Moonbadger's posterous

As you wander through the world of work you tend to find that the longer you get in the tooth the more you begin to worry about 'life after work'. For some this isn't really an issue, as they've been fortunate enough to build up a substantial nest egg through annuities and pension funds, but for some the mere prospect of living without a month-on-month paycheque is a daunting prospect. 

So what do you need to do and what do you need to think about as you approach your twilight years?

• Mortgages - most of us will have a mortgage and ensuring that you have a continual income to pay this off is of paramount importance. Not only does a house/flat provide you with warmth and a place to live, but it's also a potential source of revenue and equity should you come to need it later in life.
• Pension - pensions come in all shapes and sizes, some of which can be incredibly complicated, which is why a lot of people are more than a little concerned about investing in them. Another concern has always been the security of these pensions, as horror stories abound with tales of people losing the lot, after certain companies went into administration.
• Life insurance for the over 50's - The last thing you want is to leave your loved ones in a sea of debt, and in particular having had to sit through a funeral funded by state, it's not a position I would ever want to leave to my family. Ensuring that you have adequate insurance can end up paying dividends in the future, especially if your entitled to payouts due to ill health or payment protections for your mortgage.
• Bonds, ISA's and nest eggs - most people tend to mix and match nowadays, with the majority of the population squirreling their money away in a variety of different pots and plans, such as premium bonds, ISA's, property equity and savings accounts.

Remember it is essential that you research and understand the full extent of what you are signing up before you put pen to paper. Mortgage, insurance policies and pension all come with a heap of clauses and small print, each of which could have a significant bearing upon your policy. Remember if you're in any doubt seek independent financial advice on all your available options. 

Let’s face it, when it comes to demolition, using absurd amount of high-tech equipment and making things go ‘BANG’ is what the crowd really want to see.  And indeed, why take a building apart piece by piece, when you can watch it disappear in a cloud of TNT…

Last week Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles stepped into the demolition arena with a strong contender for the ‘most elaborate V8 powered demolition award of 2011’, by yanking down a 67m high chimney in Reading, weighing approximately 140tonnes.

The mission was successfully completed by attaching 200m ropes to the back of four VW Amarok pickups. It certainly gets our vote, but can it stay the course and take the title – take a look and decide… 

In a scheme intended to inject some lifeblood into the housing market, the government is once again trying a first time buyer revival for those locked out of the markets. However, there is a significant difference in that the new scheme is only applicable to mortgages for newly built homes, unlike traditional mortgages for first time buyers like this one from Ulster Bank, which will allow you to invest in any property as long as you meet the financial requirements.

Known as the 'FirstBuy shared equity scheme' this will act as a replacement for the Government's previous shared equity scheme known as HomeBuy Direct, which ended in January 2011. The new programme will allow first time buyers to contact and approach new-build sites participating in the scheme as early as September 2011

To enter the scheme prospective buyers will need to front up a 5% deposit, before taking out a shared equity mortgage for 75% or 80%. The remainder of the mortgage will then be funded by a shared equity loan of up to 20%. Buyers should be aware that 5% deposit can erode if the value of the property decreases significantly.

This shared equity loan is repayable on the sale of the property along with 20% of any increased value of the property.  One integral benefit of the scheme is no interest will be charged on the shared equity loan for the first 5 years, after which a low interest rate of 1.75% over inflation will be charged.

However unlike a joint ownership or shared ownership mortgage, the shared equity loans enable a first time buyer to be the sole owner of the property. The FirstBuy equity loan is offered equally between the house-builder and the Government.

First time buyers can find out more about which properties are available on this basis through their local HomeBuy Agent or any new house-building projects taking part or promoting the FirstBuy shared equity scheme.

This week a firm from Bradford was found guilty and fined, after a lapse in training and safety standards led to the amputation of a 22yr old casual worker’s hand. According to the report the worker was told to operate the ‘press brake’, a machine used to bend plates of metal and notorious for causing accidents, but was only given 10 minutes training. Whilst operating the machine an electronic motion guard employed to stop the ‘press brake’ failed to work, the result of which led to the industrial accident.  

The HSE (Health and Safety Executive) prosecuted the company for breaching Regulation 11(b) of the 1998 Provision and Use of Work Regulation Act:

11.—(1) Every employer shall ensure that measures are taken in accordance with paragraph(2) which are effective—

(a)to prevent access to any dangerous part of machinery or to any rotating stock-bar; or

(b)to stop the movement of any dangerous part of machinery or rotating stock-bar before any part of a person enters a danger zone.  

By failing to maintain adequate safety measures resulting in an injury at work and the amputation of a worker’s hand, the firm was found guilty of negligence, fined £12,000 and ordered to pay legal costs.

In a statement Paul Newton, an inspector from the HSE, said: “The dangers of working with press brakes are well known in the industry, and there have been many instances of workers being seriously injured. That's why these machines are fitted with guards to prevent access to the danger zone. In this case, the company's failure to ensure these guards were effective had tragic consequences."

According to HSE figures there were over 7million work related accidents recorded last year, 4,000 of which were caused by contact with moving machinery and 25% resulted in major injuries. For more details on work related accident claims, pursuing a negligence case or advice on amputation claims and specialist services contact Access Legal for more details. 

Financial recessions are always difficult to cope with. As the economy retracts, families and individuals often tighten their belts and batten down the hatches, in order to weather the fiscal storm – The decision to consolidate and hunker down is often caused by job insecurities, inflationary pressures and the general understanding that the consequences of a recession cannot be simply waved away with a magic wand or fixed overnight.

One of the sectors hardest hit by the recession has been the charity sector. During 2009 52% of the organisations interviewed said that they’d been seriously affected by the economic downturn, most of whom admitted to already implementing cost reduction plans. Yet, despite the hardships, it appears that UK citizens are still doing their best to help charities. This year Comic Relief took a record £74.3m, the highest amount reached in the charities 23 year history.

UK companies are also holding on to their charitable credentials, supporting organisations and community projects up and down the country. This week Coutts & Co, the UK based investment management firm, announced that they would be supporting Canine Partners as their charity of the year. On their website the group stated that they were committed to the sterling work conducted by the charity and intended to raise in excess of £10,000 through a number of fundraising events across the year.

The government is also continuing to support charities during these hard times. In a recent Cabinet Office post, the government announced that 183 charities and organisations would be receiving funding worth nearly £15m from the newly created Transition Fund. The scheme is reputedly part of a £107m fund aimed at helping charities face the current financial challenges.