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In broad terms a company pension can be explained as a pension
which is established by a company to accommodate the pension
needs of its employees. There are two types of company pension.
There is a contributory company pension, in which the pension
contribution is automatically taken out of the employee’s
salary, before tax and to which the employer can choose to match
this contribution with their own. There is also the
non-contributory company pension, in which the company
contributes the payment towards the pension on the employee’s
behalf.

Final Salary Explained

The final salary company pension scheme offers the employees a
proportion of their salary at the time of retirement. This
figure is normally calculated as one sixtieth of the employee’s
salary multiplied by the number of years they have been employed
within the organisation. This company pension has frequently
appeared in the press recently as many larger UK firms have
closed this company pension to new employees and in some cases
have frozen the pension of existing employees. This has occurred
as the risk of this type of pension lies with the employer and
not the employee.

Money Purchase Explained

With the money purchase company pension, the actual pay-out sum
on retirement is directly attributable to the amount of money
the employee has paid in, how well the investments perform and
the annuity rate. Unlike the final salary company pension, the
risk lies with the employee.

Final Salary v. Money Purchase.

Although the headlines keep drawing our attention to the fact
that many companies are moving away from the final salary
company pension towards the money purchase, it would be
dangerous to automatically presume that you are better off with
a final salary scheme rather than a money purchase. In fact,
even though it is generally accepted that the move away from
final salary schemes is not in the best interest of the
employee’s future, there are individuals who may be better off
under a different scheme anyway. It will depend on an
individual’s circumstances. For example, a person who changes
their employer every year may be much better off with a money
purchase scheme as it could provide them with greater
flexibility. It is always best to discuss your personal
situation with an experienced and unbiased financial adviser in
order to decide which company pension is the most suited to your
circumstances.

So many times, people don’t understand the need for medical coverage on their auto insurance policy. “Why do I need medical coverage?”, they ask. “I have medical insurance.” I’m glad they have medical insurance, but what about their passengers? Do they have medical insurance?

The medical coverage on your auto insurance provides medical coverage for both you, the driver, and each one of your passengers. It is a very cost effective way to pay for that ambulance ride to the hospital and to pay for the doctor exam. Many people don’t realize that their medical insurance probably won’t pay anything until the medical coverage from the car policy is exhausted!

Years back, a celebrated author in his get rich quick book advised us to minimize the medical coverage on our car insurance, or to drop it entirely. I would advise you to maximize it! Many health plans do not cover auto accidents until after the first fifty thousand dollars. My own plan does that, but for a modest extra $15 every month, it will pay after the first five thousand. No thank you! I’ll pay the extra $15 to raise the medical coverage on my auto policy to $50,000, and spend that extra monthly $15 on something I’ll enjoy.

Check it out. Have your insurance agent run the numbers, and I’m sure you’ll be surprised

Douglas T. Zinkevicz has had over a decade of experience servicing the auto,home and life insurance needs of his clients.Let him help you with your insurance questions by visiting http://www.insuranceplus.blogspot.com.

Children who are disabled or blind qualify for Supplemental Security Income payments until they reach the age of 18. Here is what you need to know about qualifying your disabled child for SSI benefits.

Your child qualifies for SSI payments if they meet the disability requirements outlined by Social Security for adults, and your household income falls within the income and resource requirements. There are also citizenship requirements your child must meet; for the most part your child must be a US citizen to get SSI. There are special categories for certain non-citizens to receive SSI; if your child is not a US citizen you may be approved for benefits if your child were admitted to the United States as refugee.

The adult disability requirements that your child must meet are simply that your child has a disability that is expected to last for twelve months or longer and prevents them from doing substantial work. Social Security defines “substantial work” as anything earning over $860 pre-tax, per month.

There are also income and resource requirements for the parents of the disabled child. Income requirements vary by State; however, if the parents have more than $2,000 in the bank the child will not be eligible to receive SSI benefits. To apply for SSI benefits for your child you will have to schedule an appointment to visit your local Social Security office; before you schedule an appointment you should visit the website Social Security Laid Bare to learn more about Supplemental Security Income benefits for your child.

Jack Burton specializes in helping people understand Social Security programs for Retirement, Medicare, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and Disability Benefits. The website Social Security Laid Bare presents information on all of Social Security’s programs in an easy to read format, without technical jargon. For more information visit Social Security Laid Bare: http://www.socialsecuritylaidbare.com

This article is written by a 27 year old female (borderline Generation X / Y) called Rachel. Rachel spent six years at university, has no outstanding debts with the exception of government student loans. Rachel also has no pension plan, no life insurance, savings or property investment. Despite reports of average starting salaries for graduates beginning at £18,000, some even at £25,000, Rachel started on £14,000 three years ago, despite gaining a First Class Honours and offering extensive work experience.

