Our past record in protecting the vulnerable in this country has been pretty abysmal at times, and that goes for vulnerable elderly people who may have been seeking financial and investment help. Too many older people, with cash in their bank and building society accounts were particularly easy prey during the boom...
Author: Jill Kerby
We’re saving more and spending more
We’re saving more and spending more
Europe is full of savers. So is Ireland. According to Eurostat the gross household savings rate in the 19 state eurozone to the end of 2014 averaged 12.71% and 10.56% in all 28-member countries. Here, at the end of 2014, it was 12.69%. Even though the rate has come down slightly in recent years, savings are still...
A gift tax exemption of little worth
A gift tax exemption of little worth
Inheritance and gift tax is an issue that can generates a certain amount of heated debate. One side – a minority, I would suggest – insist that unearned income deserves to be heavily taxed; the other side, meanwhile argues that that everyone should have the right to pass on their property and assets to anyone...
Are you counting on your home to be your pension?
Are you counting on your home to be your pension?
Alarm bells always go off in my head when I hear from readers who suggest that their family home, ‘is going to be my pension’ some day. This is a pretty common illusion, and not just here in Ireland. A recent survey in the UK, where the private pension take-up (of about 50%) and the high dependency on the state...
Parents and the wrong priorities
Parents and the wrong priorities
A headline that caught my attention a few weeks back was a press release from Laya Life (this is the life assurance arm of Laya Healthcare) which stated: “Parents expect their children to be financially independent from the age of 24.” This is the age when my own child will finish his college course (he...
The Lost Tracker Mortgages; Is yours still one of them?
The Lost Tracker Mortgages; Is yours still one of them?
Did you buy a mortgage in the last decade? Was it a cheap tracker loan? Did you at any time switch to a fixed rate, and when it ended, did lose your tracker? Today, nearly nine years after the great Irish property bubble first met its pin stories are still emerging of people who at that time, worried about how the...
Greek tragedy is a lesson for us all
Greek tragedy is a lesson for us all
The Greek debt drama is a salutary lesson for us all: that if you’re not a member of a social, corporate or sovereign elite whose transgressions/debts are forgiven because you’re ‘too big to fail’, then not paying back your loans as they fall due is eventually going to lead to bankruptcy. By the time you read this,...
A postbag of pension and property queries
A postbag of pension and property queries
A New Year, and a new postbag of your letters and comments – keep them coming… Ms McC writes: We are paying a total of €823.96 monthly and a 4.5% interest rate to Permanent TSB. There is six and half years remaining on the term and a balance of about €51,000. We are also paying nearly €79 a month for mortgage...
An affordable Festive season
An affordable Festive season
Not that my young fellow is pretty much all grown and nearly ready to fly the nest, my Christmas preparations are a lot more low key than they used to be. I still love Christmas, but I’m also a lot more organised than I once was and I find it easier to stick to my budget, mainly thanks to the internet and the...
Q&A on pensions, property and more
Q&A on pensions, property and more
Mr L McK writes: I have just spent £3,000 sterling on dental treatment in Newry. Will I be able to claim the dental tax relief? Yes you can. A qualifying dental treatment attracts tax relief at your standard income tax rate of 20%. It also applies to qualifying medical treatments, which is why many people who do not...
SECURE YOUR HOME AGAINST FESTIVE CRIME
SECURE YOUR HOME AGAINST FESTIVE CRIME
Long time readers of this column know how loathe I am to mention Christmas before December, but a survey produced by Aviva Home Insurance has raised an important issue – not just the huge cost of Christmas for the average Irish household this year – €1,463 – but the real and increased risk of break-ins...
Have you claimed your tax breaks?
Have you claimed your tax breaks?
The annual pay and file tax deadline – November 13th via the Revenue on-line system, ROS.ie isn’t just for the self-employed who want to top up their pension funds in order to claim additional tax relief on last year’s tax bill. It’s also a requirement for anyone who has non-PAYE income or for anyone who hasn’t...