They paid out a total of £56.9bn in last year, which is 15% less than in 2008. Investors in the banking sector were, unsurprisingly, hit the hardest, with cuts of £6bn compared to the previous year.

The research also made the prediction that dividends were unlikely to grow strongly this year, due to struggling economic growth.

Some related research from Exchange Data International suggests that income-seeking investors are now more reliant than ever before on just five income stocks.

47% of all cash dividends paid out to investors in UK companies last year came from BP, Shell, HSBC, Vodafone and Glaxosmithkline. In 2007, the total contribution from these five companies to UK dividend payments was 37%.

Investors looking for a healthy income yield in 2010 and beyond are going to have to accept both lower income and a greater concentration of strong dividend payers within their portfolios. Looking at historic dividend yields will prove to be an unreliable guide to likely yields in the future.

In fact, income-seeking investors will need to explore the yields they can get from higher yielding corporate bonds and commercial property. Both sectors remain quite attractive, and by increasing diversification within a portfolio designed for income, investors can better manage risks to both income and capital.

Under the current rules, men need a total of 44 ‘qualifying years’ of National Insurance contributions in order to get the full basic State pension. Women need 39 qualifying years.

From midnight on 6th April, the number of qualifying years is being reduced to 30 for both men and women.

Those reaching State pension age (currently 60 for women and 65 for men) on or shortly after the 6th of April might be feeling a little unfairly treated as a result of these changes. Being born on the ‘wrong side of midnight’ could mean that a 65 year old man gets substantially less of a State pension income in retirement if he has fewer than 44 qualifying years of NI contributions.

If you reach State pension age without a full contribution record, you will receive a reduced amount (or nothing at all if you have less than 25% of the qualifying years needed).

It is possible to top-up your State pension entitlement by paying voluntary National Insurance contributions for tax years which did not count towards your qualifying years. There is a good guide to this process on the Directgov website here.

Another big change to the State pension starting from 6th April 2010 is the phased increase to the State pension age from 60 to 65 for women, the same age at which men can claim their State pension.

This is likely to be the first of a series of increases to the State pension age, which is currently set to increase from 65 to 68 by 2044, for both men and women. Future Governments could increase if faster or further.

Over a year the FTSE 100 has risen from 4,228.90 (832.02 points or 19.67%).

£1 is currently worth $1.56140 US or €1.14730 Euros.

Brent Crude Oil Future is currently priced at $68.65/barrel. Gold is $1,052.25/ounce and Silver is $16.13/ounce.

The UK Bank Rate is 0.5% and CPI inflation was 2.9% for the year to December 2009.

A death of a parent is traumatic enough without the uncertainty and upset for the surviving children that usually prevails in these circumstances where no clear instructions are left behind.

A basic will is fundamental to every parent’s financial planning and need not be overly expensive.

Seek the advice of a qualified professional if you are unsure what is required however there are many suitable D-I-Y solutions available on the Internet.

Today we discover that the caller was in fact a mystery shopper, writing a weekly column for Financial Adviser, an FT Business publication.

We are delighted to have received the highest score this week, 31 points out of a maximum 35.

The caller spoke to three IFA firms in the Guildford area and also a bank, Lloyds TSB, to ask about buying a life assurance top-up. The shopper thinks she and her husband are underinsured because they have a £300,000 mortgage.

The other two IFA firms, HFS Milbourne Financial Services in Guildford and Surrey Financial Advice in Woking, were scored at 28/35 and 22/35 respectively. Lloyds TSB came crawling in with 10/35.

Here is what they had to say about Informed Choice:

Speed of response: Time of call: 3.30pm After two rings the phone was answered by a receptionist who put the shopper through to an adviser after a short wait because he was on the phone. 4/5

Telephone manner: Very pleasant and knowledgeable 4/5

Relevant qualifications: Chartered Financial Planner and Certified Financial Planner 5/5

Payment method: A first meeting would be on a no cost/no obligation basis, thereafter on a fees or commission offset basis. 5/5

Guidance given: The adviser explained the different between term and whole of life assurance. He explained how her husband should check the level of life cover he had through his employment. The shopper thought this was £200,000 and that they would need a £100,000 top up. The adviser recommended £100,000 term assurance and a family income benefit policy to provider her with an income in the event of her husband’s death to help with the children’s university expenses. 4/5

Knowledge: He explained in great detail how commission offset works and how if she paid a fee for his advice, the premiums would be lower, although some clients preferred not to pay a fee and let him take a commission. He also explained the level of study required to obtain his financial qualifications. He was the only adviser the shopper spoke to who mentioned family income benefit. 4/5

Email/web presence: hello@icl-ifa.co.uk, www.informedchoice.ltd.uk 5/5

Verdict: The shopper was impressed with his knowledge and professionalism. He seemed to be very thorough and was very keen to meet with the shopper and her husband to ascertain more detail about their financial circumstances. He offered to put a pack in the post setting out his firm’s terms and conditions.