This isn’t therapy through Microsoft Word, but it’s not uncommon to read reports of “apathetic youth” in the media. For driven young graduates who didn’t quite land where they expected - it is a little frustrating to be branded “ignorant”, when it is already difficult working off university debts and fighting your way onto the career ladder in a very competitive market.

What is the point of having independence in old age, if you cannot experience it in youth? That is not to say young people should be encouraged or supported in their debateable extravagance, only that we remain unconvinced by old age. We may have seen our parents lose money in shares or private pension funds, or get divorced and lose money through property. We may be worried about global warming and in an age of suicide bombers, we may not even be confident about how much control we have on our lives anyway. With so much choice on what we can do, but so few people empowering us with confidence, we may well rebel for years to come - chopping and changing until we find something that fits or until we get tired.

It’s too easy to brand young people as apathetic just because they haven’t got pensions or life insurance. Smug thirty-somethings who received full grants, graduated in a less competitive market and bought property when the house market was low are quite happy to “tut tut” at their twenty-something shadows in their lack of financially savvy experience, but today’s twenty somethings are being squeezed from all angles:

* Student loans replace university grants
* Commercialisation of university life, with banks and credit card companies actively courting student customers
* High property prices
* Very competitive job market

What we need are comprehensive financial research sites that provide information which directly relates to our circumstances. Websites such as moneynet ( http://www.moneynet.co.uk ) with their product price comparisons and finance guides (especially the student finance guide) -do go most of the way, but we want something that also takes into account our aspirations, situations and will go the distance. We’re not adverse to pensions, life insurance and mortgages, but if we’re going to splash out lots of dough, it has to be a reasonably reliable investment and we remain unconvinced from we’ve seen so far in provocative, panic-stirring media.

It’s true that products such as life insurance would at least protect our families from our debts and that’s important, but with regard to pension, who’s to say that in our old age, we may not revert back to student lifestyles - living in communities and on budgets.

Resources:

Google and the search command “define: generation X” or define: generation y” for age reference

Life Insurance Information

The source of inspiration for this article!

About Rachel:

As well as the information in the article, Rachel writes for the personal finance blog Cashzilla. Please feel welcome to comment on any of the article, Cashzilla may bite, but Rachel doesn’t!

Web: http://www.cashzilla.co.uk

E-mail: rachel@positiveinterest.com

Everyone needs family health insurance and never more so than today, as people are living longer than ever in todays’ society. Family size does not matter, it may even be only you that needs to visit the doctor or the hospital. And what about medications? These all contribute to running up large bills and they are not things that can be left to later when you have the money to pay for them.

With health insurance cover you will avoid big shocks in the future. You are able to keep your costs low, and avoid paying mounting doctor and hospital bills should you need to avail of their services at some later point in time.

Having health insurance means that you will be able to get the medical attention and medicine that you need to stay healthy as you get older. If you do not have it, then you run the risk that every time you get sick you will have to pay all necessary bills which can be quite sizeable. Having health insurance though, means that you pay less and the insurance company pays the bills for you.

Family health insurance helps give you peace of mind.

With family insurance, you are providing protection for the future for you and your family. You will not have to use your hard earned savings should you find it necessary to visit the doctor. It could help save you hundreds of dollars should you break a bone for example. Having health insurance will drastically reduce that expense for you depending on the plan that you choose. You know that your families’ health is paramount, but so is your financial security. Make sure to get the necessary cover so that you will never have to postpone seeing a doctor or providing the medical attention your family may need during an emergency.

If you have no family insurance cover then you need to considers your options.

For example, without some type of basic health insurance you have to decide whether to visit the doctor or not for minor problems because you may not be prescribed medication, and you are uncertain if you want to waste money in doing so. But of course you then run the risk that your family may get sicker and suffer more because you did not have the cover to see the specialists in the first place. With health insurance, you have an easier decision to make. You are responsible for the co-payment or deductible and that is that, then you can get the necessary attention needed for your family members.

Health insurance is affordable and you just need to decide what your requirements are.

