Category Archives: General

Stay Active and Save Money on Your Life Insurance with a Free Garmin Fitness Watch

General, Life Insurance, Protection,

Zurich Garmin

Health and fitness is a hot topic at the moment and many people now spend a significant portion of their leisure time involved in sporting pursuits. In recognition of this increased interest in all things fitness related Zurich Life Assurance have recently introduced a special offer which will help you to monitor your progress whilst also saving you money.

Zurich Life Assurance are currently offering new customers a free Garmin Vivosmart 3 Fitness Watch if you take out a new Guaranteed Term Protection Policy with a minimum monthly premium of €25 per month and agree to remain active with Zurich. Not only will new customers receive a free Garmin watch, you will also enjoy a 10% premium discount on your protection policy for the full term of the policy. Furthermore, subject to complying with the terms and conditions Zurich will give cash back of four months premia and at the end of year 2 they will give further cashback of 2 months premia. Continue reading Stay Active and Save Money on Your Life Insurance with a Free Garmin Fitness Watch →

Who’s Keeping Track of Your Pension Entitlements?

General, Pensions,

lost pension

I was thinking over lunch about writing another blog post and wondering what subject I might pick and on returning to my desk the answer was staring me in the face in the form of an email from a pension administration company which I have been corresponding with for the last six months.

At the beginning of August 2016 a client asked me to review his existing pensions and to make a long story short I have spent the last six months corresponding with this company in an effort to locate one of his pensions from an employer which he previously worked for. I’ve had to endure some very high minded rebukes from this company to the effect that I was wasting their time etc and in mid-November they told me that they weren’t willing to investigate the matter any further unless I was able to provide evidence that the pension was managed my them. Continue reading Who’s Keeping Track of Your Pension Entitlements? →

***Deadline Extension*** for return of ACC Bank Pension Option Forms

General, Pensions,

acc-bank

It’s not too late to late to make a decision about what you want to do with your ACC Bank pension entitlement. The deadline for return of your completed option form had originally been set for 31 January, however Aon Hewitt have extended the deadline to 8 February.

If you previously worked for ACC Bank / ACC Loan Management and were a member of the Bank’s defined contribution pension scheme you will have received a letter in recent weeks informing you that you must transfer your pension out of the scheme. The letter gives you the following options; Continue reading ***Deadline Extension*** for return of ACC Bank Pension Option Forms →

Do you have a pension entitlement from a previous employer?

General, Pensions, ,

  • Did you leave a previous employment where you had a pension entitlement?
  • Do you know how much it is worth or what it is invested in?
  • Do you know how much is deducted in charges?
  • Do you know who has responsibility for the stewardship of your pension?
  • Can you make fund switches with ease and speed if you need to?

If you have a defined contribution pension entitlement from a previous employment, it usually makes sense to move it into what is known as a Personal Retirement Bond, also known as a Buy-Out Bond.

If left in your previous employers scheme any amendments you wish to make to your pension must be signed off by the Trustees. This can take considerable time. Some companies who administer company pensions impose their own rules such as restricting fund switches to certain times of the month. Some companies have a lock in period during which no fund switches can be performed. Continue reading Do you have a pension entitlement from a previous employer? →

Is it Possible to Save Money on your Mortgage Repayments by Making Your Repayments Fortnightly?

General,

I had a query from a client recently on whether she would save money by making her mortgage repayments fortnightly rather than monthly. The answer is yes but the effect of this has been greatly exaggerated by many media article’s, some of which miss the point a bit. You will make a small saving by making fortnightly repayments Continue reading Is it Possible to Save Money on your Mortgage Repayments by Making Your Repayments Fortnightly? →

Social Media Competition Winner

General

As promised we made the draw today for our Social Media competition which ran during July. The prize for the competition is dinner for two to the value of €150 in Viewmount House, Longford.

The lucky winner is Rachelle O’Connor from Mohill, Co Leitrim.

July Social Media Comp Winner

A big thank you to all entrants.

Retweet and follow on Twitter or Like and Share on Facebook to enter a draw to win dinner for two in Viewmount House

General

We’re running a competition on Twitter and Facebook for the month of July. Each Retweet and Follow (Twitter) or Like and Share (Facebook) of a post which links to this blog post during July enters the account holder into a draw to win dinner for two in Viewmount House in Longford to the value of €150.

viewmount

VM Restaurant Converted stables with exposed stonework make a fine restaurant of character which overlooks a Japanese garden with water features, and has an abundance of candles giving a cosy atmosphere at night. Whether entering from the car park or the house itself, guests arrive in a ‘new’ bar and restaurant reception area with a fire, where Beryl explains the menu while you enjoy a pre-dinner drink. Continue reading Retweet and follow on Twitter or Like and Share on Facebook to enter a draw to win dinner for two in Viewmount House →

Freepost – it’s free but it certainly isn’t cheap!

General

Here’s something you might not know which is worth bearing in mind when responding to important correspondence. If the reply you are sending is in any way time critical – don’t use the Freepost envelope enclosed.

An article in yesterday’s edition of the Sunday Times describes how 5,000 Irish shareholders of Standard Life are being hit with extra tax due to a postal delay. The company was returning £1.75 bn to Continue reading Freepost – it’s free but it certainly isn’t cheap! →