The latest market updates are brought to you by Investment Managers & Analysts at Wealth at Work Limited which is a member of the Wealth at Work group of companies.
Many companies in the UK operate a Save As You Earn (SAYE) share plan often known as Sharesave, which provides employees with a tax efficient way to invest in their company’s shares.
Share plans play an integral part in any reward and benefits strategy. They are designed to encourage longer term saving which can result in greater financial wellbeing. Jonathan Watts-Lay, Director, WEALTH at work answers some questions on the key things to understand if your workplace offers share plans.
The journey to retirement, once a relatively straightforward path, has become increasingly complex, particularly since the advent of pension freedoms in 2015. While these freedoms offer unprecedented flexibility, they also introduce challenges, especially concerning how individuals manage their accumulated savings at the point of retirement.
On Monday, the UK unemployment rate held steady at 4.7% in the three months to June. While the headline figure suggests stability, underlying data points to a gradual softening in the labour market, with payrolls falling for six consecutive months and job vacancies continuing to decline.
Some encouraging PMI data emerged from Asia this week. In Japan, services sector activity picked up pace in July, with the Services PMI rising to 53.6 from 51.7 in June, which marks the strongest expansion since February.