Retiring? Really?

Advantages: I like it.
Disadvantages: Needs getting used to.

...Retiring? Really? This is what many of my younger colleagues asked me one year ago when they learnt that time was up for me. Some even thought I was pulling their legs, they claimed that everybody could see I was still too youthful to retire. Of course, this went down like honey, as the saying goes, but youthful is not the same as young, and I had indeed reached the official age of retirement after teaching for 38 years at secondary grammar schools. The change wasn?t abrupt, I can?t imagine how people feel who?re made redundant from one day to the other. I glided from my summer hols into my retirement, the hols just never ended so-to-speak. When the end of my working life was getting nigh, I learnt a lot about other people. Even people I haven?t got close contact with asked me when I would retire. What was it to them? One day...

MALU 06.07.2009 · Read review
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Review of Member Advice on Retirement

Invest for your future with a stakeholder pension

Advantages: Value for money, convenience, variety
Disadvantages: Value added, status

...a member of an occupational pension, you can usually make a contribution if your earnings are below £30,000. - You can transfer in a pension plan from another company, it would be a good idea to seek financial advice before transfer. WHAT ABOUT TAX? - Every individual who pays into a stakeholder pension plan will get tax relief payments. - Under present tax arrangements, for each £1 you pay into the plan the Inland Revenue will pay an extra 28p into your plan, even if you don't normally pay income tax. - If you pay income tax at the high rate you will be able to claim back the extra tax from the Inland revenue at the end of the year. - If you take a cash lump sum when you retire, it is currently tax-free. You pension will be taxed as earned income. - If you die before you retire, there is normally no inheritance tax...

JeffreyB 30.12.2004 (17.05.2005) · Read review
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Review of Stakeholder Pensions

Pension Stankovic, Dubrovnik

Advantages: magnificent view
Disadvantages: you must climb a lot of steps

...I visited Pension Stankovic, Dubrovnik in the spring of 2009. We spent tree days in Dubrovnik an It is not easy to find the house We arrived in Dubrovnik in the evening. We were tired and it was dark. The navigation system showed us a road which was forbidden for the car. I get out of the car, took the navigation system in my hands and started to follow the commands. I was really surprised when I saw that to reach the address I had to climb at least 100 steps. I didn't have any choice and I climbed the steps. After climbing all the steps, I understood that this was not the right street. I went down and I tried the next street with the same number of steps... :-) After the third try I found the street which was at least 200 steps far of the car. At the end we found the address and we parked in fornt of the house in front...

nadia71 27.10.2009 (28.10.2009) · Read review
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Review of Pension Stankovic, Dubrovnik

The basic economics of pensions

Advantages: Certianty, less governemt relaince
Disadvantages: If prices go up, it's not worth it, takes ages to develop a fund

...and earnings from you reading this?) well I’d like to highlight the benefits basically, and that you shouldn’t rely solely on a state pension. Basically what happens in a funded (private) pension, you make contributions when you are in employment to a fund, held by the pensions company, and people invest your money and it grows, and when you retire there is a sum of money you own, i.e. you get what you give, great! Let’s say you end up with £50,000, and you don’t have any other asset like land etc, or kids that pay you, and each year you spend £5,000, then with a low rate of interest, you will probably live for 10 years, and have to rely on state payments, uh oh! Well the benefit of a pension is that you don’t have to worry, given the £50,000 your pension company will negotiate with you and determine...

Modena 05.01.2001 · Read review
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Review of Discount Pensions

Would you like to retire 10 years early?

Advantages: Good advice, clear plain english, accessible to all
Disadvantages: none

...each one contains. Chapter 1 - What is early retirement. The first chapter seeks to explain how one mans early retirement is late to another. It explains the current state pension position and how unless we make suitable other provision for ourselves most of the people of my generation wont see much change out of 70 before we retire. It talks about various myths regarding retirement and then seeks to explain that none of us are average and so we need bespoke plans for our own retirements Chapter 2 - Getting ready for early retirement In this chapter the book looks at what might be stopping you personally from your goal of early retirement. One of the topics I found interesting was about the 'sandwich generation' people who through no fault of their own are paying for their childrens education, their own mortgage etc and then also...