For example, finding the right health insurance for you is very easy if you do a little preparation and decide just what it is you need. You may decide that you want protection for huge hospital bills, but that you don’t mind paying for doctor visits, then you will lessen your costs. If you decide to choose a deductible that is say a thousand dollars, then your payments will be lower compared to those who have a deductible that is only two hundred and fifty dollars. Look around at the different combinations, and the different types of insurance cover and work out which is the better option for you and your family.

Copyright Ben O’Rourke.

For more information on Insurance =>”Life Insurance - Choosing And Investing Wisely For Financial Security”

A couple of weeks ago I was sitting with an agent (insurance, stock and mutual funds) for investing some money into mutual funds/stocks. He asked me regarding life insurance. “I already have one and I am not interested in another one”, that’s exactly what I said. Though mutual funds and stock does give you profits he said to me, first take care of your security and then go for profits. Insurance will take care of that - Security First.
The next day while coming to the office an incident happened that made me ask some questions about insurance.

1. Do I really need insurance and that too a life insurance?

As long as I don’t have any one depending on me I don’t need insurance. However, if you are married and have children and their financial status is going to be affected by your absence. You would need life insurance. Even, if you don’t have any children now you may need life insurance. Probably, your parents might be depending on you for their financial needs. Therefore, depending on the load and the number of your dependents you have, the more life insurance you need.

2. How much life insurance will I need ? How to assess life insurance needs?

This will vary from individual to individual. It will depend on whether you are married,have one or more kids,future expenses,loans,mortgage,education and wedding expenses for children etc. By weighing these and other factors, you can calculate your life insurance needs. As a rule, you will need a life insurance coverage of at least 7 years of your current annual income.

Every person’s situation is different. Your financial situation may look the same as your friend in the office next to you, your needs are different. Calculating how much life insurance you need shouldn’t be a guessing game. You can make a calculated assessment of your needs and your loved ones dependent on you.

3.Should I purchase life insurance on my spouse?

Yes, if your spouse works. You should have a separate life insurance policy. Financial problems can be averted if you spouse is working and you have life insurance to cover. To make up for your spouse’s contributions to the family a life insurance may still be required even if spouse is not working.

Major factor in getting life insurance is your dependents. Some points you could think of:

What lifestyle you want your family to have when you are not around?

What would happen to your spouse who is not working and not having any income?

Any debts,loans,credit cards you want to pay off?

Any special needs, especially health?

Educational expenses for your children?

Parents, who become financially dependent to you?

These are some areas where you will feel the need to have a life insurance. You can start thinking of life insurance if you feel one or more of the above situations apply for you.

Cheriyan Thankachen

http://educatedminds.blogspot.com

If disability income insurance is the protection you need, shop around and compare policy features before making a purchase. Some professional insurance agents consider the ideal disability policy to be a form called ‘own occupation’ coverage. But the average life of a disability insurance policy is about 5 years. Even if you have long-term disability insurance through your employer, you may want to consider an individual policy as well. That’s why after recently meeting with his financial planner, he decided to supplement his employer’s disability coverage with an additional long-term disability insurance policy.

Sometimes, your employer pays for an individual disability insurance policy on you. You choose the length of your waiting period when you purchase your individual disability income insurance policy. During this process, the insurance company collects information about you and uses it to decide whether to issue you a disability policy. They are not affected by payments from any other individual disability insurance policy you have purchased. Neither long-term care nor long-term disability insurance terminates once it pays a benefit unless the maximum benefits of either policy are exhausted.

Unearned income you may receive includes private disability payments from an insurance policy or short-term and long-term disability coverage from your employer. The maximum normally allowed under a disability policy is 60-66% depending on the insurance carrier. If you’re not sure, an individual disability insurance policy can help. In summary, as the disability insurance market continues to deteriorate, every physician should perform a “policy check-up” to better understand his/her policy. Business Overhead Expense (BOE) insurance is a disability policy that reimburses the practice for specific overhead expenses if a shareholder is disabled.

Variables in coverage Insurance is always complicated and disability is no exception. Benefits are taxed, however, if your employer pays for the disability insurance coverage. Long-term disability insurance usually kicks in after short-term disability coverage ends - typically after six months. Free disability insurance quotes to help consumers find insurance coverage with the lowest rates for disability insurance. As with many other insurance plans, having disability insurance coverage usually makes more financial sense than not having it.

