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The week's most important personal finance news, analysis and expert advice, from pensions and property to investment ideas and savings tips.

Too many people are making irreversible decisions

Life-changing financial decisions should never be rushed but eager home buyers are being forced to by the stamp duty holiday. Hundreds of thousands have been left sweating as they wait for sales to go through in the tight six week window before the tax break ends.

The property market has been overwhelmed with a buying frenzy and the resulting logjam has meant that even sales agreed last July may be at risk of missing the deadline, which could cost buyers up to 15,000.

The Chancellor Rishi Sunak is said to be considering pushing back the end of the holiday by six weeks, potentially sparing160,000 homebuyers from 1bn in unnecessary tax, Marianna Hunt writes.

However, anxious buyers may end up being grateful. Experts have warned that the property market is in a bubble. House prices are no longer in sync with the wider economy – they soared 8.5pc in 2020 while GDP shrank by 9.9pc. Property values are expected to fall and could even start their descent before the stamp duty holiday comes to an end.

Elsewhere, pension savers have also been lunging headfirst into irreversible decisions. Some have started to take drastic action as they fear the end of generous tax reliefs.

One reader took 300,000 out of his personal pension to shield his hard-earned savings from any new tax penalties the Chancellor may introduce at the Budget on March 3. Industry experts have warned that pensions are too generous and they could make for rich pickings in a Treasury tax raid. From higher-rate tax relief to tax-free cash, it could all be under threat, they said.

In the world of investing nothing seems to be moving as fast as Bitcoin, which broke through the $50,000 mark yesterday. Investors have continued to pile in, hoping the surge has much more to run. Major companies have started to invest – the crypto craze is far from over. Here’s a look at how you can add Bitcoin to your Isa if you want to.

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Here's what our readers said

In our comments section, H Richardson said of ‘I’ve taken 300,000 out of my pension before Rishi Sunak taxes it away’: Surely a better option is to promote the use of pension savings for their intended purpose - a retirement income. Cap tax-free cash withdrawals at a nominal amount similar to the annual allowance, and make pension balances subject to inheritance tax on death (except for spouses), but preserve the 25pc tax free element for those taking it as a regular retirement income. Neat, tidy and encourages pensions to be used for retirement income rather than as a wealthy persons tax haven or hedge against property.

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