The Tiger’s Pen pounces on Brighton University

On January 11th 2022, The Tiger’s Pen – part of the Sussex Business Show – hosted a unique event at the University of Brighton. Organised by Sonny Cutting, founder of the Sussex Business Show and Dr Adam Jones of Brighton University, the Tiger’s Pen was an opportunity for aspiring student entrepreneurs to present their own business ideas to an experienced panel of business owners.

As part of an exciting new partnership, business leaders were a collective hub of wisdom and wealth of experience, offering advice and a critical eye for the next generation of entrepreneurs. The cast of this unique initiative were to be judges, listening to the pitches from Brighton University’s very own business students – who had to be prepared to face the Tiger’s roar.

The panel of judges (the ‘Tigers’) comprised Nick Poyner (Rubix VT), Paul Britton (Britton & Time), Flo Powell (Midnight Communications), Sam Thomas (County Business Clubs Sussex) and Steve Rackley (James Chase, Silicon Brighton).

On the day, the Tiger’s Pen was a hive of activity, buzzing with dynamic young minds who generated innovative and creative ideas. The experienced Tigers gave in-depth feedback, hoping to both help the students achieve better grades in their degrees, but also apply to real life; inspiring students to make their concepts their reality.

Throughout the event, the Tigers heard pitches for the following business ideas: n An app described as the Uber for clubbers. Features on the app included live queue updates so people can arrive when wait times are shorter, contacts for night time safe spaces, reviews of clubs, DJ profi les and other features to improve safety when out on a night out. n An online store for sustainable underwear aimed at 16-40 year olds.

The site would be environmentally and body positive, using materials such as ethically-sourced bamboo.

The site would also raise funds for

‘Smalls for all’. n An independent app for photographers. The app would be a hub for photographers to upload and sell photos. It would also be a space where businesses can commission local photographers, and act as an alternative to the major stock photo libraries. n A smart bedside table top aimed at 18-35 year olds and students. The stylish table top, which is portable, would be the ultimate in convenience, with built-in phone chargers, a light and Bluetooth speakers. n An app to keep children safe while online. The app would allow parents to monitor messages or posts being seen by children, as well as the websites they visit. Children are highly vulnerable to online groomers and predators. The app would help keep them safe and give parents peace of mind. With such innovative ideas, the Tigers were thoroughly impressed by the quality of the pitches and applauded their concepts and ideas. On the day, there were two prestigious awards given to the ‘Best Concept’ and the ‘Best Pitch’. Though tough to choose from the array on offer, Night Saver (the personal safety app for clubbers) won the best concept for its small, yet absolutely underrated feature focus; whilst Safe Guard (the child’s safety app) won the best pitch with dynamic delivery and enthusiasm.

This event was one to build confi dence, encourage boldness and highlight the value of thinking differently – skills an entrepreneur leans on for success. The next Tiger’s Pen takes place at the Sussex Business Show on May 5th, 2022. Try your hand at facing the Tigers – can you handle it?

Book in on the website to attend the event – www.sussexbizshow.com

Thank you to Stephen Lawrence for the photographs.

WHY RETIREMENT COULD COST LESS THAN YOU THINK

If your pension has fallen in value, or your predicted income is less than you had hoped for, you might assume you can’t afford to retire.

But you could be pleasantly surprised to find you need substantially less than you thought to fund retirement. Outgoings may change more than anticipated and, with financial advice, there are plenty of tax-efficient allowances to make use of when building your income.

Here are some considerations for working out how much you will really need.

YOUR SPENDING COULD CHANGE As a starting point, review your current outgoings by checking bank statements, and consider which of these you will no longer be paying for when you stop working, and which may rise.

Mortgages and loans are often paid off by the time you reach retirement but, conversely, your energy bills and food costs could rise as you spend more time at home. Think about what your outgoings in retirement are likely to be, and how you might cut any unnecessary costs. There are plenty of online budgeting tools that can help.

YOU WILL HAVE ACCESS TO TAX-FREE CASH From age 55 (57 from April 2028) you can draw your retirement income as you wish from your pension – including taking 25% from your pot as a tax-free lump sum. If you have any outstanding liabilities, such as a mortgage or other debts, this could be used to clear these and enable you to retire debt-free.

However, beware of the money purchase annual allowance (MPAA) if you take an income from any of your personal pensions, beyond the tax-free cash. This reduces the amount you can still save tax efficiently into a pension to only £4,000 per tax year, instead of £40,000. If you are unsure about how to manage pension withdrawals, an adviser can help you decide.

YOU WILL LIKELY PAY LESS TAX Bear in mind that if you are no longer working, you won’t be paying income tax or National Insurance. On a £60,000 salary, for example, this amounts to just over £11,400 in income tax, and £5,078.84 in National Insurance, per year1 .

You might also stop contributing to your pension in retirement, although rules enable you to carry on doing so, and receive tax relief, until age 75.

YOU COULD MINIMISE TAX LIABILITIES Your income is taxed as usual in retirement, at your marginal rate, but with careful management and advice from an adviser you could minimise this.

You have plenty of tax-free allowances, including the £12,570 personal allowance, £2,000 dividend allowance, and £1,000 personal savings allowance (PSA) for basic-rate taxpayers – falling to £500 for higher-rate taxpayers. You might also benefit from your £12,300 capital gains tax (CGT) exemption on any profits you make when you sell assets. By planning how to maximise these allowances in retirement, you could potentially receive a higher retirement income than anticipated.

YOU CAN MAXIMISE INCOME SOURCES There are several potential income sources for retirement, including company and personal pensions, the state pension, ISAs, other investments, savings and assets.

By taking advice in the run up to retirement, you can work out how to turn your various assets into an income, using your tax allowances.