Total score: 31/35

You can read the article in full at http://www.ftadviser.com/FinancialAdviser/Insurance/LifeAssurance/ProductReviews/article/20100204/337c6742-0b3d-11df-8109-00144f2af8e8/Mystery-Shopper-Guildford.jsp.

Congratulations to Andrew Neligan, a Chartered Financial Planner at Informed Choice, who was the adviser in this exercise.

Dermott passed the CII exam AF3: Pension Planning.

The objective of this exam is to develop in depth financial planning skills related to personal and corporate pensions. AF3 is the advanced level replacement to the old G60 Pensions qualification.

This examination pass brings Dermott very close to becoming a Chartered Financial Planner. He is now working on the submission of his Certified Financial Planner (CFP) assessment, which will enable him to apply for the Chartered title.

Once achieved, Dermott will join Nick, Martin, Andrew, Sandy and Angela who already hold the Chartered Financial Planner title at Informed Choice.

Len Armstrong, Angela Murfitt, Ian Lovelace and Simon Hewitt are joining the Informed Choice team, taking our total number of Financial Planners up to ten.

We are delighted to welcome Len, Angela, Ian and Simon to the team.

As a growing business we are attracting a lot of interest from professional advisers who want to be a part of an RDR-ready business with robust systems, a strong consumer brand and the right resources to support their own personal development goals.

By the end of this year we will have doubled the number of Financial Planners at Informed Choice from seven to fourteen.

Our Financial Planners work in a team structure and follow a robust set of documented processes, to ensure the delivery of excellent advice and service to clients. This also means they can spend their time providing service to existing clients and acquiring new clients.

Len Armstrong joined Informed Choice from local IFA firm Charlwood Leigh. He has over twenty years experience as an IFA, holds the Diploma in Financial Planning and is currently studying to become a Chartered Financial Planner.

Angela Murfitt is joining Informed Choice after running her own IFA business in Stoke on Trent. Angela is a Chartered Financial Planner and Certified Financial Planner (CFP) professional.

Ian Lovelace is joining Informed Choice from Foster Denovo where he worked with private clients. Ian is currently completing the new IFS Level 4 qualification.

Simon Hewitt is new to retail financial services, after working as an analyst and trader in the commodities industry for over a decade. He recently acquired his CeFA qualification and is now studying to complete the Diploma. Simon will initially be appointed as an Associate Planner, before being appointed as a Financial Planner in the summer.

You can view our news release at http://www.icl-ifa.co.uk/resources/media-centre/informed-choice-recruits-financial-planners/.

Do contact us if you have any questions.

More importantly, the Bank of England has decided not to use further Quantitative Easing (QE) to stimulate the UK economy. We were told last week that the Bank has spent the entire £200bn allocated for QE.

Commenting on this announcement, Ian Spreadbury from Fidelity International’s Strategic Bond fund said:

“While we may initially see some indigestion in the Gilt market following today’s decision to pause quantitative easing, there is still enough capacity in the private sector for future government bond issues.

“Interest rates have again been held at 0.5% and I expect them to remain at low levels for some time to come. While further inflation rises could cause the MPC to look at rates, any increase would make the cost of servicing the UK’s high debt levels more expensive and potentially place an economic recovery in jeopardy.”

With anaemic 0.1% GDP growth for the final quarter of 2009, the UK economy has technically left recession and entered recovery. The money already spent on QE should continue to stimulate growth for a little while yet, even if no new money is spent in this way.

Price inflation might rise again, staying above the 2% Government target, yet this is likely to be a short-term spike rather than a sustained long term increase.

Currently anyone with savings over £23,500 will pay for their full care costs, receiving no help from the state or local authority.

Gordon Brown has put forward proposals to introduce free personal care for those who would prefer to receive care in their own home. It is estimated that as many as 350,000 who have the ‘highest needs’ would be eligible to receive this care which would not be subject to of any type of means testing.

These proposals only relate to England but are in keeping with those already in place in Scotland.

He has pledged to overhaul the current system which provides social care for the elderly and to allocate the responsibility of providing care for the elderly to a National Care Service. Currently this responsibility rests with the Local authority and the NHS.

Personal care will help those who require help with the normal activities of daily living, from dressing to cooking a meal. It will help these people to stay in their own homes for as long as possible.

The government hopes to implement these plans by the middle of 2010. They propose taking £400 million from the NHS budget to help pay for this service.

If you have any questions about your care fees planning, please do call me on 01737 222387 or email sandy@icl-ifa.co.uk.

This is because the amount of State pension that you receive depends upon your National Insurance contribution record.

It used to be the case that to get the full basic State pension a man would need a full contribution record of 44 years and woman would need 39 years of full contributions.

The good news is that, from next year, the number of qualifying years needed for the full basic State pension is just 30 for both men and women.

So the answer to the question becomes pretty straight forward.

If you have or are likely to accrue less than 30 years of full NI contributions you might want to consider topping up your record. You can do this by paying Class 3 voluntary contributions currently charged at £12.05 per week.

If your record is (or is going to be) good enough then you might invest elsewhere to top-up your retirement benefits.

Full details available at www.direct.gov.uk.