Category Archives: Pensions

Public versus Private Pensions – everybody gets to lose…

Sometimes we hear how people in the public sector make more than the private sector, or that big private sector earners don’t pay enough tax. This is a simple divide and conquer strategy where the end game is to make us all less well off in order for the Government to hold on to more […]

Secret savings in life insurance

Lots of time is spent in finance columns where the writer is really trying to demonstrate how smart they are rather than showing you a way to save money. I don’t try to prove I’m smart because the truth is I’m a regular person like anybody else, but what I am good at is practical advice that works. Which is why this week I’m going to share one of finances best kept secrets, it’s how to get tax relief on your life insurance! You can call any life insurance company and probably never be offered what I am going to show you today, but trust me, it is both true and accurate.

Irish Examner: Advisors.ie on the topic of PRSA’s and the Pension Levy

Director of client advice firm, advisors.ie, Karl Deeter, said that ‘personal retirement savings accounts’ or PRSAs were created in an attempt to get more people to save for their retirement. He said they were billed as a universal solution with fixed fees and low costs, along with flexibility.

The Jobs Budget/Initiative/Stunt – a pension rip off by any other name

We are told that there will be a €500m package announcement today which is described as a ‘jobs initiative’. Formerly it was to be known as a ‘jobs budget’ or an ‘alternative budget’ (note that in the link there is also talk of ‘renegotiating the bailout’ – so U-Turns are becoming commonplace), this is the first Irish ‘downgrade’ in a while that hasn’t involved S&P.

News of the World: Money expert on fixing your finances (week 3)

Ask anybody ‘what would you do with some extra money?’ and you’ll get a lot of different answers, but this week it is your turn to decide. Because over the last three weeks we have shown you how to take a snapshot of your financial situation then how to use that as a blueprint in finding ways to save money. Without too much effort an average savings of €2,000 is possible simply by re-jigging some of your spending patterns, so where to from there? In finance there is a hierarchy that advisors tend to adhere to and in rank and order it is as follows: Protection, Investment, Savings, Retirement planning and Mortgages.

News of the World

This week we looked at the issue of pensions and the fact that the real storm clouds on the horizon are not the NAMA, IMF/EU bailout or sovereign debt, but rather that of pension provision. The recent changes in the National Pensions Framework have gone some way towards addressing this but at some stage they will need to go farther or we will need a total re-think on pension provision, the final alternative being a total reduction in entitlements or massive contributions for qualification.