above the basic rate tax band. That’s because the notional 10% tax credit satisfied the liability for basic rate tax payers. But the changes mean that business owners could now be paying a higher rate of tax on a larger slice of their income.

Tax efficient extraction

Pension contributions remain the most tax efficient way of extracting profits from a business. An employer pension contribution means there’s no employer or employee NI liability – just like dividends. But it’s usually an allowable deduction for corporation tax – like salary.

And of course, under the new pension freedoms, those directors who are over 55 will be able to access it as easily as salary or dividend. With 25% of the pension fund available tax free, it can be very tax efficient – especially if the income from the balance can be taken within the basic rate (but remember, by doing so, the MPAA will be triggered, restricting future funding opportunities).

In reality, many business owners will pay themselves a small salary, typically around £8,000 a year – at this level, no employer or employee NI is due and credits will be earned towards the State pension. They will then take the rest of their annual income needs in the form of dividend, as this route is more tax efficient than taking more salary. But what about the profits they have earned in excess of their day to day living needs?

The table below compares the net benefit ultimately derived from £40,000 of gross profits to a higher rate taxpaying shareholding director this year.

  Bonus Dividend Pension income
taxed at 20% *
Pension income
taxed at 40% *
Gross profit  £40,000 £40,000 £40,000 £40,000
Pension contribution  £0 £0 £40,000 £40,000
Corporation tax at 20%  £0 £8,000 £0 £0
Dividend  £0 £32,000 £0 £0
Employer NI £4,850 £0 £0 £0
Gross bonus £35,150 £0 £0 £0
Director’s NI (£703) £0 £0 £0
Income tax (£14,060) (£10,400) ** (£6,000) (£12,000)
Net benefit to director £20,387 £21,600 ** £34,000 £28,000

* Assumes pension income is taxed after taking 25% tax free cash, and there is no Lifetime Allowance charge.
** Assumes full £5,000 annual dividend allowance has already been used against dividends received in the basic rate band.

Tapered Annual Allowance

Many high earning business owners could see their annual allowance (AA) tapered down to just £10,000. However, by reducing what they take in salary or dividends and paying themselves a larger pension contribution instead could mean they retain their full £40,000 AA.

For example – Amy, 55, runs her own business and pays herself dividends of £150,000 for the 2016/17 tax year. She has no other income. She makes employer contributions of £20,000 into her SIPP.

There are two tests which determine whether the AA is tapered:

  1. If adjusted income is more than £150,000 the AA is reduced by £1 for every £2 subject to a minimum allowance of £10,000
  2. But only if the threshold income is greater than £110,000.

Her ‘adjusted income‘ is £170,000 (income + employer pension contribution). As this is £20,000 above the £150,000 cap, it would normally cut her AA by £10,000 (to £30,000). This means any opportunity to increase her funding for this year, or in the future using carry forward from 2016/17, would be limited to a further £10,000.

However, if she cuts her dividends by just over £40,000 her ‘threshold income’ (total income without employer contributions) would be below £110,000, preserving her full £40,000 allowance.

She could pay the corresponding amount into her pension as an employer contribution using carry forward of unused AA from previous tax years.  This would not affect her AA for 2016/17 because only employer contributions as part of new salary sacrifice arrangement are used to determine threshold income. A shareholder director making an employer pension contribution rather paying salary or dividend is not salary sacrifice.

As Amy is over 55, she has unrestricted access to the funds in her SIPP. If she made use of the new income flexibilities she would trigger the money purchase annual allowance (MPAA) cutting her future funding to £4,000 a year from April 2017, with no opportunity to use carry forward. However, if she only touches her tax free cash and takes no income she would retain her full AA.

Why now?

There are some very strong reasons for maximising pension contributions now. Corporation tax rates are set to fall from 20% to 19% from the financial year starting April 2017, with a further planned cut to 17% from April 2020.

