Froodee

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Pension Commission to recommend pension age ‘rise’

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The Pensions Commission is due to issue a recommendation that employees should continue to work later in life but also claim a larger state pension.

Based on a report published by the Financial Times, Lord Adair Turner’s commission is expected to suggest that the claimant age for state pensions be raised rom 65 to 67 years old.

As a trade-off for working longer, the report will also recommend for a more serious pension package.

The commission is expected to recommend both an increase in individual saving, tax rises and extended retirement ages in order to avert a potential crisis. This will then be strengthened by a larger pension package.

The changes are expected to be implemented on a staggered basis, and will begin after 2020 when women’s claimant age will more be at par with men at 65. The increases will then peak at 2050, by this time pension payouts will top out at £109 per week. The current basic state pension pays out £80 a week.

The plans are expected to affect those who are currently under the age of 50.

The commission also revealed that almost 9 million people are not seriously saving money in time for their retirement. Thus, to encourage savings, they will also call for a new national pensions savings scheme where individuals will be enrolled automatically. Workers, however, have a choice if they want to enter the plan or not.

Company formation and business solutions experts hope that these new initiatives will be able to uplift workers’ welfare without necessarily affecting business owners who will also be affected by the proposed measures.

Office party spirit can go out of control

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Office staff are quite notorious for letting their hair down when it comes to holiday parties, but according to a shocking new research it seems that employees may be letting down quite a bit more than expected.

According to figures released by Canon, it was discovered that technicians experience a 25 per cent increase in call outs during the Christmas season. But far more shocking are the kind of items that have been found lodged in various equipment.

A survey of Canon technicians revealed that they have found, among others, kitchen knives, condoms, stockings, a cheque for £6,000 and a vibrator stuck in photocopiers and printers.

Company formation and business solutions experts remind office staff that with the coming Christmas parties they should temper their festive spirit with a bit more responsibility.

Baby Businesses

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Having had my little baby accessories business for about a year, I somehow managed to elude what I perceived as the trappings of a “proper business”, scraping by quite happily, but admittedly inefficiently.

I sold my adorably useful goods at village fairs or simply by word of mouth through friends and family. Things were good, easy, manageable, and my modest home double-dutied as office, warehouse, call centre, shop front and so on – that is until I accepted an unprecedented massive order, and at the same time, received the happy, but stunning news that our cosy family of three would soon be a family of four.

At this point, my imminently sensible husband put his foot down and demanded that my little cottage industry had to move on, and I had to get my act together quickly. So, together, we went through the rigorous list of things to do, which were all terribly serious and had ominous names like “business plan” and “company formations”. In truth, I didn’t know the difference between a “limited” vs an “offshore” company (did that mean glamorously embezzled funds in the Cayman Islands?).

But one thing was obvious- I needed professional help fast. Setting up a proper company was obviously the first step, and we found help in the form of a few online companies. One of them was offering by far the most reasonable rates for setting up a company fairly quickly.

For the financials, as well as help in preparing a good business plan, we found another extremely useful site. For basic steps, tips and advice in starting a business on your own, I found the site www.sba.gov very constructive as well.

So welcome aboard fellow Mums!!!