Although it gets less attention than life insurance, experts agree that disability coverage is at least as important. Nationally recognized attorneys representing medical, dental, business and legal professionals in disability insurance coverage disputes with carriers throughout the United States. Lack of coverage could ruin your family’s lifestyle but disability insurance will ensure a continuous income stream. One coverage I don’t have is disability insurance that will cover my loss of income in case of accident or extended illness. Most school districts do not provide disability insurance coverage for their employees. individual coverageDisability insurance may be included in your benefit plan from your employer or union. While on a disability-related leave, you may continue your insurance coverage by paying premiums directly to the Lab’s Payroll Office.

For a longer illness, lasting six months or more, your employer may provide group long-term disability income insurance. Employee Benefits Disability benefits from your employer may include workers’ compensation insurance for work-related injuries. In either case, you should find out as much as you can about the group disability insurance provided by your employer. Group disability insurance can be fully paid by your employer or may require an employee contribution. When you purchase disability insurance through your employer, you may be able to have premiums deducted from your pay on a pretax basis. Plus, one overwhelming advantage of personally owned disability insurance is that it cannot be reduced or terminated if you leave your current employer.

Your employer or association-sponsored group disability insurance plan may not be all you think it is. However, be aware that benefits paid by group disability insurance policies paid for by an employer are usually taxable. If your employer is among those who have overlooked disability insurance, you may want to suggest a reallocation of benefit dollars. You’re actually less likely to get long-term disability insurance from your employer than life insurance.
http://www.insurance-health-quote.com/disability-insurance/

Wirat Muenpan is The Webmaster Of Disability Insurance Protection You And Compare Policy Before Purchase - Quickly and
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There are a few of pro’s and cons’ about purchasing life insurance on children. Life insurance must have an insurable interest. There has to be good reasoning behind the purchase of life insurance on children. The first priority is to first make sure that the income producers in the household have an adequate amount of life insurance. Large amounts of life insurance on children with little or no life insurance on the bread winners will make little sense to an insurance company underwriter. Life insurance underwriting departments will often require a certain ratio of life insurance on parents to children. There are advantages in purchasing life insurance on children after the parents are insured properly.

Most companies have children term riders that a very inexpensive. Children term riders will protect the insurability of the child. These term riders can be converted to permanent forms of life insurance when the child reaches the ages of 18-21. This is a valuable feature if the child is uninsurable because of health reasons.

Permanent Life Insurance on Children - Some parents have purchased permanent life insurance policies on children so that they can use the cash value accumulation later in life. Permanent life insurance is relatively inexpensive and should be considered on a child once the parents have taken care of their own life insurance needs.

Why Buy Life Insurance on a Child?

1. Protect Insurability - Purchasing life insurance on a child will protect the Childs insurability.

2. Cash Value Accumulation - Purchasing permanent life insurance and funding it with adequate enough premium to produce cash for college education or future needs. Universal Life policies are excellent policies for this purpose.

3. Final Expense - This is the basic purpose for all life insurance.

There is the added benefit of teaching the child about life insurance. Parents that show their children the benefits of life insurance prepare the child to take responsibility for their own financial future.

View our Recommended Source for Insurance Quotes it is a simple site that offers low rate insurance quotes of all types.

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Ever since the idea of term life insurance came to the mind of
man term life insurance vs permanent has been the center
of active and thought provoking debate. Term insurance is
without question cheaper than permanent life insurance but when
compared with the value built into the latter people have
varying ideas as to which is best. What about the cash values
and dividends you get from permanent policies? Do you just
ignore these? How can cash values and dividends be used to
offset cost? Questions worth answering aren’t they?

The ever constant innovation of life insurance policies make it
more and more difficult to come to a consensus. Term life
insurance vs permanent will continue to provoke the thoughts of
anyone considering a life insurance purchase. Because term is
simplest I will discuss that one first then I will get to the
complexities of permanent life insurance and it’s varying
alternatives.

The Advantages Of Term Life Insurance

What life insurance companies have attempted to do with term
life insurance, and have been fairly successful at doing it, is
to strip the life insurance policy of as much of the front end
load as possible. They have been more successful in doing this
with some policies than with others. Let us take the increasing
premium term policy for example. The lower premiums in the
younger years result from the fact that the applicant is less
likely to die within a given period, the term period, than an
older person. Term life insurance is life insurance in it’s
simplest form taking into consideration mortality based on
actual experience.

If we were to examine a decreasing term life insurance policy
the decreasing annual premium reflects the decrease in the death
benefit each year, also bearing in mind the fact that the
insured is getting older each year. People like the way this is
done because they believe that at no time they are paying more
than for the term life insurance they actually want.