Companies may want to consider bringing forward pension funding plans to benefit from tax relief at the higher rate. Payments should be made before the end of the current business year, while rates are at their highest.

Business owners who take flexible drawdown  income to replace salary or dividends will see their future funding restricted by the MPAA. So they may need to pay now and mop up any unused allowance using carry forward. But remember that dipping into pension savings by only taking tax free cash maintains the full allowance for ongoing funding.

Source: Standard Life technical consulting – February 22 2017 

MPAA and Dividend Allowances cuts delayed as Finance Bill trimmed

Some elements of the Finance Bill will not go ahead as planned as a consequence of the early general election. With Parliament due to be dissolved on 3 May it was deemed there was insufficient time to get the current Finance Bill in its entirety on to the statute book.

The following measures, which may affect the advice you are providing to your clients, have been removed from the Finance Bill:

Changes which intended to apply in 2017/18

Reduced Money Purchase Annual Allowance (MPAA)
The Money Purchase Annual Allowance (MPAA) will not now be cut from £10,000 to £4,000 at this time. This reduction would have affected those who have accessed their DC pension under the new pension flexibilities and wish to continue paying into their pension.   Edit: The MPAA was indeed reduced to £4,000 for 2017-18 after all!

Deemed Domicile Rule Changes
Rules were to be introduced from April 2017 to reduce the number of years non-doms can be resident in the UK before becoming deemed domicile. Currently someone would become deemed domicile in the UK for inheritance tax after they have been resident 17 out of 20 tax years but it had been set to fall to 15 years. It was also intended extend the scope of the deemed domicile rules to also apply to income tax and CGT.

Recalculation of Disproportionate Bond Gains
Measures which would have put an end to chargeable gains on a part surrender of an investment bond have been shelved. From April 2017 HMRC had planned to allow gains which were wholly disproportionate to the investment performance to be recalculated on a just and reasonable basis. This would typically arise where a large part surrender in excess of the 5% allowance is made in the early years of the policy.

Changes which intended to apply in 2018/19

Dividend Allowance Cut
From April 2018,  the annual dividend allowance is set to be cut from £5,000 to £2,000. This is no longer part of the current Finance Bill. This would hit small and medium sized business owners who take their profits as a dividend.

What happens next?

While all these changes no longer form part of the condensed Finance Bill it is intended that they will be reconsidered once a new Parliament commences and could form part of the new Government’s first Finance Bill, meaning they may be delayed rather than dropped altogether.

Source – Standard Life

Scottish Provident and Bright Grey are changing branding to Royal London

bright grey logo
Bright Grey has been a sub-brand of Royal London for some time, and is now being fully rebranded under the parent brand.

Opinion: Bright Grey has been a pretty good protection provider, historically with competitive rates for life insurance, Critical illness cover, and income protection. Also was an early provider of “relevant life”  life cover for small businesses and sole traders, as well as  mainstreambusiness protection.

 

 

scottish provident logo

Likewise, Scottish Provident has been part of the Royal London group for some years now, and that brand is also going with effect from today, December 1st 2015, and replaced by Royal London’s.

Opinion: Scot Prov was a popular provider of protection, and years ago even provided some personal pension contracts. It’s most famous product was probably its “Pegasus” Whole of Life cover, which sold well as its early premiums (always reviewable) were low. However, as many are now finding, the trouble with reviewable premium WOL policies is they start to go up at an alarming rate as you get older. I have seen many forced to ditch the policies in later life as the premiums become unaffordable. It pays to look at guaranteed rate WOL policies, if indeed WOL is what you really want (in my opinion its main use is within IHT and estate planning). A good talk with a good adviser often sorts out the best way to go when face with this situation.

royal london logo

NOVEMBER 2015 AUTUMN BUDGET STATEMENT

George Osborne’s Autumn Budget Statement did not contain any major shocks this time around ( a relief for us advisers for a change), but there is still plenty to take on board. The following summary is reproduced with kind permission of Scottish Widows:

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SUMMARY IMPACT

Whilst only minor changes affecting the financial services industry were announced in the Autumn Statement the key changes for 2016/2017 set out by The Chancellor previously will still apply. The details and opportunities for financial planning advice are outlined below.

