Welcome to the Money Hospital blog.
Mark,
Joy,
Jeni,
Bill,
Sergey
and others are here to bring you the latest money and personal finance
news, stories and commentary, as well as money savings tips and suggestions.
Feel free to contact us, or...
Why is it then, that the biggest, most important accomplishments in our lives are so
flippin’ costly?
Whether it’s education, procreation or superannuation, everything that’s worth doing seems to come with a massive price tag.
We look at the 5 costliest things you can do in your life and try to find ways in which you can
lessen the burden and dodge the blows…
Answer: When you’re over 55.
It’s an odd concept, isn’t it, but the more ailments and bad health habits you have when you’re about to retire, the larger your income should be in retirement.
Why don’t more people go for enhanced annuities when they retire? We find out what advantages ill-health can bring to those who are on the verge of cashing in their pension pot to buy an income for the rest of their life. And we explain how you can make sure you get the most for your money when you get to retirement.
There aren’t many of us who haven’t had a bad day at work and thought “roll on retirement”. For a long time we’ve been able to count the years until that day comes.
But all that may be about to change if the government follows through with its plan to raise the retirement age for men to 66 from 2016.
If you’re aged 59 or under, is this pure bad news – or is there a positive side? I’ve been weighing up the pros and cons.
How much will you have to live on in retirement? If you have a personal pension, the answer will depend on the amount you have in your pension fund and annuity rates at the time you come to convert your fund into an income.
That’s because although you can take the first 25% of your pension fund as cash, by the time you turn 75 you must usually buy an annuity with the balance. It’s always advisable to shop around for an annuity – since the offer you get from your pension company may not be the best. Indeed, research has shown that there can be a difference of as much as 40% between annuity offers.
However much you’ve saved in your pension fund, the final amount you can expect to receive will depend on which annuity provider you choose…
For many years now, we have all been planning for our retirement age of 65. But could that all be about to change? This is because a review of the default retirement age, which allows employers to force you to retire at 65, is to be brought forward by a year, the government has said. [...]
Are you close to retirement and concerned how much income your pension will amount to? Try these two questions: Have you been prescribed a course of treatment for any medical condition? And do you smoke? Answering yes to these questions could mean you are entitled to a higher income in your retirement! Even if it’s [...]