Advantages Of Whole Life Insurance

Comparing term life insurance vs permanent we notice that the
whole life insurance premium is loaded up front. The life
insurance company take most of the cost to issue a whole life
policy in the first few years. There are clerical costs, medical
costs if the policy is large enough or if they are dealing with
an impaired risk, and of course agents commissions etc. If the
costs are less than anticipated, and they usually are, they
return that portion of unused premium. This is called a cash
value. This cash value earn dividends which, if left with the
company, accumulate interest. There are alternate dividend
options that you may elect.

If you were to deduct the cash value of a life insurance policy
plus the dividend after 20 years from the amount you paid in
premiums you would see that the policy cost nothing over that
period. But, hold on. We have to consider what those dollars,
over and above the cost of term life insurance, would have been
doing had they not been in the whole life policy. What rate of
interest would be available.

The advocates of buying term when examining term life insurance
vs permanent contend that the money would be earning the maximum
over that 20 year period. On the other hand, the advocates for
permanent life insurance assume that the extra premium would not
be saved or invested. There is truth in both arguments but,
because each person is different, we cannot come to a definite
conclusion as to which is best. If you can afford to buy any
policy you choose , do your comparisons for yourself and go with
your gut.

What is a Pre-Existing Medical Condition?

When a trip cancellation travel insurance company refers to
a “Pre-Existing
Condition”, they are talking about medical conditions that
exist in the
Lookback Period that immediately preceeds the travel
insurance purchase
date.

Simply put, a Pre-Existing Condition is any medically
documented condition (no matter how minor) an
Insured Person, Traveling Companion or Family Member
has been treated for, consulted with or received advice on.
This includes any adjustments or changes in any
prescription drugs or medication during the Lookback
Period. The condition has to be medically stable.

Medically Stable also includes the idea that nothing
is foreseen or expected to “be a turn for the worse”. In other
words if you’re given a week to live and you want to buy travel
insurance for a cruise next month, you can’t cover the
Pre-Existing Condition. It’s like wanting to buy Fire Insurance
when your house is on fire.

Here’s some actual policy wording:

“Any injury, illness, sickness or medical condition of an
Insured or Family Member which either manifests itself or
exists during the Lookback Period immediately preceding
the day you buy Travel Insurance, unless the condition is
controlled through the taking of prescription drugs or
medication and remains controlled throughout the
Lookback Period. A pre-existing condition has manifested
itself when medical care, treatment or diagnosis has been
given.”

What this means is starting today, if during the Lookback
Period:

• You, a traveling companion or a family member, has any
  injury, illness, disease, sickness or medical condition
  and
• Has been diagnosed, treated for it, had any prescription
  changes (increase or decrease), been advised to be
  treated, had symptoms of it, hopitalized, saw a medical
  professional for it, etc.
• Then that person has a Pre-Existing Condition as
  defined by a Travel Insurance policy. Note: If that person has
  a medical condition that’s farther in the past than the
  Lookback Period, they don’t have a Pre-Existing
  Condition.

Why is this important?

You can cancel or interrupt your trip or receive medical
treatment even if you have a Pre-Existing Condition – if you
follow the rules.

Trip cancellation travel insurance excludes claims due to
pre-existing medical
conditions. Some travel insurance plans will waive the
pre-existing condition
exclusion at no extra charge if you get your travel insurance
in the first 10, 14
or 21 days after your first trip payment date (before the end
of these 10, 14 or
21 days).

Any payment on your trip is considered the first payment.
This includes the tax you pay when you redeem frequent
flyer tickets, refundable deposits or even a trip planning
consultation fee if that fee is later credited toward your trip
costs.

You’ll protect yourself if you have to cancel or interrupt your
trip or receive medical treatment because of that
pre-existing medical condition. There are three primary
rules to keep in mind:

• You have to insure your trip’s full prepaid,
  non-refundable cost and
• person with the medical condition has to be medically
  stable when you get your insurance and
• You must get your travel insurance in the first 10, 14 or
  21 days after your first trip payment date

If you’re past the first 10, 14 or 21 days you will be governed
by the “Lookback Period”.

What’s the bottom line?

If Pre-Existing Conditions are a concern for you or your
traveling companions,
you have to buy your trip cancellation travel insurance within
the deadlines.

Steve Dasseos is the CEO of TripInsuranceStore.com. You can
compare travel insurance policies at this website. Contact
Steve here.