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In this day and age, it’s imperative to think carefully before giving up a guaranteed income for life Baroness Altmann is a member of the House of Lords and was pensions minister from May 2015 until July 2016 Credit: Chris McAndrew / UK Parliament A defined benefit (DB) pension has long been the holy grail of retirement. With guaranteed payouts for life, often rising each year with inflation, they can remove that major worry of retirement: running out of money. However, one of the few downsides of people living longer nowadays is the rapid rise in the cost of these pensions. They’ve all but disappeared from the private sector, and even though public sector workers still receive them, they’re less generous than they were. But almost a decade ago, I did something I would never advise today: I cashed in three DB pensions. When you’re considering such a move, you’re given a cash equivalent transfer value (CETV). This is the amount your scheme will pay into your defined contribution (DC) p...

DWP benefits may be paid earlier for some claimants this month due to the August bank holiday (Image: Getty Images) Claimants of Universal Credit, State Pensions, Child Benefit, PIP and other benefits may be affected by changes due to the August bank holidays later in the month. August 31, 2026, is a bank holiday where payments from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) won't be made. If you are due to receive a DWP benefit payment that day, you may find you receive it early - usually on Friday, August 28. If your payment is due on a different day, it will arrive in your account as normal, and the amount you are due to be paid will remain the same. When a payment date falls on a weekend or a bank holiday, the Department for Work and Pensions says the claimant is generally paid on the working day before, but this can vary. These are the benefits that may be affected by the bank holiday weekend:  Attendance Allowance Carer’s Allowance Child Benefit Disability Living Allowance Em...

Levy could raise £19bn to help pay for Andy Burnham’s support for those struggling with bills, say campaigners Campaigners have renewed calls for a windfall tax on UK banks that could raise £19bn towards Andy Burnham’s cost of living agenda, after HSBC raked in $10.1bn (£7.5bn) worth of profits in the second quarter of the year. Bosses at HSBC reported on Tuesday that profits rose 60% year on year in the three months to the end of June, helped by fees from wealth management and insurance business, as well as higher interest rates, which allow the bank to charge more for loans and mortgages. The HSBC chief executive, Georges Elhedery, said he would consider increasing banker bonuses on the back of the strong results and planned to restart a share buy-back programme that had been on pause since last year. It brings collective profits for the four largest banks – HSBC, NatWest, Barclays and Lloyds – to £29.2bn over the first six months of the year, putting lenders back in the crosshairs ...

Mitchell Labiak , Business reporter and Emma Simpson , Business correspondent Sainsbury's has agreed to sell Argos for £120m after a long process of trying to offload it as the supermarket chain aims to focus on its main food business. Sainsbury's said it would be "business as usual" for Argos customers, staff, and suppliers. Shoppers will see no change as Argos will still operate in Sainsbury's shops, sell Habitat products, and offer Nectar points. The buyer, Swift Partners, is a company that has been created to buy the brand and includes former Co-operative Group boss Richard Pennycook. There are 667 Argos shops across the UK, with 201 operating as standalone stores and 466 operating within Sainsbury's. It also has more than 450 collection points. Founded in 1973, Argos opened shops where customers browsed its catalogues and placed their orders, with products being delivered to tills from warehouses connected to the stores. The Argos catalogue, once descri...

Image source: iStock Editorial / Getty Images. Image caption, Greggs profits rose after it launched a range of new products. By Emer  Moreau, Business reporter Greggs's pivot towards healthier products and trending drinks has helped it boost sales, with the bakery chain reporting a 20% rise in profit over the first half of the year. Greggs, the UK's largest fast-food chain, has launched a range of new products this year, many of which latch onto trends such as high-protein salads and matcha. Greggs's chief executive Roisin Currie previously told BBC News the rise of weight-loss drugs has led customers to  look for "smaller portions" , which could affect its bottom line. Total sales for the bakery topped £1.1 billion for the 26 weeks to the end of June - 7.2% higher than the same period a year ago. Pre-tax profit for the first half of the year was £76.0m - up from £63.5m for the first six months of 2025. Currie said the company was "broadening and innovating ...

Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh looks on during his first news conference since taking the helm at the central bank, on June 17, 2026 in Washington, DC. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images New York —The public is fed up with the high cost of living, and the Federal Reserve is once again under pressure to act. Kevin Warsh, the new Fed chairman, has vowed to get inflation back to 2%. Some investors suspect the Warsh-led Fed will show it’s serious about that pledge by raising rates as soon as Wednesday. And yet: As powerful as the Fed is, its inflation-fighting tools are limited when it comes to combating the supply-driven inflation America is facing now. The Fed can’t conjure a durable ceasefire in the war with Iran, reopen the Strait of Hormuz, nor disappear President Donald Trump’s high and volatile tariffs . “Rate hikes won’t keep the bombs from dropping,” said Benson Durham, a former Fed official and founder of DASM LLC, an independent research firm. Supply trouble causing inflatio...