Avoiding the Vicious Pension Circle
The UK’s top newspapers are screaming out about Britain’s economic downturn. In particular, over the last few months there has been a general consensus of how the depressing state of our economy is exacerbating a looming pension crisis. On top of this, many of us now face the real threat of redundancy. For those of us fortunate enough to rely on the steady income of a job, there seems to be a growing number of friends or acquaintances who are being forced out of work by their employers.
Many of us are really feeling the pinch as households struggle more than ever to keep up to check with their personal finances. The combining number of factors including rising utility bills, higher inflation and pay freezes means that we have less disposable income than ever.
Employers also have had to make cuts, unfortunately resulting in the very real threat of redundancy for thousands of workers. Redundant workers, quite rightly, have enough on their plates already than to also worry about contributing to a pension fund which they may have set up whilst in employment.
But rather than tighten the purse strings and sacrifice a few guilty pleasures, people, both in and out of employment, are now opting-out of contributing towards their pension fund. A report by the Office of National Statistics suggests that over the last four years a million people have pulled out of their personal pension funds in order to compensate for a lower disposable income. Whilst this decision may alleviate pressure on personal finances in the short-term, it poses great problems in the future when individuals want to retire.
Why is this is resulting in a pension-panic for the future?
Pension advice experts have already questioned whether the current contribution of 8pc of your salary is enough to produce a pension which you can actually live off. Irregularly contributing to your pension fund, or worse still opting out of a fund all together if you are made redundant, leads to big problems in the long-term.
It may mean that you may have to work longer, forcing you to retire later out of financial necessity. Your retirement income may also be significantly lower than what you had hoped for, affecting your quality of life in retirement; a time that you have worked hard to enjoy. It may be worth receiving pension advice to see what steps you can take now to avoid what Lord McFall of Alcuith, the former chairman of the Commons Treasury Select Committee and chairman of the Workplace Retirement Income Commission (WRIC), calls a “bleak old age” in retirement.
A Vicious Pension Circle? Sounds scary.
It is. Many companies are forcing redundancy onto their employees not only because of a need to make financial cuts during a recession but because their employees are wanting to work longer to make up for their smaller pension pots. We are faced with a vicious circle; due to increased costs of living it is harder to save for future pensions, but we need a larger pension fund to cover the increased cost of living. The cost of living for pensioners is also up because they spend more money on food and energy bills such as heating. Coupled with increasing food and energy, rising inflation means that pension payout rates are also crashing. Because of this it is best to seek immediate pension advice about how best to avoid major problems in the future.
Online Car Finance Loans: Your Best Choice For Car Financing
For so many people, paying out a lot of cash for the purchase of an automobile is almost beyond any possibility. And even if it is possible to buy a new car, a person may not really want to deplete any savings they may have in their bank account. This leaves only two options and one is leasing an automobile, which can become another monthly expense, or the better choice will be to finance a car by applying for one of the many car finance loans available for the purpose of helping those who would like to buy an automobile, but are unable to afford the cost of buying and or leasing one.
There are plenty of people who do not have a problem with draining their bank account to purchase an automobile. However, if you are in the same situation as most people are, where you do not wish to use up your account, then your best option will be to finance the car with the car finance loan.
When you begin to shop around to find this kind of loan, you shall benefit from the use of the internet as there are quite a lot of reputable websites that advertise these loans for car financing. Looking for a good rate is a very important matter in regard to financing for an automobile, which is what you can expect to find on these sites.
One important thing to remember when searching for a loan, is to base your choice for a loan from comparing the rates from other lenders. You shall discover that these sites offer reasonable rates in regard to the interest that will be affordable. The monthly repayment plans are quite reasonable as well, making it more easier for people to use these types of loans.
Terms and conditions are another important thing to check out when looking for a car loan. When you decide to sign up for one of these car finance loans, you will agree with the terms and conditions from these lenders.
Be sure to check on anything that pertains for car financing. You will learn that they are just as reasonable as the interest rates they apply to these loans. But, still it will be very important for you to read everything carefully and understand whether or not it meets your financial needs.
Bankruptcy Lingo: What Is an Automatic Stay?
There’s plenty of bankruptcy lingo out there that might make you feel like you need an advanced degree in finance to understand. Fortunately, this article will help you to wade through one of the confusing bankruptcy jargon words that’s preventing you from grasping what happens when you file for a Chapter 7, Chapter 11 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy.
