Every week, we pull together the most relevant stories for your personal finances.
š¦ Interest rates held at 3.75% again - markets now expect a rise, not a cut
š„Ŗ 1.4 million of us are stuck in the "sandwich generation" - caring for kids and parents at once - and it's hitting our finances hard
š· The State Pension is on track to rise above the tax-free threshold next year - what that actually means
š£ļø This week we asked a coach: I've been supporting my mum financially since she moved into a care home, and still helping my son at university - I feel like my own pension has been on pause for years. Where do I even start?
The Bank of England held its base rate at 3.75% again on 17 September - the sixth hold in a row. CPI inflation hit 3.1% in August, above the Bank's 2% target, driven mostly by energy price volatility from the Middle East conflict. Markets have flipped their expectations: a first rate rise as soon as November 2026, with up to five increases forecast by July 2027 - though nothing's guaranteed.
A held rate doesn't mean cheaper borrowing. If anything, the shifting outlook makes it more important to act now, not wait. Anyone still on a lender's standard variable rate (SVR) mortgage is paying 6-7%, against 4.6-4.7% on the best two- and five-year fixes.Ā
Over a million of us face a deal renewal this year. Moving from an expiring fix onto a new fixed deal, rather than drifting onto the SVR, could save around Ā£286 a month. Doing the reverse could cost roughly Ā£283 more. If your deal ends in the next six months, it's worth reserving a new rate now rather than waiting to see what November brings - most lenders let individuals lock a rate 3-6 months ahead, and switch to something cheaper later if one turns up before the new terms begin.
For savers, the picture is steadier. Top easy-access accounts still pay 4%+ (some up to 5%), and fixed savings rates of 5%+ are on offer from smaller providers for anyone happy to lock money away. If rates do start rising from November, a shorter fix or an easy-access account keeps our options open - a long fix now could mean missing out if rates climb further than expected.
Not sure what the changing interest rate outlook means for your finances? A Bippit coach can help you review your mortgage, savings and wider financial plans, and understand the options available to you.
New research from Carers UK estimates around 1.4 million people aged 16-64 in the UK are "sandwich carers" - caring for children as well as an adult relative, such as an ageing parent, at the same time. It's a hard position to be in. 84% struggle to ever take a break. 80% worry constantly about supporting both generations at once and 30% say they're struggling financially. The toll goes beyond money too: 41% report bad or very bad mental health and 37% have cut their working hours.
If this sounds like your situation, or a colleague's, the financial squeeze is real. A lot of the support on offer for carers goes unclaimed, simply because people don't know it exists or don't have time to look. Carer's Allowance is worth checking even if we assume it won't apply - the earnings limit shifts periodically and catches more people than expected.Ā
If an individual is cutting their hours, or thinking about leaving work altogether, it's worth also checking how that might affect pension contributions. A period of reduced income in our 40s or 50s - exactly when sandwich carers are typically squeezed hardest - can have an outsized effect on retirement savings, simply because there's less time left for it to recover.
It's worth treating this as a three-way balancing act, not something to push through alone. Our own long-term financial security is easy to deprioritise when we're focused on our kids' costs and our parents' care. But if our own plans stall for years while we support two generations, that's a cost too - just one that shows up later. It's worth a proper look at what we're entitled to: as a carer, as a parent, and in our own right.
āWorth knowing:ā
Carer's Allowance and Attendance Allowance are separate benefits with different rules. It's worth checking both if you're caring for a parent - many people assume they can only claim one, or neither.ā
The full new State Pension is on track to rise 3.9% next April - the highest of the triple lock's three components (wage growth, inflation, or 2.5%). That takes it from Ā£241.30 a week (Ā£12,547.60 a year) to Ā£250.70 a week (Ā£13,036.40 a year).
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The income tax personal allowance has been frozen at Ā£12,570 for years. For the first time, the new State Pension alone would exceed the amount everyone can earn tax-free. Pensioners with no other income could technically owe tax purely on their state pension. The government has said it will honour a previous promise: pensioners just over the personal allowance won't face "the administrative burden of paying small amounts of tax." Full details are expected at the next Budget.
This affects anyone relying mainly or entirely on the State Pension - a lot of us. It's not a niche issue. Exactly how it'll be handled is still unclear, so it's worth watching the Budget rather than assuming nothing will change. For those of us still working and building up pension savings, it's a reminder that private or workplace pension income sits on top of the state pension for tax purposes. The more our retirement income comes from savings rather than the state pension alone, the longer we've already been in this position - it's people relying on the state pension in isolation for whom this affects most.
It's a good prompt to check our own State Pension forecast if we haven't recently. Our National Insurance record determines what we'll actually get, and gaps from time out of work can mean a lower amount - which changes how directly this affects each of us.
āNot sure what this could mean for your retirement plans? A Bippit coach can help you understand your State Pension and plan for your retirement.
This is exactly the situation Carers UK's latest research points to - around 1.4 million of us are doing this right now. It's one of the hardest financial positions to be in. There's rarely a "spare" pound left once care costs and University fees are covered, let alone our own expenses.
Let's start with what might already be there but unclaimed. Carer's Allowance is worth checking even if we assume it won't apply - the rules and earnings limit shift periodically. It's separate from Attendance Allowance, which a parent might be able to claim in their own right depending on their care needs. It's easy to assume only one applies, or neither, without checking properly.
On our own pension: even a small, resumed contribution matters more than it might feel right now, because time to grow is often worth more than the size of the contribution at this stage. If a full pause is genuinely all that's manageable at the moment, that's a fair, honest place to be - but it's worth planning to revisit it as soon as costs ease, rather than letting "we'll sort the pension later" quietly become the plan by default.
Our suggestion: don't try to solve everything - the caring, the costs, and our own future - at once, and don't do it from guilt. Claim what's owed first, protect our own health and work where we can. A coach can help map out what's realistic given the circumstances - that three-way balancing act is exactly what we're here for.
Interest rates might start rising again - should I fix my mortgage or savings now, or wait and see?
I'm caring for a parent and still supporting my kids financially - what support am I actually entitled to?
Will I actually have to pay tax on my state pension next year?
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