#lifetime-isa

#lifetime-isa

Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF holds roughly $2.1 trillion in assets and has earned its place in millions of retirement portfolios. The appeal is straightforward: one fund, the entire U.S. equity market, a 0.03% expense ratio, and a 25-year track record.

Money expert Martin Lewis has urged savers to ensure they are getting tax-free returns of nearly five per cent on their money as a key deadline looms. The new financial year begins on 6 April, marking the last date individual savings account (Isa) holders can use their full 20,000 allowance for the year.

When planning our budgets, we tend to focus on cutting costs. Yet, sometimes a little strategic spending can help to save money in the long term, by reducing our regular expenses and replacing repeat purchases of single-use items.

The benefits of using a cash ISA are clear: no tax payable on the interest earned, regardless of amounts, and you can put in up to 20,000 a year for now. That will change from April 2027, capped at 12,000 (the rest can go into other ISA types), but if you'd even been putting in 150 - nowhere near enough to max your allowance - you'd still have been able to save up more than 21,000 after a decade, assuming an average 3 per cent interest rate.

This tax year (2025/26), you can add up to £20,000 to one ISA or split the money between several of the various types; the most used being Cash ISAs and Stocks & Shares ISAs. Whichever type of ISA you invest in you pay no income or capital gains tax (CGT) on the returns - no matter how much they are.

The fund has about $5.8 billion in assets under management. It has an expense ratio of 0.5%, which is slightly on the higher side when compared to the other ETFs, but it is a bargain. You only pay $50 per $10,000. The ETF picks companies that have paid consistent dividends and have high yields. This has helped IDV maintain a lofty yield of 4.71%.

Currently, pension savings are not used for estate valuations when calculating IHT charges when someone dies. This means money left in a pension can be passed on without worrying about generating a tax bill. But from the new tax year in April 2027, pensions will be included in estate calculations. This creates a higher chance of pushing the value of an estate above the IHT threshold, currently 325,000.

What gets glossed over in most of these conversations is taxes, as everyone focuses on the accumulation phase by maxing out your 401(k), funneling money into accounts like the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund, and watching your net worth compound. However, when you retire early and need your portfolio to generate income, the tax bill can be significantly higher than you planned for, particularly if most of your money is in tax-deferred accounts or you've accumulated large unrealized gains in taxable accounts.

A traditional IRA allows you to contribute with pre-tax dollars and pay taxes on withdrawals in retirement, while a Roth IRA allows you to take tax-free withdrawals as a retiree, although you will have to contribute with after-tax dollars. Provided your income isn't too high, you can make tax-advantaged contributions to these accounts this year, up to a total limit of $7,500 if you're under 50 or a limit of $8,600 if you're 50 or older and eligible for catch-up contributions.