Retirement

Five Steps to Falling for a Work at Home Scam

14/05/2012
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work_at_home

There was a time when only the most important of managers were given the privilege of working from home.  They got a company leased line, and enjoyed conference calls via the wonders of, at the time, sophisticated IP telephony.  Today, even the most average of broadband connections can support remote working, and almost everyone has a laptop, netbook, or desktop PC that they can use for IP telephony and document sharing. The ubiquity of high speed connections and effective communication tools means that there are more and more work at home jobs out there.  Unfortunately, this means that there are a lot more scams out there too.  It’s easy to fall for a work at home scam.  All you have to do is spend a few minutes on a work at home board or a classifieds site, and you’ll have lots of work at home scam opportunities put in...

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Saving Money In Retirement

11/05/2012
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Saving Money In Retirement

A lot of bad news has been coming for current and future pensioners, increasing Britons’ anxiety about how we will fund our retirement. Between falling annuity rates, “granny tax” grabs, and the news we will have to work longer and longer before we can get a state pension, many might have a gloomy feeling about retiring. However, while nothing beats regular life-long savings as a way to make sure you can retire comfortably, there are other things you can do to maximise your pension income from the state and make your state pension last a little longer. The first thing to do is to make sure you are getting all that you are owed when it comes to retirement benefits. Each year there are millions of pounds left unclaimed that pensioners across the UK had the right to get, but didn’t claim. For example, you might be able to...

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Further Damage To US Pension Funds

25/04/2012
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pension_funds

While relatively few countries’ pension funds have escaped unscathed from the current financial crisis the US seems to have taken the biggest hit over the last couple of years. It’s not a huge surprise, given that pension plans in the US make up more than 60% of global pension assets. The ongoing financial crisis has left corporate pension funds hugely underfunded and many workers are seriously reconsidering their retirement plans, some more drastically than others. A number of people have already stopped paying in to their IRS pension plans, while a not insignificant minority have completely shelved their retirement plans and are exploring other options. Those who have opted out entirely have had to rethink not only their lifestyle after retirement but their retirement age as well. Making matters worse is the job market, with high unemployment levels plunging thousands of people in to deeper financial difficulty and slowly...

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5 Things to Consider When Buying Your First Home

02/03/2012
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First Home

Buying your first house is a step that many of us look forward to for years. That moment when you have the keys in your hand to your own home is considered as one of the best moments in life. It’s important however that when you are looking for your dream home, and when you’ve found it, you take into account certain factors to ensure your step onto the property ladder is a smooth and successful one. Location The first step to finding your new home is to consider the location that you would like to live in; take into account the needs of you and your family and look at the local facilities. One handy tip is to take a trip to the area and have a walk around as this way you will get a feel for the community and what it has to offer; meaning you...

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Buried Treasure: A guide on how to reclaim forgotten accounts

19/01/2012
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Buried Treasure

We’ve all experienced the joy of finding cash down the back of the sofa or in an old coat pocket. Now multiply that feeling and imagine the loose change as lost bank accounts worth a substantial amount of money. For many it would seem inconceivable that bank accounts could be lost or forgotten about, but it happens more frequently than we imagine; moving address and a change in personal circumstances such as getting married, divorced or widowed are main factors. It is estimated that up to £1 billion is sitting dormant in accounts in the UK in the form current and savings accounts, premium bonds, pension schemes and insurance policies. Banks do try and trace the owners of accounts which is usually prompted by returned letters and statements and accounts with long periods of inactivity. Legislation set in 2009 now means if an account remains dormant for over 15...

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3 Easy Ways to Get Frugal

04/01/2012
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get frugal

There are a lot of things that one works hard to accomplish. No matter what your goals are, they’ll only be achieved if you are committed to seeing results. A great example is being frugal. The chances of saving a lot of money are only high if you are committed, confident and creative. All you have to do is to carefully think about a plan, then decide what you should and should not do when it comes to spending. From here on out, it’s only a matter of sticking to it! Read these tips to guide you in your plans 1. Bills Pay all your bills on time. By doing so, you will not have to pay extra charges. You should also do away with all unnecessary expenses. This way, you will have enough cash to have all the payments made on the day they are due and less...

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Could Living a Long and Healthy Life Leave You Without Money in Retirement?

24/12/2011
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retirement

Will I have a long retirement? Should I live longer than average will I have enough money to support myself in retirement? Am I saving enough for retirement? These questions are key when you’re deciding how much money to save for retirement in order to live comfortably and have enough money for your entire lifespan. Obviously, no one knows how long their life will be, although it’s possible to make an educated guess. The most important thing about life expectancy is to save enough money before you retire so that you have enough money to support yourself for the entire time you’re retired. After all, it could be 30 or 40 years. Retirement Plans There are a variety of considerations when working at making a retirement plan, but life expectancy is an enormous factor. People used to think that they’d be lucky to live twenty years after retirement. Today,...

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How Much You Should Be Saving for Retirement

15/12/2011
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Retirement

While many pension experts will give you ‘rules of thumb’ to save for retirement, the truth is that the kind of pension pot you will need is completely dependent upon your individual circumstances. Planning There are, however, some basic steps that you can take to start planning how much you should be saving. The most important step in planning how much to save is to calculate how much you will need in income when you retire. You should keep careful track of your expenditures over a few months time if you do not already do so, and review your outgoings. Consider the expenses that will remain the same when you retire as well as the expenses that will have changed. For example, when you retire you may have paid off your mortgage, but may have extra expenses for travel or healthcare. Then consider the income that you will have...

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