With Christmas around the corner, our present to you is tackling an issue we all encounter in our pension policies and beyond: financial jargon.

From interest rates and income tax, to dividends and bonds, sometimes it feels like the language of personal finance is specifically designed to confuse us. So this month, we try to decipher some of the trickiest terms with the help of:

• Stand-Up Comedian and Host of the False Economy Podcast; Vix Leyton
• PensionBee's CMO; Jasper Martens

Episode Breakdown:

01:13 Our least favourite pieces of financial jargon

03:37 Jargon from the cost of living crisis

09:49 Financial Services industry acronyms

12:37 Pension industry jargon

17:29 Pension policy jargon

20:54 How can we further tackle the jargon?

*In this episode we briefly mention UK income tax bands, here are the full figures: The current basic rate of 20% applies if you earn between £12,571 and £50,270 per year, the higher rate of 40% applies to everyone who earns between £50,271 and £150,000, and the additional rate of 45% applies to all who earn £151,000 and over. However, as a result of the Autumn Statement on 17 November 2022, the higher and additional tax thresholds will change in the 2023/24 tax year. From April 2023, the higher rate of 40% will apply to those earning between £50,271 and £125,140, and the additional rate of 45% will apply to anyone earning over £125,140. You can find more information on the gov.uk website.

We also spoke about inflation in relation to the triple lock on State Pensions. We wanted to add that in the Chancellor's Autumn Statement, it was confirmed that the State Pension will rise by 10.1% in April 2023 in line with the rate of inflation that was set in September 2022. This means that the full State Pension will increase from £185.15 per week and £9,627.80 per year to £203.85 per week and £10,600 per year.

Jargon list:

If you're stuck on a particular term, here's a list of some of the jargon we mentioned and a time stamp to help you find it.

03:51 Income tax

04:42 Inflation, RPI and CPI

06:28 Interest rates and the base rate

09:54 FTSE

10:30 IPO

11:43 ISA and LISA

12:53 State Pension triple lock

14:54 Risk

17:30 Annuity

18:32 Drawdown

20:19 Guaranteed Annuity Rate

Further reading:

Unfortunately, there's simply too much financial jargon to cover it all in one episode! To get to grips with even more of the baffling language and details in your pension policies, check out our Pensions Explained pages:

• Pension glossary
• Special pension benefits glossary
• How to read a fund factsheet

Other useful resources:

• Money To The Masses
• Boring Money
• Money Helper
• Pension Academy Series
• The Buzz

Catch up on the latest news, read our episode transcripts or watch on YouTube:

• The Pension Confident Podcast
• The Pension Confident Podcast on YouTube

Follow @PensionBee on X, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Threads and LinkedIn.

Follow Vix on X, Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn.

Enjoying the podcast? Then don't forget to give us a review! As always, we'd love to hear your stories and feedback. Send us an email:

[email protected]