Your bankruptcy attorney has just informed you that you’ve qualified for an automatic stay – but what exactly does that mean? And how can an automatic stay protect you from creditors who are bordering on harassment in their efforts to collect money from you?
The Definition of an Automatic Stay
As soon as you petition a bankruptcy court for a Chapter 7, Chapter 11 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you’ll immediately be granted an automatic stay. The only exception to this rule is if you’ve already filed for bankruptcy within the year; if this is the case, then you’ll need a qualified bankruptcy attorney to help you petition the courts for an automatic stay.
At the heart of the stay is its ability to prevent creditors from collecting on your debts. This means that all forms of bills, invoices and demands for payment must cease – and if you receive any demands after the stay has been filed, you can bring your creditors to court.
Creditors and the Automatic Stay: What’s Considered Illegal?
Once you receive your automatic stay, creditors are not allowed to attempt to collect on your debts. However, there may be some sneaky tricks that creditors will employ to try – so if your creditors demonstrate any of these behaviors, be sure to contact your bankruptcy attorney immediately:
• If a creditor files a lawsuit against you, or continues with a current lawsuit;
• If the creditor continues to call you or send you letters to collect on payments you owe;
• If the creditor seizes or repos your property, or changed any titles to your property;
• If the creditor refuses to release any financial documents to you;
• If a creditor moves to suspend your driver’s license.
Again, if you determine that a creditor has broken the agreement of the automatic stay, you can take legal action against them. Similarly, if a creditor has moved to repossess some of your property, the bankruptcy court can reverse the order and give your property back to you.
Handling creditors can be a major hassle, so it’s best to have a highly qualified bankruptcy attorney by your side to help you out.
Exceptions
If you filed for bankruptcy within the year but had that case dismissed, your current automatic stay will only last for 30 days. This is done to prevent people from continuously filing for bankruptcy just to avoid making payments to creditors.
If you have any additional questions about the automatic stay, don’t hesitate to ask your bankruptcy lawyer, who can walk you through the bankruptcy jargon.
A Bankruptcy Attorney Can Be Considered Quite A Value
Over the next couple years, Americans are going to hear a lot about filing bankruptcy. It’s inevitable for this to happen because of the continued downward spiral of our economy. Many people are trying to hang on and avoid filing for bankruptcy, thinking that that job might be right around the corner or because they still have a little bit left in their savings to pay their bills. This is the time that individuals in financial distress should be planning their future. The first step to planning is being realistic.
A person that has their credit cards tapped out and continuing to make the minimum payments should take a serious look at that now and not for what they’re hoping to happen in the future. If the debtor is unemployed, they honestly can’t guarantee that that great paying job is just around the corner. If the word bankruptcy is even in the back of someone’s mind, they should start saving and budgeting so they can be ready to file for bankruptcy. Filing bankruptcy is not free, there are filing fees which run around $300 for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy and then there is a credit counseling and financial management course that is required by the court that cost about 50 bucks a piece.
This is not including a bankruptcy attorney, which depending on the complexity of the case can vary drastically. It’s not a good idea to try and do it yourself as filing for bankruptcy has added a new complexity with the code changes over the last few years. The cost of a bankruptcy attorney can be considered a value, depending on the amount of debt that is being discharged and considering the amount of property that needs to be protected through exemptions.
Timing is everything when it comes to filing for bankruptcy. That’s why a person experiencing crushing debt should consult a bankruptcy attorney as quickly as possible. Sometimes the bankruptcy attorney will want to postpone the filing for the debtor to get the maximum amount of benefit of the bankruptcy. Hiring a bankruptcy attorney will allow the debtor to ask questions to decide on what chapter of bankruptcy to file and when to file. Since the bankruptcy code changed in 2005, there is an addition of a means test that’s required to qualify to file Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
Some debtor’s income is loaded toward one part of the year, for example; a realtor might get a commission of $50,000 in January and not make anything else for the rest of the year. If they tried to file bankruptcy in February, the $50,000 would be included in the six month look back timeframe for qualification. Depending on the area the debtor lives in, they might not qualify to file Chapter 7 bankruptcy. A bankruptcy attorney would be able to determine based on the facts to push the bankruptcy filing out past the look back and the debtor will now qualify to file bankruptcy.
The bankruptcy attorney will also advise the debtor on when to stop paying their bills. Many attorneys believe if you are filing bankruptcy, you should hang on to the money and not pay your bills because they will be discharged in bankruptcy anyways. Having the help from a professional will calm the fears from the threats of the creditors. Having this layer of protection, allows the debtor to live again.