 

PENSIONS

Automatic enrolment

There will be a six month delay in the scheduled increases in the minimum contributions rates for automatic enrolment. This will bring the increases in line with the tax year. The first increase will apply from 6 April 2018. The second increase will apply from 6 April 2019.

Annual allowance

  • The standard annual allowance in 2016/2017 will be £40,000.
  • The money purchase annual allowance in 2016/2017 will be £10,000.
  • The annual allowance for high earners will be reduced to between £10,000 and £40,000 (see below)

Higher earners tapered annual allowance

  • The reduced annual allowance will affect those with both ‘adjusted income’ of more than £150,000 and ‘net income’ of more than £110,000.
  • ‘Adjusted income’ includes employer and employee pension contributions (except those made under the ‘relief at source’ basis). ‘Net income’ excludes pension contributions, unless paid under a salary sacrifice agreement, set up on or after 9 July 2015. This is to prevent tax avoidance. Where adjusted income and net income exceed the respective thresholds, the taxpayer’s annual allowance will be reduced by £1 for every £2 of adjusted income in excess of £150,000. The maximum reduction is £30,000, which would result in an annual allowance of £10,000. The level of adjusted income at which the maximum reduction in the annual allowance is reached, is £210,000.

Pension input periods

  • All pension input periods will be aligned with the tax year from 2016/2017, with no option to vary the period. All pension input periods closed on 8 July 2015 (the pre-alignment period). A further pension input period runs from 9 July 2015 to 5 April 2016 (the post alignment period). This change was to ensure no tax charges arise against those who had fully funded their pensions in advance of the change. The total annual allowance for the pre-alignment period is £80,000, up to £40,000 of which is available to carry forward into the post alignment period.
  • Carry forward from the 3 previous tax years will be available as normal. However when using carry forward from 2016/2017 onward it will be based on the tapered annual allowance rather than the standard annual allowance.
  • The money purchase annual allowance of £10,000 will still be available, however, taxpayers who are affected by both the money purchase annual allowance and the tapered annual allowance will retain the £10,000 money purchase annual allowance but will suffer a reduced annual allowance for funding non-money purchase schemes.

Lifetime allowance (LTA)

    • The LTA will reduce to £1 million for 2016/2017 and 2017/2018. There will be a new round of transitional protection; Fixed Protection 2016 and Individual Protection 2016. These will work in the same way as Fixed Protection 2014 and Individual Protection 2014. Those applying for Fixed Protection need to cease contributions/benefit accrual by 5 April 2016. The application process isn’t expected to be available until July 2016.
    • The LTA will then be index-linked in line with the consumer prices index (CPI) from 2018/2019.
    • As a reminder, those who want to apply for Individual Protection 2014 must do so online by 5 April 2017.

Tax relief

    • Other than for higher earners as noted above, there’s no change to the rate of tax relief for member contributions, which will continue to be based on the individual’s highest marginal rate.

Pension tax relief reform

    • The Government is considering the responses to the consultation of the reform of pensions tax relief. It will publish its response in the 2016 Budget.

Extension of Freedom and Choice agenda to existing annuitants

    • The ability to sell annuities in payment is being deferred for a year, from April 2016 to 2017. The Government will set out its plans for the secondary annuities market in December 2015.

Lump sum death benefits

    • Lump sum death benefits paid following the death of a member aged 75 or over will change from being taxed at the flat rate of 45% to the beneficiary’s marginal rate of income tax from 6 April 2016.

Salary exchange

    • Whilst there were no changes to salary exchange the Government remains concerned about the growth of these arrangements and so the cost to the taxpayer. The Government restated that it will actively monitor the growth of schemes and the impact on tax receipts.

