Cashpoints: Compulsory pension annuities to be scrapped

This week's top stories • The government on Thursday announced the results of its long-awaited consultation on the scrapping of compulsory annuitisation: it is abolishing the need for people to buy an annuity , provided they have a certain amount of money in their pension fund. • Mortgage borrowers will find it takes longer to process their application and the self-employed could struggle to get a loan if proposals announced by the Financial Services Authority are implemented. • Basic rate taxpayers need to earn 4% gross interest to beat inflation and maintain the spending power of their cash, following an announcement by the Office for National Statistics that the consumer price index fell slightly to 3.2% in June. Higher-rate taxpayers would need to earn 5.33%. • Do you have any feedback on any of these issues that you want to get off your chest? Email us at [email protected] Feature A working life: Flock tactics John Ryrie has already had a busy morning. He had had to jump into his Land Rover with a dog and retrieve two rams and 18 ewes, which had gone for walkabout after a gate was left unlocked. "I had to get them off the road quickly. I didn't want them mixing with other sheep or animals in case of disease," says the organic sheep farmer in Dorset. Read the article in full here Ask the experts: Homebuying Question of the week: "I want to help my daughter with the deposit for her first house. Will she still qualify for stamp duty exemption as a first-time buyer?" Our homebuying expert Virginia Wallis says: "Assuming that your daughter will be buying the property in her sole name and that it's not going to cost more than £250,000, yes, she should qualify for the stamp duty land tax exemption for first-time buyers." Read the answer in full here • Any questions? Email our panel of experts on financial concerns, consumer gripes, legal wrangles, debt worries and career-related problems at [email protected]