Good morning and welcome to your Morning Briefing for Friday 31 October 2025. To get this in your inbox every morning click here.
£2.5bn in unclaimed Pension Credit signals ongoing engagement crisis
According to data released by the Department of Work & Pensions (DWP), up to 1m families across the UK could be losing out on roughly £2,600 a year in Pension Credit (PC).
In FYE 2024, only 62% of those entitled to PC received the benefit, with up to 910,000 eligible families failing to claim.
Strikingly, up to £2.5bn of available PC went unclaimed, which is £1bn higher than in FYE 2023.
Stuart Breyer: How AI can help advisers build a better business
Technology has always been central to the advice profession’s evolution, writes Stuart Breyer, CEO of Mallowstreet. But current conditions, with the rise of AI, are unparalleled.
With Consumer Duty reshaping expectations, advisers are being asked to prove not just that they’re compliant, but that every client outcome is fair, consistent and well-documented.
It’s a noble ambition, and a heavy lift. The reality is that the administrative and regulatory load of running an advice firm has never been higher.
Quote Of The Day
The growth in sales of pyjamas and candles suggests adults are embracing Halloween as an opportunity for a night in at home, not just for children’s trick-or-treating. Despite cost-of-living pressures, Halloween continues to prove resilient
– Vikash Kaansili, senior retail analyst at Kantar, suggests that Halloween is a “must-do” occasion that people are unwilling to cut back on
Stat Attack
New research from HSBC UK has found widespread confusion around credit scores, particularly among younger adults.
Despite growing concern about financial wellbeing, many Britons remain disengaged from one of the key factors affecting their borrowing potential:
26%
of UK adults don’t understand how their credit score is calculated.
22%
don’t know what counts as a “good” credit score.
48%
of people know their current score, but 29% never check it and 8% are unsure if they even have one.
36%
of adults admit they don’t know their own credit score.
43%
have taken no steps in the past year to improve or maintain their score.
60%
of millennials (aged 29–44) say they are concerned about their credit score.
63%
of over-55s have taken no action to manage their score in the last year.
56%
recognise that missing a credit-card payment can affect their score.
Only 33%
proactively make payments on time to improve their score.
Source: HSBC UK
In Other News
UK advice firm Morenti Wealth has appointed Jamie Mariani to enhance its investment and financial-planning capabilities as the business continues to expand.
Mariani joins from Trillium Asset Management, where he co-managed its ESG Global Conviction strategy and helped establish its UK-based global equities arm.
He previously spent more than a decade at Martin Currie Investment Management as director of research and a member of the Investment Executive and Asset Allocation Committee.
Earlier roles included equity analyst positions at Dresdner Kleinwort Benson and ABN AMRO in London.
A CFA charterholder and qualified financial adviser, Mariani is known for his client-focused, long-term investment approach.
Commenting on his appointment, Mariani said Morenti’s appeal lay in its “simple and clear” approach to advice, while founding partner Chris Bourne welcomed his “deep investment expertise” and commitment to clients.
Trump pushes for a US-led digital economy that’s free of tariffs (Bloomberg)
OpenAI thought to be preparing for $1tn stock market float (The Guardian)
America and China have only holstered their trade weapons (The Economist)
Did You See?
With the Budget looming and the government promising not to raise income tax, VAT and National insurance contributions “on working people”, how will it reduce the ever-increasing hole in its finances?
As growth is slow, the likelihood is that it will be done by a combination of reducing spending and increasing taxes. But… which taxes?
Inherited wealth seems to be the order of the day, with unused pension funds being pulled into inheritance tax (IHT) from April 2027 and changes to agricultural and business relief, but could there be more?
In the summer, there were rumours that there might be a cap on the amount you can gift during your lifetime.
However, until a policy is announced, they remain just that – rumours. Until you get confirmation and legislation is enacted, you can only advise clients on what you know to be true at the time.
That said, you need to always be keeping an eye on the fact that things could change, so we’re able to adapt our plans quickly if those changes occur.
With this in mind, how many of us actually know what is included when looking at calculating an IHT liability?
Read the full article by Julia Peake, technical manager at Nucleus