IMPACT:

      • Those who had paid less than £80,000 in their pension input period ending on 8 July 2015 can make further contributions without exceeding the annual allowance. The maximum contribution that can be made without an annual allowance tax charge arising, is the amount of the unused £80,000 annual allowance for the pre-alignment period, up to a maximum of £40,000 plus carry forward from 2012/2013, 2013/2014 and 2014/2015.
      • Higher rate taxpayers still benefit from higher rate relief on contributions of at least £40,000 in 2015/2016. With further potential restrictions to tax relief being considered, those with sufficient funds could consider funding sooner rather than later while full tax relief is still available.
      • The reduction in the Lifetime Allowance to £1 million from 6 April 2016 will greatly widen the scope of those within the restrictions. While the introduction of index-linking from April 2018 is welcome, it’s far short of a return to the £1.8 million LTA in place in 2011/2012 which itself was originally intended to rise in line with inflation. The next round of pension protection will help mitigate the impact for some clients. Those clients with significant funds and no previous protection should consider applying for Fixed Protection 2016 and/or Individual Protection 2016 or Individual Protection 2014.
      • The delay in the implementation of the secondary annuity market to 2017 is welcome as it gives more time for providers and advisers to ensure they are fully prepared for any changes.

 

DIVIDENDS

    • From April 2016, the current 10% dividend tax credit will be abolished. It will be replaced with a new £5,000 a year dividend tax allowance.
    • The new rates of tax on dividend income above the allowance will be:
      • 7.5% for basic rate taxpayers
      • 32.5% for higher rate taxpayers
      • 38.1% for additional rate taxpayers.

IMPACT:

        • The Government’s stated intention is for these reforms to reduce the incentive to incorporate and remunerate through dividends. The tapered annual allowance for those with incomes including pension contributions of over £150,000 will also apply from April 2016. There will be considerably less scope to use dividends and employer pension contributions to maximise tax efficient director’s remuneration in future. Companies with undistributed profits should consider taking advantage of the last chance to make the most of these strategies before the end of the current tax year.
        • Higher rate and additional rate taxpayers with modest dividend income from share/OEIC portfolios will welcome the change, with a potential saving of up to £1,250 a year from 2016/2017 for a higher rate tax payer, compared to now.

 

INCOME TAX

Personal allowance and higher rate threshold

    • In 2016/2017 the income tax personal allowance will see another substantial increase of £400 to £11,000. A further increase to £11,200 was announced for 2017/2018.
    • The basic rate band increases to £32,000 for 2016/2017. Those entitled to the full standard personal allowance will pay 40% tax on income above £43,000. The threshold for higher rate income tax increases by £615 for 2016/2017.
    • The basic rate limit will increase to £32,400 for 2017/2018. Together with the planned increases in the personal allowance, this means the higher rate threshold will be £43,600 for 2017/2018. These are the next steps in the Chancellor’s stated aim of increasing the higher rate threshold to £50,000.

Property letting

    • From 1 April 2016 higher rates of stamp duty will be charged on further purchases of residential property i.e. second homes or buy to let properties. The additional rate will be 3% above the standard rate and will apply to properties worth more than £40,000. It is not expected to apply to corporates or funds making significant investments in residential property. The Government will consult on the policy detail,
    • The tax relief on mortgage interest will be restricted to basic rate for mortgages on ‘buy to let’ residential properties. The restriction will be phased in over 4 years from April 2017.
    • ‘Rent a room’ relief will be increased from £4,250 to £7,500 from April 2016. The relief had been frozen since 1997.
    • From April 2019, if capital gains tax (CGT) arises from a disposal of residential property the taxpayer must pay it within 30 days of completion. Under the current system tax is due between 10 and 22 months after disposal.

