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This is a guest post by Jeff Rose who is a certified financial planner and blogs at GoodFinancialCents. If you would like to write an article for Money Q&A, please visit our Guest Posting Guidelines page. If you have ever considered buying life insurance online, you may have come across advertisements that claim, “Life insurance with no exam”, or “How to get your life insurance fast by avoiding a medical exam”. We get quite a few people that contact our office inquiring about these life insurance products. If you’ve ever consider going the no exam life insurance route, it’s important you weigh these considerations before you do so. Who Needs No Exam Life Insurance? If you are in good health, have no time … Read more
Many individuals are seeking cash for structured settlements received as a result of winning a lawsuit. While they are grateful for getting timely annuity payments, the amount of money received every month is not enough to cover expenses and pay down medical bills. They find they need additional funds and wonder if there is any way they can get cash for annuity payments through settlement buyers.
Reputable structured settlement buyers will offer quotes or bids on the value of the remaining payments of any annuity. Through competition, they will offer top dollar for any valuable structured settlement annuity payments and provide a lump sum of cash when the offer is accepted.
In the high-pressure, high stakes world of the pensions industry, scheme management is never an easy job. Pension scheme trustees face administrative and legal pressures, along with an obligation to act with honesty, transparency and complete impartiality in all their dealings with the trust agreement.
Before trustees can assume their roles, they must be conversant in the details of the scheme they are charged with governing – and any relevant legal or administrative demands. While some trustees will have years of financial experience to draw from, many lay-trustees will lack this advantage – fortunately, there are plenty of training schemes available to help individuals become comfortable with the position.
What type of training should new trustees go for?
New trustees and anyone without a financial background should approach the role from a general perspective. Training courses, seminars, conferences and literature are available for a range of educational needs, but an ideal starting point for lay-trustees is The Pension Regulator’s online ‘trustee toolkit’. The toolkit is a free resource and can be browsed by trustees at leisure. The toolkit involves essential information in both theory and practice, along with case studies and tutorials – the kit serves as an excellent supplement to any additional ‘off-line’ training the trustee is undergoing.
While online resources may be useful, combining them with other methods can be particularly effective. Workshops and seminars provide opportunities to meet other trustees in the same position and discuss concerns or problems specific to particular schemes. To get the most out of any training strategy, it’s important that trustees ‘self-asses’: identifying the areas which they’d like to receive guidance, and weaknesses in their own skill-set.
Tips to achieve a sufficient level of trustee knowledge and understanding include:
Regular briefings: these can be broadly-themed or scheme specific, but involve bringing in a professional advisor to consult with trainees in a formal capacity.
Development programme: implementing a long-term plan for the training of trustees – and keeping records of their development as a way to build and consolidate knowledge.
Self-review: scheme trustees should provide their own feedback on their performance and the training they receive in order to tailor future training to their needs.
As the UK is still suffering financially and running the risk of a triple-dip recession, it may seem like the worst time to start a new business. However, this year could be the best time to start a new business as long as you take the steps to improve its chances and make money. You will need to have a great business idea, the marketing skills and the flair for networking to succeed. Here are top tips for making money with your startup this year. Find Gaps in the Market You need an idea – and a good one! You need to find something that has little competition and where there is a gap in the market. This means looking around and … Read more
The following is a guest post by Angie Picardo, a staff writer for NerdWallet, a personal finance website dedicated to helping consumers. If you would like to write an article for Money Q&A, please visit our Guest Posting Guidelines page. Today, it is almost rare to know people who’ve never been divorced. However, just because we are more familiar with divorce does not mean we are well equipped to handle divorce finances. How can those separating separate finances in a healthy, respectful, and responsible way? Here are some key steps to consider. First of all, keeping emotions from influencing financial decisions is an important first step. Of course, while this may sound like a “duh,” many people know what can happen in the heat of … Read more
You read a lot about managing debt these days as if somehow it’s a complicated business but that there are various strategies you can adopt to manage your money better.
For most people whose debts aren’t beyond the point of no return, it all boils down to managing your money better. You can manage your money better with a few simple tips. But how do you actually do this – and where’s the best place to start?
Manage Your Money By Taking Control
The first step to take in taking control of your finances is to look at where your money goes and why and to then learn to limit your spending and/or increase your income.
This may sound obvious, but have you ever really sat down and looked at how, where and why every penny goes? Very few people have but it’s a vital first step if you’re spending more than you earn.
Many individuals are seeking cash for structured settlements received as a result of winning a lawsuit. While they are grateful for getting timely annuity payments, the amount of money received every month is not enough to cover expenses and pay down medical bills. They find they need additional funds and wonder if there is any way they can get cash for annuity payments through settlement buyers.
In the high-pressure, high stakes world of the pensions industry, scheme management is never an easy job. 
You read a lot about managing debt these days as if somehow it’s a complicated business but that there are various strategies you can adopt to manage your money better.