Banks-24

The proposal by the government to put back the age at which pensions may be drawn may leave some pensioners struggling financially and could see more relying on equity release.

Initially the pension age was to be equalised to 65 in 2020 and 66 by 2026; agreed when the Coalition Government came to power. This has now been altered to 65 years old for men and women by 2018, leaving many two years short to plan for their retirement.

Around 300,000 women are thought to be affected by this proposal; those born between 1953 and 1954. Many affected by this will have to work two more years than originally planned before they are able to claim their pensions.

Some women will have just seven years to prepare financially and one of the choices may well be looking into equity release schemes to release money from the equity in the property.

Equity release schemes are of course just one of the ways that women, worried about their finances, could find income.

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Saving money is not easy, but perhaps more difficult is stopping oneself from diving into those savings.

It’s a constant battle for consumers to save money. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal income dipped year over year in September from 5.3 percent in 2010 to 3.6 percent in 2011.

To become a better saver, Bankrate offers a few suggestions on how to avoid dipping into your hard-earned savings.

“I recommend opening a money market account at a bank where you have no other accounts. A small credit union is even better, so you can perhaps earn a better rate,” says Kelley Long, a Chicago CPA and personal finance coach.

She also advises savers not to get an ATM card or sign up for Internet account access.

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El Paso Employees Federal Credit Union invites its members to take advantage of their money market account. This money in the bank deal is tiered and has the following current money market rates:

• $2,500 to $24,999.99      0.75% APY
• $25,000 and above          1.00% APY

Individuals who want to earn this best money market account requires a minimum deposit of $2,500 to open an account. You also need to maintain an average daily balance of $2,500 or more to earn this best interest rate at the same time to avoid the $5 monthly service fee.

Federal regulations limits you of up to 6 transfers or withdrawals per statements cycle. The transfer or withdrawal can be made through pre-authorized, automatic transfer, phone, or by check. Take no

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Brager Tax Law Group appreciates all the votes that came in for our Tax Problem Attorney Blog and is proud to announce that Tax Problem Attorney Blog has been named one of the top 20 Tax Law Blogs by LexisNexis. The voting isn’t over, though. Brager Tax Law Group is asking for your vote once again in the selection of the Top Tax Law Blog of the year. You will need to be registered in order to vote. If you haven’t previously registered, follow this link to create a new registration or use your sign in credentials from your favorite social media site. Registration is free and does not result in sales contacts.

Then follow this link to VOTE and check the box Tax Problem Attorney Blog.

Voting ends on November 28, 2011 so be sure to Vote!!!

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If you want to drive a motor on the public roads, then you must purchase motor insurance. Failure to do so will result in prosecution, but not only that, it can result in heavy financial losses. If you drive without insurance, then in the event of an accident, you will not be able to recoup any money to have the motor fixed or replaced.

You may be thinking, ‘yes, but I’m a good driver, I’ll never crash’. Ok, so you may be a good driver, you may even be the world’s best driver, but that does not mean you will not have an accident. Other drivers sometimes cause accidents, so you can be the best in the world, but if you encounter a very poor driver, you may still have an accident nonetheless. Therefore, motor insurance is essential and it is there for everyone’s benefit. It may be expensive, but drivers must always consider it an investment, and not a charge.

People often neglect to get motor insurance quotes for one of two reasons: expense and confusion. Here we wil

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It wasn’t so long ago that certificates of deposit (CDs) enjoyed a special place in the hearts of savers everywhere.  But, CDs were looked down upon by investors who pinned their hopes on generating above average rates of return investing in the stock market.  As market volatility took its toll on active investor’s portfolios, a new hybrid investment was created to address the needs of conservative savers.  The new offering, called an equity-linked CD, guaranteed return of principal and payment of interest if the market index did well.  The best part is that it’s covered by the FDIC program. 

Also known as a market-linked CD or the indexed CD, they all follow the same basic premise:  offer a time-based deposit vehicle (CD) and link its interest payments to a group of securities or an index.  Add a few restrictions regarding how much of the index gain the investor will participate in, put a cap on the amount the investor can realize on an annual basis and make the CDs callable, like a bond.  One more feature (for the issuer that is) create two methods to calculate the interest to be paid. Additional in

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