STUDENTS – when an employer goes into liquidation

When an employer’s business goes into liquidation the employer may not send to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) the year end return forms P35 and P14 which show details of an individual’s student loan repayments deducted during the financial year.

HMRC needs this information to be able to tell the Student Loans Company (SLC) the amounts that have been deducted from each borrower’s earnings so that the SLC in turn can credit those amounts to their loan accounts.

In these circumstances HMRC will provide details of the student loan repayments to the SLC based on information in the borrowers form P60 and/or payslips evidence which the borrower will be asked to provide.

If no P60 or payslip evidence is available HMRC may ask the borrower to contact the liquidator to extract the relevant student loan repayment information from the employer payroll records. Any formal documentation showing repayment deductions will be considered by way of evidence to help HMRC determine and report any student loan deductions to the SLC.

If you require any help please contact our friendly team at Stewart, Fletcher & Barrett  on 024 7638 4171

Act Fast For Pensions Boost!

Government projections indicate that, over the average 23 years spent in retirement by people in Britain, a woman will receive nearly £50,000 less than a man. This figure is staggering, but not necessarily that surprising. Statistically, women are likely to live longer, but are also likely to have much smaller financial resources. Taking time out of work to look after children or, say, elderly parents greatly increases the chances of a woman’s latter years being blighted by poverty.

If you have stayed at home to bring up children, or if you have acted as an unpaid carer for family or friends, then it’s likely that your employment history has a few gaps in it. This means that you’ve probably missed some National Insurance contributions (NICs). If you are approaching retirement, you should be aware that this could significantly reduce your entitlement to the full basic state pension.

The good news is that it’s not too late to do something about it – but you should act fast if you want to make the most of a chance to boost your pension pot. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has advised anyone in this situation to take advantage of an opportunity to increase their state pension by thousands of pounds by making extra voluntary contributions by 5th April 2011. Thousands of people could be eligible for a pensions top-up for life, as well as for back payments that could cover the up-front costs of their contributions.

If you want to provide for a more comfortable future by topping up your pension, call Martin now on 02476 384171.