State Pension Age to be automatically Linked to Longevity
Fabafterfifty: Retirement and Pension
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Article by Fabafterfifty How easy will it be to plan retirement? The state pension age will be ‘automatically’ linked to rising life expectancy in future years, the Government said yesterday. We are living longer. Life expectancy for those aged 65 in 2009 was projected to be 21.1 years for men, who’d live to 86, and 23.8 years for women, who’d live to nearly 89. One in 7 of us could live to be 100. Pressure on providing state retirement benefits will be enormous. George Osborne said in his budget speech that linking the state pension age to rapidly increasing longevity will help Britain ‘live within its means’. He has not specified how this will work. The state pension age has already been increased to 66 with the speed of the changes having the greatest impact on women currently in their 50s. This latest budget statement highlights that any future state...
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Ten things to consider before living abroad
Article by Fabafterfifty Have you dreamed of retiring abroad? A new life or retirement in warmer or more relaxed country can be a dream many of us try to make a reality, but how easy is it for midlife women to pack up life at home and create a new life elsewhere. I talked to a number of women in their 50s and 60s who have done just that and taken up the expat lifestyle in the South of France. These are some of the key points resulting from my conversations. Think ahead of time about how much you will miss your family. A number of the women I spoke to said they had underestimated the impact of not being close once the first grandchild was born. Financial- can you afford to live comfortably –especially with the volatility of exchange rates. Be realistic about the cost of daily living in...![French woman in Paris [320x200]](http://www.fabafterfifty.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/French-woman-in-Paris-320x2001-150x150.jpg)
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How State Pension Age Rises affect You
Article by Sarah Pennells If you’re aged 57 you may not get your state pension until you’re 66 if the government’s plans go through. Around half a million women will have to wait longer for their state pension if government proposals become law. The coalition government wants to speed up the raising of the state pension age for women and men to 66, but women will be the worst affected. These plans come despite the fact that it was in the coalition agreement that the government wouldn’t do this. Around 33,000 women born between March and April 1954 will be the worst affected as they’ll have to wait for a further two years to get their state pension. What will the changes mean? Women are already having to wait longer for their state pension; the state pension age started rising from 60 to 65 last April and was due to...
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Succession and Inheritance Planning for Women over 50
Article by Ade Oduyemi To most of us who own mobile phones, we have succession plans for those little devices, and even our cars, if we lost the use of the phone it would typically mean a few days inconvenience – however we fail to implement succession plans for the most important beings in our lives – for ourselves. It is incumbent of every adult to do engage in succession or inheritance planning, of course I’d say that wouldn’t I – more to the point, there are particular reasons it is in the interest of women to engage in inheritance planning. • What succession planning is not – Succession planning is not a morbid activity relating to death or merely writing a will , rather this is the 3-step process of designing a bespoke plan to control one’s assets such that at the time the individual...
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Are you financially prepared for retirement?
Article by Ceri Wheeldon When facing retirement are we ever really ready? Retirement presents an opportunity to ’relaunch’ our lives . It is important that you can be confident about your outlook and passionate about what lies ahead. Be realistic about how much you will need to live When planning your retirement, set yourself a monthly budget equal to your projected retirement income and try to live on it. Be realistic about what your monthly expenditure is likely to be. You may be spending less on commuting daily , but you will have more leisure time and increased socialising normally means more expense! Not to mention that you will now have the time for all that travelling you didn’t quite get round too. Think about the ‘benefits’ you may be losing such as private health cover and life insurance- if these have been funded by your employer you will need... -
State Pension- What’s Your Entitlement?
Article by Sarah Pennells Unless you’re the kind of woman who likes to study pensions small print as a hobby, you might assume that you’ll be entitled to a state pension of around £95 when you retire. Well, the bad news is that almost half of all women don’t qualify for a full basic state pension because they don’t pay National Insurance for long enough, and divorced women are often among those who rely on the state pension the most. But what you might not realise is that you can claim a basic state pension based on your ex husband’s National Insurance contributions – and he doesn’t even have to be told. Married women can also use their husband’s National Insurance contribution record to boost their own pension, up to a maximum of 60% of the pension he’s due to receive. From April 6th, when there’s a big shake up... -
Lasting Power of Attorney for when you need help Looking after your Money
Article by Sarah Pennells Who would sort out your financial affairs if you or a family member had a serious accident or became too ill to cope? Are you someone who likes to plan or do you prefer to leave it all until the last minute? If you’re a planner, you probably have savings, a pension, even a will; but have you planned for what would happen if you couldn’t make decisions about your own money? No? I didn’t think so! Figures show that while only one in three adults has made a will far fewer have made arrangements in case they can’t make their own financial decisions. But without a legal document, it would be down to a court (set up by the government) to decide who should run your finances. Recently the Court of Protection was criticised for ‘seizing’ billions of pounds of people’s money who had been... -
What Does Retirement Mean to You?
Article by Jaki Scarcello What do you see when you look past the edge of the work space you now occupy? Many of us are rethinking our retirement plans these days. There are economic imperatives. When I look at my post workforce financial situation I have to admit the IRA’s or RRSPs or any other acronym you want to use to describe what should be my leisure year savings account, is not quite up to par. But putting aside the Maslowian needs, I am so full of ideas I just can’t quit yet. Or maybe I just don’t want to quit yet because now that I am not so concerned about what people think of my crazy ideas—there just seem to be so many more options. We are 3 girls…same genes…different lives I know I caught this attitude in the gene pool. My dad was still inventing in his 95th... -
Help Available when Setting up a Business in your 50s
Article by Ceri Wheeldon How easy is it to set up a new business over the age of 50? With working lives being extended and retirement incomes affected by the recent financial crisis, more and more people in their fifties are setting up their own business. Experience and maturity in business do help 1 in 6 new businesses in the UK are being set up by the over 50s, adding £24billion to the economy. The survival rate of new business set up by those over 50 is 70%, compared to just 28% of businesses set up by the under 50s. Experience and maturity do matter- and do count- and do contribute to a business’s chance of success. For women, it is often the first time in their lives that they have had the time to focus on doing something for themselves, rather than look after the family, whether from a... -
Setting up a New Business in your 50s- Quick Checklist
Article by Ceri Wheeldon Setting up a new business can be exciting and daunting at any age, this quick checklist may give you just a few pointers to consider! General things to consider when setting up a business in your 50s Is your Business Idea a good one? Do people other than friends or family think it is a viable business proposition? Is it unique or competitive? Is there a market? Who are your competitors? Are there any regulations/legislation you need to comply with? Can you make a profit? How long will it take you to make a profit? Do you have a business plan? There are generally templates readily available on the internet and from your own bank Do you need funding? Do you have comprehensive business plan to present if you do need funding? Do you have a good accountant to advise you? Will you operate as a...
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