IMPACT:

      • Higher rate taxpayers will welcome the further increases in the higher rate threshold, however, the rates from 2016/2017 and 2017/2018 are still a long way off the Chancellor’s stated aim of a £50,000 higher rate threshold. In the meantime pension contributions benefiting from higher rate relief remain an attractive savings option.
      • A further substantial increase in the personal allowance means that higher earners can achieve even greater benefit by using pension contributions to reduce adjusted net income above £100,000. For someone with gross income of £122,000 a pension contribution of £22,000 will cost just £8,800 in 2016/2017, attracting tax relief of 60%.
      • A further blow to the buy to let market. The 3% increase in stamp duty coupled with the reduction in the tax relief on mortgage interest will significantly increase the costs, along with bringing forward the CGT payment date by up to 21 months. It may also prove difficult to work out the correct taxable gain and the amount payable within 30 days of completion, particularly where valuations and complex calculations are required.

 

TAX EFFICIENT INVESTMENTS

ISAs

    • The ISA limits will remain unchanged for 2016/2017. The main ISA limit will remain at £15,240 and the limit for Junior ISAs and Child Trust Funds will be £4,080.
    • The ‘Help to Buy’ ISA will be available from 1 December 2015. This new product will enable first time buyers to save up to £200 per month towards a first home, with an initial one-off deposit of £1,000. The Government will boost savings by 25% up to a maximum of £3,000, which will be paid when a property is purchased.
    • New flexible ISA rules will be introduced from 6 April 2016. The rules will allow investors to pay withdrawals from a cash ISA back in to the account before the end of the tax year, without reducing their subscription limit further. The change will also cover cash held in stocks and shares ISAs.

Personal savings allowance

    • From 6 April 2016, a tax-free savings allowance of £1,000 will be available to those with taxable income of less than£43,000 i.e. basic-rate payers and below. Higher rate taxpayers benefit from a £500 tax-free allowance. Those earning over £150,000 are not entitled to an allowance.

IMPACT:

      • Some savers and investors will be disappointed in the freezing of the ISA allowance, however they have received substantial increases in recent years
      • The personal savings allowance provides more incentive for savers with even higher rate taxpayers benefiting from an allowance. However, it’s most generous for low earners who will potentially pay no tax on their savings where total taxable income is less than £17,000 in 2016/2017, after taking into account the £5,000 savings band.
      • New flexible ISA rules allowing cash withdrawals to be returned to an ISA by the end of the tax year will help to maximise the benefits by removing an effective penalty on those who are forced to access their savings temporarily.

 

INHERITANCE TAX (IHT) AND TRUSTS

    • The Government aims to reduce the number of estates paying IHT by introducing an additional nil-rate band from April 2017. This will apply where the main residence passes on death to direct descendants such as children and grandchildren. This will be worth up to £100,000 in 2017/2018, £125,000 in 2018/2019, £150,000 in 2019/2020 and £175,000 in 2020/2021 with CPI indexation applying thereafter. As with the existing nil-rate band, any unused nil-rate band will be able to be claimed on the death of their surviving spouse or civil partner. Those with net estates worth more than £2 million will see the additional nil-rate band scaled back by £1 for every £2 over this threshold. Further guidance on the downsizing provisions was published in October 2015 with legislation on this aspect in Finance Bill 2016.
    • The IHT nil-rate band is currently frozen at £325,000 until 5 April 2018 and this will continue to apply until April 2021.
    • Following the review of deeds of variation no changes will be made. The Government will continue to monitor their use.

Drawdown funds and IHT

    • The Government will introduce legislation to clarify that no IHT applies on unused drawdown funds remaining on death. The legislation will be backdated to April 2011.

IMPACT:

      • The changes to IHT remove the family home from the IHT net for all but the wealthiest homeowners although the maximum benefit of £1m won’t be available until tax year 2020/2021 due to phasing of the allowance.
      • Those with larger estates will still need advice on steps they can take to mitigate IHT.

