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Lifeline for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) struggling with cash flow

The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) is a loan scheme that was announced by the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, during the 2020 Budget and has been set up to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that are struggling with cash flow because of revenues that have been deferred or lost due to the coronavirus outbreak. The loans are being offered on generous terms to support SMEs.

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HMRC will not charge interest or penalties on any amount deferred

The Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, has announced that businesses will be able to defer VAT payments for a three-month period in 2020. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) have confirmed a deferral for all VAT payments due between 20 March 2020 and 30 June 2020 by all businesses with a UK VAT registration to help businesses manage their cash flow.

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Guaranteeing a proportion of the salaries of millions of workers

Around the country, many employers have implemented lay-offs due to reduced revenues and the closure of their business premises due to coronavirus. The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme has been set up to support those employers and help them continue to pay wages of staff who would otherwise have been let go.

The Government will pay up to 80% of wages for workers at risk of being laid off due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced. Under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, all UK employers with a PAYE scheme that was created and started on or before 28 February 2020 will be able to access support to continue paying part of their employees’ salary for those that would otherwise have been laid off during this crisis.

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Payments made from day 1, rather than day 4, of your absence from work

If you think you are entitled to Statutory Sick Pay (SSP), you can receive £94.25 per week if you’re too ill to work. It’s paid by your employer for up to 28 weeks.

If you are self-isolating because of COVID-19, from 13 March, you can now claim SSP. This includes individuals who are caring for people self-isolating in the same household and therefore have been advised to do a household quarantine. If you were self-isolating before 13 March because someone in your household had symptoms, you cannot receive SSP.

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Key announcements to support people and businesses

In response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, Chancellor Rishi Sunak has set out a package of temporary, timely and targeted measures to support people and businesses through this period of disruption.

Continue reading “Business support at a glance”

Financial support for those impacted by coronavirus

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak unveiled unprecedented government aid for the self-employed. There are around five million people who are self-employed and freelance across the UK, and many will be relieved to hear that financial support is on the way to help those impacted by coronavirus.

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Strengthening the safety net for those who work for themselves

The Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, said he will ‘strengthen the safety net for those who work for themselves’ with a package of measures to support the self-employed and freelancers, offering improved benefits and tax deferrals.

Continue reading “Second self-assessment payment deferment”

Delay taking your pension if you can

For those people moving closer to retirement that may have been impacted by the recent market volatility, another option to consider is deferring your private pension. If you’re in a defined contribution scheme, delaying when you claim means that you leave your pension pot invested for longer, so you could secure a bigger pension pot when you do eventually come to retire.

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Remember that pension savings are for the long term

The current global stock market turbulence will no doubt be concerning for individuals whose pension savings are invested partly or fully in these markets. If you have a defined contribution pension scheme – whether private or through work – your savings have probably also been impacted as a consequence of coronavirus (COVID-19).

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Providing more balance to your portfolio when market shifts occur

Investment options span every sector of the stock, bond and property markets, but allocating your assets based on performance alone is often ill-advised because the market is a moving target. One year, a particular type of security can be a star performer, only to severely underperform the very next year.

Continue reading “Diversification, diversification, diversification”