Shoka 30.05.2008 · Read review
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Review of How to Retire 10 Years Early - Martin Bamford

A Miami Miami; I'm a pensioner now

Advantages: Cheap, clean, central location, cheap supermarket nearby
Disadvantages: No breakfast, no windows, not wheelchair friendly, questionable neighbourhood

...~~~ Overview & Appearance ~~~ I have just returned from another of my legendary "shoe-string" budget tours during which I stayed at the Pension Miami hotel with Mrs Ben. We stayed two nights at said establishment for the princely sum of £68.29 via HotelClub.com. Admittedly the hotel was booked before finding out certain details which may have led me to choose another establishment such as the lack of breakfast and the "ladies of the night" who alledgedly ply their trade in the immediate vicinity (we did not see any of this however). The Hotel itself is located on an alley which none of the locals had heard of and it took us a little while to find the address. Make sure you print out a map before you leave home! The alley and the outside of the hotel are not hugely inviting as the alley precludes sunlight and the surrounding buildings...

ben-lloyd 25.01.2007 · Read review
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Review of Pension Miami Hotel, Barcelona, Spain

Harry Brown retires

Advantages: Good Caine turn
Disadvantages: Playing old farts..

...... Clive Elizabeth Spriggs ... Prudence Sylvia Syms ... Lilian Peter Vaughan ... Bob -The Plot- First we meet Clarence (Caine), a washed up old magician, chugging up to the retirement home in his old van to see out his final years, the last one in the area that will take the truculent old sod, he not keen on the idea either. His wife is long dead and his scatty brain is trying to hold onto those precious memories that keep him going. There's nothing else worth living for Clarence it seems. Disruptive at first he slowly befriends little Edward (William Millner), the son of the couple that runs the home. Dad (David Morrissey) is having his mid-life crisis and has a crush on young Tanya (Linzey Cocker), who works part-time at the home whilst Mum (Anne-Marie Duff) just battles on with wiping old people's bottoms and collecting...

thedevilinme 07.12.2009 (21.12.2009) · Read review
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Review of Is Anybody There?

Hotel In prague

Advantages: Reasonably cheap accomodation
Disadvantages: No in house Restaurant, No Room Service

...highly recommended. I was also offered a negotiable small Discount on my next visit which I will have no hesitation to take up. Company Details beetle pension *** Smilovskevo 10 prague 2 Cz Phone 00420 222 515 093 www.beetle-tour.cz accommodation Agency Details D&S Bohemia ltd Vanickova 5/1, prague 6, 160 00, czech Republic Phone: +420 233 353 739, +420 233 350 618 http://www.prague-spot.com/ Further Information Whilst I thoroughly enjoyed my stay in prague from my previous recent visits to this town I had noticed a big difference in the exchange rate from forty czech koruna's to one Pound to around thirty czech koruna to one Pound. So this place is slowly catching up being a relatively new member of the E.U. Though still from a travel journey it still represents a excellent few Days away from home...

costas1234 24.06.2008 (25.12.2009) · Read review
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Review of Pension Beetle Hotel, Prague

The Mad Cabbie Retires

Advantages: See opinion
Disadvantages: See opinion

...~ ~ Sorry if that title has misled you just a little. It doesn’t mean I have “retired” from my opinion writing here at Ciao, (or dooyoo) but I have taken a decision to take a far less active part in driving my taxi than in the past. What has this to do with an opinion about a Seat Ibiza car, do I hear you asking? Well, quite a lot actually. I’ve now taken up a new position with the taxi driver’s trade union here in Dublin, as editor of a new monthly in-house newspaper, and have rented out my taxi to another driver. (Although I’ll still do the odd shift here and there!) So I needed another car to get me around the city when my old “joe maxi” was out working. ~ ~ A few of you may remember I wrote a glowing review a while back about the new Seat Ibiza, the supermini from the VW...

the_mad_cabbie 14.01.2002 · Read review
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Review of SEAT Ibiza 1.4 16v

Gordon Brown is giving you free money

Advantages: Tax relief whether you pay tax or not
Disadvantages: Cannot withdraw money until you retire

...kept low at 1% or less per year. Now the catch, you can?t withdraw money from the pension funds until you retire. On joining a SHP plan, you are required to specify the retirement age between 50 and 75. (It can be changed later by giving notice.) At the time of your retirement, generally you may withdraw up to 25% of the saving. The rest is then used to buy an insurance product called annuity. It will provide a pension for the rest of your life. By the way, pensions are subject to income tax just like any other income. There are points to note (positive and negative) when considering to start a SHP plan: - + The government will top up your saving. + You may take out a lump sum at retirement. + You will get additional pension to supplement the state pension. + The pension is for life no matter how long you live, where you live...

LBoy 16.07.2001 (30.01.2004) · Read review
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Review of Stakeholder Pensions