 

NON-DOMICILES

    • From April 2017 foreign domiciles who have been long term resident in the UK – more than 15 of the past 20 tax years will be deemed to be UK domiciled for taxation purposes. This will mean they will no longer be able to utilise the remittance basis of taxation and will be subject to tax on a worldwide basis on their income and gains. They will also be deemed domicile for IHT purposes – bringing forward the point at which IHT applies to their worldwide assets from the current period of 17 out of the past 20 years ending in the year of transfer.
    • It will no longer be possible for individuals born in the UK to UK domiciled parents to leave the UK, claim non-domicile status then return to the UK and continue to claim non-domicile status for tax purposes.
    • The Government also intends to introduce new rules from April 2017 to ensure IHT is payable on all UK residential property owned by non-domiciles regardless of their residence status.

 

CORPORATION TAX

    • The corporation tax rate will be cut from 20% to 19% in 2017 and then to 18% in 2020.
    • For accounting periods starting on or after 1 April 2017, corporation tax payment dates will be brought forward for companies with annual taxable profits of £20 million or more. This threshold will be divided by the number of companies in a group. These companies will pay corporation tax in quarterly instalments in the third, sixth, ninth and twelfth months of their accounting period.
    • The permanent level of the Annual Investment Allowance (AIA) will increase from £25,000 to £200,000 for all qualifying investment in plant and machinery made on or after 1 January 2016.

IMPACT:

      • Companies may consider making employer pension contributions before the lower rates of corporation tax reduce the effective rate of tax relief available.

 

NATIONAL INSURANCE

    • The £2,000 National Insurance employment allowance, which reduces the overall cost of employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs) for employers will increase from £2,000 to £3,000 from April 2016. From the same date, companies where the sole employee is the director will no longer be able to claim this allowance.
    • The Government will actively monitor the growth in salary exchange (also known as salary sacrifice) schemes used to reduce the amount of employee and employer NICs.

IMPACT:

      • As automatic enrolment continues to roll out, employers and employees are looking for ways to reduce the net cost of pension contributions. Salary exchange arrangements, where an employee opts to give up salary in exchange for a higher employer pension contribution, still offer NICs savings for both employees and employers.

 

STATE BENEFITS, TAX CREDITS AND THE MINIMUM WAGE

State pension

    • The basic State Pension increases in line with the triple lock by £3.35 to £119.30 a week for 2016/2017.
    • The Pension Credit Standard Minimum Guarantee increases by £4.40 to £155.60 a week for a single person and by £6.70 to £237.55 a week for couples for 2016/2017. The Savings Credit threshold will increase to £133.82 for a single pensioner, reducing the single rate of the Savings Credit maximum to £13.07. It will increase to £212.97 for couples, reducing the couple rate of the Savings Credit maximum to £14.75.
    • The new single tier State Pension for people who reach state pension age from April 2016 will start at £155.65 a week for those entitled to the full rate.

Welfare reforms

    • The proposed cuts to tax credits have been withdrawn and the current system remains in place, although these ‘in work’ benefits will be gradually replaced as Universal Credit rolls out. The Universal Credit rollout schedule currently starts in 2016 with completion due by 2021.
    • From April 2016, payment of Housing Benefit and Pension Credit will stop for claimants who travel outside the UK for longer than 4 consecutive weeks.

Social care reforms

    • As previously announced, the ‘Dilnot’ reforms to social care funding in England are on hold until 2020. (Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all have their own social care funding arrangements.)

National minimum wage

    • The current rates shown below apply since 1 October 2015, with the previous rates shown in brackets:
    • £6.70 (£6.50) per hour – main rate for workers aged 21 and over.
    • £5.30 (£5.13) per hour – workers aged 18 to 20.
    • £3.87 (£3.79) per hour – workers aged under 18 and above school leaving age.
    • £3.30 (£2.73) per hour – apprentice rate for apprentices under 19 or 19+ and in their first year.
    • From April 2016, those aged 25 and over will benefit from an increased rate of £7.20 an hour, branded as the National Living Wage.

 

IMPACT:

  • Remember the minimum wage when planning with salary / dividend / pension profit extraction and salary exchange / sacrifice.

