If you are looking to retire shortly, you may be wondering whether you can afford it and how much of your retirement “wish list” will become a reality... the holidays you have planned, more time on the golf course or visiting family to name but a few.
Well, the reality is that falling annuity rates means it is now even more important than ever to make the right decision when it comes to securing an annuity from your pension fund.
Get it wrong and it could cost you hundreds or even thousands of pounds. Over a typical 18-year retirement timescale, a pension pot of £50,000...
Financial advice has changed dramatically in recent years. I have heard it said – admittedly by another financial planner – that my chosen field of work has moved from being an industry to a profession. I’m personally of the opinion that there is still work to do, by the profession as a whole, before the wider public accept this distinction.
However, it is clear that gone are the bad old days of insurance salesmen knocking on your door at all hours to flog you a product that you didn’t really need and would be unlikely to ever be able to claim on.
Gordon Dean was a distinguished American lawyer and prosecutor. One of the original members of the Atomic Energy Commission, he became its chairman from 1950 to 1953. It’s said that when Dean died in a plane crash in 1958, among his personal efforts was an envelope with nine life lessons scribbled on the back. These lessons aren’t about the law or about atomic energy. They’re wisdom about his philosophy of life: Never lose your capacity for enthusiasm. Never lose your capacity for indignation. Never judge people – don’t type them too quickly. But in a pinch never first assume that a man is...
The RSPCA is warning gardeners to tread carefully to avoid harming the wildlife which may be living in their gardens.
Every year the RSPCA receives calls about animals with distressing and often fatal garden injuries which in most cases are completely avoidable.
Past cases include a toad with its hind legs chopped off by a strimmer, a hedgehog burnt in pampas grass clearance, a blackbird speared by a garden fork and a toad stuck in a watering can.
Already this spring we have seen several hedgehogs caught by strimmers, a snake fatally injured by a lawnmower in...
Devon has a variety of waterways from marinas, canals, lakes, coastal inlets, harbours and quays. Throughout Boat Safety week 25- 31 May, firefighters will be handing out leaflets and talking to boat owners to ensure they make vital safety checks, helping them to protect themselves, their passengers as well as their boat.
Watch Manager Nigel Snowshall from White Watch in Exmouth spoke with Chris Wilton, harbourmaster at Exmouth Marina. Chris said: “Exmouth Marina is delighted to support the Boat Safety campaign being run by Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue Service. Any scheme...
A German soccer fan, perhaps poking fun at our stereotyping of his nation, recently put a beach towel on a seat at Wembley to reserve his place for the Champions League final. Not sure who he is supporting as both teams come from Germany being Bayern and Dortmund. These two teams rather spoilt things for the pundits who were expecting an “el classico” of a final from the two giants of Spanish football, Real Madrid and Barcelona, who both lost in the semi finals.
It is not just on the football field the Germans are performing well in sports, Michael Jung recently failed by a whisker...
Motorists are being reminded of the dangers faced by road workers who carry out vital improvements and maintenance on our roads - in particular on the development of the South Devon Link Road.
Emergency Services, Local Authority Road Safety Teams and contractors Galliford Try are urging drivers to take extra care at road works in a bid to cut deaths and injuries of road workers.
Since 2010, eight road workers have been killed whilst improving and maintaining the road network in England – and around 2,200 road accidents where people are injured occur every year at or in road...
Sunshine is forecast over the next few days! Every year at this time Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue Service attends a number of fires caused by the sun’s rays focussing through or onto glass, and then setting fire to nearby objects.
At this time of year the sun is low in the sky, and shines directly through windows, so any mirrored or glass items close to the window may re-focus the sun’s rays onto combustible items, often curtains, heating them up to a point where they spontaneously ignite into flames.
Paul Bray, Community Safety Protection manager for Devon &...
I’ll never forget an important time management lesson I learned in a seminar many years ago . . . especially how the instructor illustrated the point.
“Okay, time for a quiz,” he said, as he pulled out a one-gallon wide-mouthed mason jar and set it on the desk in front of him. Then he produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one at a time, into the jar.
When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, “Is the jar full?”
Most of our fears are magnified by our imagination, in the dentist waiting room, fear of flying even dreading doing those jobs you do not wish to do such as your tax return. Mostly, fortunately, the reality is not as bad as our imagination had made us expect. Another factor is fear of the unknown, and this is particularly relevant it appears from the responses I have had to recent articles, on the subject of funding care costs and who to ask for advice. As a result of these enquires I thought it may be useful to give some answers to the most common questions asked.
