Good morning and welcome to your Morning Briefing for Monday 7 July 2025. To get this in your inbox every morning click here.
OAP, senior citizen and pensioner seen as negative terms
Terms such as OAP, senior citizen and pensioner are seen as negative terms and rejected by the British public.
This is according to M&G research who has launched a campaign Reframing Retirement to challenge outdated perceptions of retirement to encourage people to financially plan for their future.
Ian McKenna: Unlocking the £500 advice allowance
The economic case for widening access to advice-style services is stronger than ever.
There’s already a largely overlooked mechanism that could help deliver this benefit at scale: the £500 tax exemption for financial advice writes FTRC founder Ian McKenna.
Introduced in the 2017 Spring Budget and formalised in the Finance Act 2017, this exemption allows employers to offer up to £500 worth of financial advice per employee, per tax year, tax-free.
It covers guidance on pensions, general savings and financial products: the exact areas targeted by the FCA’s new initiative, targeted support.
The potential impact is substantial. If a mid-career employee with £50,000 in pension and savings received advice paid for via the exemption, the resulting uplift in wealth could be worth £3,500 to £5,000.
Quote Of The Day
The FCA has taken a sledgehammer to the UK advice gap
– Richard Hulbert, insight consultant at Defaqto, on the FCA’s targeted support proposals
Stat Attack
Research commissioned by Handelsbanken Wealth & Asset Management show how many individuals are using their phones for mortgage and rental payments.
39%
of 18-34-year-olds use their phones for mortgage and rental payments.
8%
of those aged over 55 years use their phone for mortgage and rental payments.
33%
of 18-34s would use their mobile phones to make an investment.
7%
of over 55s would do the same.
27%
of 18-34s suggested that they are naturally bad at managing money, which decreases to 18% of 35-54s and just 8% of over 55s.
Source: Handelsbanken Wealth & Asset Management
In Other News
The Financial Technology Research Centre (FTRC) was named InsurTech of the Year at last week’s Europe FinTech Awards (3 July), marking the second time in three years it has received the accolade.
The win also completes a hat-trick of honours at the prestigious awards, following FTRC’s Disruptor of the Year last year.
Founder Ian McKenna said: “We are really proud to have won the award as the leading InsurTech in Europe for the second time in three years. Completing the hat-trick with last year’s Disruptor award makes it even more special.”
He noted that while the InsurTech sector is highly competitive, there are relatively few firms focused on life and protection advice.
“Convincing a judging panel of European Fintech leaders that we represent the best in InsurTech is a credit not just to my team, but to the advisers and insurers we work with.”
Judges praised FTRC for delivering a service not previously available in the market, highlighting how its technology simplifies the life insurance process for advisers and helps them offer more relevant products to customers.
Trump says US nears trade deals as tariff deadline delayed (Reuters)
UK business leaders are ‘struggling to see what’s business-friendly’ about Labour (Bloomberg)
Post-Brexit export drive hampered by UK trade finance regulations, ICC warns (Financial Times)
Did You See?
Two men have been jailed for a combined 12 years for defrauding investors out of more than £1.5m in a crypto investment scam, following a successful prosecution by the Financial Conduct Authority.
Between February 2017 and June 2019, Raymondip Bedi, 35, and Patrick Mavanga, 40, cold-called victims to sell fake investments in cryptocurrency.
Operating through companies including CCX Capital and Astaria Group LLP, the pair defrauded at least 65 investors of £1,541,799.
On Friday 4 July, Bedi was sentenced to five years and four months in prison, while Mavanga received a sentence of six years and six months at Southwark Crown Court.
Confiscation proceedings are ongoing in an effort to recover criminal gains.
