Mortgage holiday extension confirmed

Get straight to the good stuff every day with the Multiply Minute; a lightning-quick round-up of the money news and how it affects you.

Mortgage holidays extended

The government has confirmed that the mortgage holiday scheme will continue for another three months. Homeowners who are struggling financially can take a break from payments until October. 1.8 million households have taken a mortgage holiday so far. If you think you want one, pick up the phone to your lender.

Advice team's take: While this might look appealing (and if you need to use it, you should) we recommend that you try and maintain your original repayment plan if you possibly can. Here's why.

No V-shaped recovery

Economists have ruled out a V-shaped recovery after seeing the latest economic data. At the start of the pandemic, many people hoped the economy would bounce back quickly once the virus was in control. But instead it looks like recovery will be slower, after April was shown to be the worst month for the economy since the 1930s.

Advice team’s take: Our experience has shown that economists and advisers often have varying opinions on these things and this means that some often get them wrong. The honest answer is that we just don’t know, so if you’re investing you need to be in it for the long term.

NHS fee U-turn

Health and care workers from non-EU countries will no longer have to pay a £400 surcharge to use the NHS. All NHS workers, including porters and cleaners, will be exempted from the fee, which is set to rise to £624 per year in October.

First-time investor boom

Thousands of people have opened a stocks and shares ISA* during the pandemic; some stockbrokers say they have twice as many new investors as usual. There are bargains to be had after the market tanked. What are they buying? BP, EasyJet, and Shell all make the top ten.

Advice team’s take: We don't recommend individual stock selection. Instead, we recommend investing into funds via a professional fund manager. You’ll see this recommendation in your plan if we believe that now is the right time for you to start investing.

(Another) record low for retail

April was a very bad month for shopping. Sales plunged 18.1% as shops shut and people stayed at home. Fashion was badly affected; we spent half as much on clothes as we did in March, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Even a 30% boost in online sales couldn’t put the sector back into the black.

Advice team’s take: No great surprise here! The challenge for businesses is how they prepare and adapt to a post lockdown world.