What to Do When Medical Bills Overwhelm You
Medical bankruptcy may become the only option for a person, regardless of their current financial situation or what type of medical insurance they carry. The uninsured are at the greatest risk of falling into the deep pit of overwhelming medical debt. However, in this economy, with fewer employers offering comprehensive and major medical plans, the well insured are also vulnerable. This is because of something on their policies known as the deductible.
Everyone is vulnerable to catastrophe. When a person is admitted to the hospital for a critical illness or serious injury, initial treatment can cost in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, as in the case of a heart attack or multiple injuries. Long term treatments add to the cost and therapy even more. Medical bills totaling over one million dollars are not uncommon. Insurance will pay only the amount, less the deductible and the co-pay. So, for example, a $100,000.00 medical bill, assuming it is all initial treatment and care, is subject to 20 percent co-pay and a 10 percent deductible. That is approximately $30,000.00. Add to that therapy, corrective surgery, anesthesia and many other procedures and treatments all subject to the same deductions and you have a mountain of debt.
Bankruptcy, in the form of Chapter 7 or Chapter 13, is often an answer. Chapter 13 permits a person to keep any assets while paying off the debts in a three to five-year period. This may not be possible for debts of 50K or more unless the person can return to a high paying job. Chapter 7 removes the payment responsibility of the debtor and uses the sale of personal assets to pay off all or part of the debts. Chapter 7 is a good option in many cases. The filer keeps his home and car, furniture and clothes and can start over. A good bankruptcy attorney should be retained to navigate through the process and to protect you from creditors who refuse to play by the rules and continue to harass.
Will medical bankruptcy hurt your credit so badly that you will never be able to borrow money? Bankruptcy, although it is a mark on your credit that can last for ten years, is not the end of the world. Taking out a secured credit card with a bank or keeping one card current and out of the bankruptcy is a good way to start rebuilding your credit.
What Is Bankruptcy and What to Expect When Filing
What is bankruptcy? Bankruptcy is the legal procedure that a person undergoes when he is unable to pay back his debts. It is a legal process that establishes that a person is no longer able to pay back his debts as promised, the result of which is that once the bankruptcy is discharged his creditors loose legal rights to try and recover the money or file a lawsuit in court regarding their claim.
However, this does not mean that the person filing for bankruptcy gets absolved of all responsibility to pay back their creditors. Depending upon the financial situation of the person the court might decide that either some of the assets of the person out to be absorbed to repay the lender’s [Chapter 7] or a repayment plan is developed by the plaintiff and his attorney with the approval of the court to pay back the lenders in whatever manner possible [Chapter 13].
That in short is what bankruptcy is all about.
Many people worry about what to expect when going through bankruptcy filing.
The truth is that the whole procedure can be much less lackluster than you feared it might be. The first step in filing for bankruptcy is to find responsible and good legal advice through a bankruptcy attorney. There is a lot of paperwork involved with filing and in case you are holding onto a job you’ll find it very difficult to manage all the proceeding itself. Time is not the only issue here. Filing for bankruptcy is a complicated process and you will also need expert advice as to which the action to follow. Finding a bankruptcy attorney and a good one it is probably the best favor you can do yourself under the circumstances.
You should be prepared to attending meetings with your attorney to sort out your situation and decide on a course of action. In case you are filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy then you ought to be prepared for meetings with a representative of the court as well as your creditors to decide upon division of assets for repayment.
For the actual filing of bankruptcy you will have to attend the court. Being in a court is not the most pleasant experience but it does not also have to be very scary one. The court will probably not be what you expected if you are going by comparisons to what you see on television and movies. It just might be a regular room at folding chairs and tables. There probably will be many other people present during the time of filing but these were mostly be people waiting their own turn and will not be very interested in your case and filing. So that is something you don’t have to be conscious about. Also, it is legal procedure for a notice of bankruptcy to be taken out in the newspaper. However, the likelihood of your friends and family stumbling across that section is slim. Your friends are not very likely to find out about your bankruptcy filing unless you tell them about it or they also happen to be your creditors in which case they will receive notification of your filing in there mail.
Once the court has your petition and approves of your repayment plan or decides upon the absorption of your assets, you will be set to discharge your bankruptcy. Most of the people are able to avoid the absorption of most of the major assets in a chapter 7 bankruptcy. If you are filing chapter 13 then repayment plan will have to be approved by the court at which point your creditors will have the right to pose an objection. Your creditors might be present in court during the time of the filing but they are not allowed to disrupt the proceedings in any manner.