 

** Every care has been taken to ensure that this information is correct and in accordance with our understanding of the law and HM Revenue & Customs practice, which may change. However, independent confirmation should be obtained before acting or refraining from acting in reliance upon the information given. This information is based on announcements made in the July 2015 Budget and November 2015 Autumn Statement which may change before becoming law.

– Scottish Widows

BT – Your tactics are questionable to say the least.

We have all seen and heard news about the power companies bleating on about how they are only passing on increased costs, and that their margins are slimmer than a cigarette paper, as they whack up their prices yet again and somehow make record profits every year (even after the board’s bonuses). Plenty has been written and spoken about the tactics and smokescreens of NPower, E.on, British Gas & cronies. However a recent further example of stealth billing put my back up recently, and which seems just so typical of how British companies treat consumers nowadays, that I thought I’d share it with you – if only to get it off my chest.

My business numbers are with BT.  I received what looked like an innocuous piece of junk mail a few weeks ago – a single, colourful sheet of paper from BT , (printed on one side with a really small font).  Fortunately I read it before binning it. The letter said they were going to start billing me “a small charge” of £122.88 +VAT per year (£147.46) for each of my listings in the classified section of the phone book. To keep my existing (formerly free) listing I “didn’t need to do anything”, as they will just automatically add the charge to my bill every quarter.  Stealth billing rule #1 – get in under the radar by giving minimal information in a low-key chatty manner, then take the money via a DD that’s in place.

I didn’t want to pay for any phone book entries as I don’t believe anyone uses the classified book much anymore (it’s not really even Yellow Pages any more), so I called to cancel. But on ringing BT and stating my intent I was surprised to immediately be offered a much cheaper deal of less than half the quoted price “because I was a BT customer”. Isn’t everyone? I asked.  “Well… er, some non-BT customers choose to advertise in the BT classified book”. Hmm I’m not so sure about that. Either way, they knew all along of course that I was a BT customer (they wrote to me after all), and, if they truly had a two-tier pricing structure, they should have offered me the lower price in the first place.  Stealth billing rule #2:, if the first attempt doesn’t work and the customer cottons on, make up some cock and bull story about discounting it and have another bash at making some money that way.

Now if BT has a cheaper price for its customers, will they charge that cheaper price to all those customers (presumably the vast majority) who ignored the little one-off flyer (or simply didn’t care) and did nothing?  I think we all know the answer to that one. Hardly treating customers equally is it? Stealth billing rule #3: Don’t worry about people paying different prices for the same service. It’s OK if the quiet majority get shafted. 

There’s a theme here that’s pertinent to us IFAs. We are constantly nagged and reminded by the FCA to treat customers fairly and be seen to do so by publishing our various fees and charges for every situation and explaining them at length (ad nauseum some might say) to clients, and the FCA will, on a visit, check this area most carefully. Any routine discounting of fees for example is something they don’t like at all – it’s against the fairness principle to charge different fees for the same service. But while they’re micro-managing little IFA outfits like me, the OFT is happy for BT and other giants to just go ahead and make money from consumers by any method they can get away with.

There just seems a palpable lack of integrity in the major consumer markets nowadays, with senior executives aiming at maximisation of short to medium-term profit rather than the long-term.

The BT thing doesn’t constitute much more expense to even a small business, but to BT of course an extra £122 for every line entry in the classified section of every directory in the land adds up to a nice little earner. And of course what BT , the high street banks (they’ve been at it for years – they don’t need a DD they just dip into the punter’s account……but I digress) and some other major British businesses are doing isn’t illegal. They check with their legal advisers and ensure their sales processes fit within the relevant legislation and their T&Cs ( which they can more or less amend unilaterally anyway). They rely on the letter of the law, never the spirit of it, and push the boundaries wherever they think it worth the risk.

For me it just demonstrates UK big business’ growing contempt for the customer. They know that the typical UK consumer is trusting and accepting, and they are taking more advantage of that than ever before. For them, it’s not about fair prices or providing a good service for customers any more (if it ever was), it’s about exploitation.  

Business Protection Solutions

Many people think that the term “business protection” is just one generic type of cover that can be shoehorned into just about any business arrangement. This is quite wrong.

All businesses are different, and should have a business protection solution that fits their needs. This paragraphs below set out basic information on the four key types of cover a business should consider:  Key Person Cover, Share Protection Cover, Relevant Life Plan and Business Loan Protection. They can be set up separately or combined; usually a small discount can be achieved if more than one type of cover is taken out at the same time.

The manner in which the four types of cover should be applied to different types of business, i.e. limited company/Limited partnership, standard partnership and sole trader, will vary somewhat , as will the proper use of trusts and any side agreements where appropriate. This is a skilled area where an experienced insurance intermediary earns his keep.

Businesses should not go it alone in setting up their cover, and whilst it is common for banks to provide cover to businesses particularly where business loans are concerned, bear in mind that the terms obtained from your bankers are rarely as competitive as can be found through an independent intermediary, so if you feel you have a choice, (i.e. your friendly bank hasn’t got a gun to your head!) get a second quote by calling us on 0845 013 6525 (might as well get a sales pitch in!).

The general rule regarding tax relief on premiums, or potential taxation of benefits, is if tax relief is obtained on premiums the benefits are liable to be taxable, and if no tax relief is obtained on premiums then benefits are likely to be tax-free. The exception to this principle would be the Relevant Life plan where premiums may be treated as a business expense for tax purposes in the majority of cases (so long as the “wholly and exclusively” rule is considered to be met) and any policy proceeds should be free of tax in the hands of the beneficiaries.

We recommend that the business checks their tax position on their proposed business protection (usually through its accountant) with the local Inspector of taxes, to gain comfort and confirmation.

Key Person Protection

This is designed to pay the policy proceeds directly to the business on the death or critical illness of the key person, which can be used to help replace that key person, cover the loss of profits that may occur or repay a loan. The policy proceeds would help a business to continue trading through a difficult time.

Share Ownership Protection

Designed to provide the surviving shareholders / partners with the funds to purchase the deceased’s or critically ill partner’s/director’s/member’s share of the business. The policy would be under trust and would also require a cross option agreement to be put in place, which gives the survivors the right to purchase (and can also give the deceased’s representatives the right to force the sale). The cross option agreement therefore necessarily requires an agreed method of valuation of the business to be appended. The business can select a simple calculation (e.g. a multiple of average profits over the past n years), design it from scratch or otherwise take advice from their IFAs or accountants.

This type of cover is relevant to practically all business organisations. Whilst the paperwork and business valuation side of things may seem a little daunting, a good intermediary will help you by careful fact-finding and design of the right plan structure for your business, and implement it along with completion of all of the relevant trust forms. Your accountant should also probably be involved if only to confirm understandings as to likely future tax treatment under certain scenarios.

Relevant Life Plan

This is a tax efficient single life Death in Service benefit for employees or directors of a business. The policy proceeds are paid to the Trustees (employer) and the benefit is written under Trust for the life assureds beneficiaries. Typically there is tax relief on premiums and no tax on proceeds making this a very popular type of plan amongst small businesses which do not have group life policies, or as additional cover for directors and senior management for firms which do. Critical illness cover is not available under this type of plan.

Business Loan Protection

This is designed to pay off any outstanding loans the business may have should a main shareholder, director, partner or other key individual suffer a critical illness (if selected) or die. It shares many things in common with the more general Key Man protection, but is likely to be of a fixed term in line with the loan. If you think your business is going to regularly roll over its finance then it might be prudent to take out cover over the longer term, rather than take out a new policy every few years, which would be cheaper in the long term and avoid the risk of high future premium costs if the insured’s health should decline in future.

Business Protection is relevant to just about every form of business organisation, from the sole trader to a FTSE 100 plc.