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Pensions – it really is a case of Fail to Prepare…

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Something we are told from a very young age is that it is never too early to start planning for the future. As true as this may be it is something that falls largely on deaf young ears as we move on with our lives without thinking about that distant future of our elders. As you progress in your working life, this statement becomes increasingly true as no matter what stage of your career you are currently at, it is vital to plan for a future in which you will no longer be earning.

Recent reports show that the majority or workers are not saving towards a pension for their futures. As we have discussed previously, the cost of living, renting and buying property continues to grow so it should come as no surprise that many workers find themselves unable to set aside money for distant days ahead as wallets get increasingly light. There has been a lot of speculation recently that we may be heading towards a time-bomb in terms of pensions, so the news that only 47% of workers are contributing to a pension only compounds this fear and places the future of the State pension in question.

There have been discussions that the Government is to roll out a mandatory scheme for pensions by 2022, but this still leaves a period of 3 years during which workers could take matters into their own hands and begin making contributions. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it appears that the worst uptake in pension contributions is among younger workers, who again are most likely to be stuck in the rental trap at present. Social Policy Officer with The Irish Congress of Trade Unions, Laura Bambrick has said that too little is being done to encourage lower- and middle-income workers to contribute.

“Tax relief has failed as a policy instrument for encouraging low and middle-income earners to save enough towards a financially secure retirement, and there is no legal obligation on an employer to provide or contribute to a pension scheme for employees.”

Funding issues for State Pensions are likely to become an increasing concern for the future if pension contributions don’t soon become a standard, and with many employers also not making any contributions for their employees, something likely must change and urgently.

If you are interested in beginning your own pensions journey, here are some tips from us.

Calculate:

As with any budgeting system, it is essential to first work out how much you need to be setting aside. There are a great many online calculators that can assist with this. It is also important to consider your own currently monthly budget.

Shop Around:

There are so many options to choose from that this can be daunting but take the opportunity to speak to some advisers and ensure that you find the right pension plan for you.

Speak with your Employer:

It is possible that your employer may be willing to match your contributions or make some contribution for you, it is important to find out if this is a possibility in your company.

Tax:

If there are tax breaks available, be sure to make use of them.

Save:

There are many small ways to make weekly savings, implementing these may mean that your pension contributions do not leave such a gaping hole in your pocket.

Should you have any concerns or queries on any business or financial matters, please don’t hesitate to contact us here at EcovisDCA where we are always happy to help.

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~ DCA PARTNERS, DECLAN DOLAN & EAMONN GARVEY

Bank Holiday Payment Entitlements

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Time Marches On

March is always a strange month, whilst January can seem endless and February spins by before you’ve even adjusted to writing the New Year on your documents, March somehow signals that more time has passed in the current year than we could have realised. One bonus that comes along with March for those of us working away on our fair green Isle is that it offers us our first little break in the year in the guise of parades and fairs celebrating our patron saint.

One thing to be aware of however is that occasionally, as was the case this year, the Public Holiday may not fall on the traditional Monday associated with a Bank Holiday. In this scenario there are a number of ways to tackle the change and we thought it prudent to give information on who may be entitled to Bank Holiday payment.

Contrary to popular opinion, there is not an automatic entitlement to the Monday following the 17th of March off, but it does usually suit business operations to proceed in this manner.

The entitlement for full-time employees is as follows:

  • A paid day off either on the public holiday, or the following Monday for those who work Mon-Fri when the public holiday falls outside of the standard.
  • An additional day of annual leave
  • An additional day’s pay in this pay round.
  • A paid day off within a month of the Public Holiday.

It is also not always widely known that the employee is entitled to ask which options apply to their circumstance 21 days before the Public Holiday, and should the employer fail to respond within 14 days of the holiday, the employee then becomes automatically entitled to take the Public Holiday as a paid day off. It is advised to communicate this to your employees well in advance in order to avoid confusion on either side.

The entitlement for part-time employees is as follows:

  • Employees who have not worked at least 40 hours in total in the 5 weeks prior to the Public Holiday to not meet the minimum requirement to avail of their Public Holiday entitlements.

The payment options for a Public Holiday are as follows:

  • If the employee works on the Public Holiday they are entitled to payment for that day worked, as well as an additional day’s pay equivalent to the last day worked prior to the holiday.
  • If an employee normally works the day that the Public Holiday falls on they are entitled to the day off and their normal day’s pay.
  • If an employee does not normally work on the day the Public Holiday falls and is not required to work on this date, they are entitled to one-fifth of their normal wage.
  • Employees on sickness and maternity leave will also have entitlement as though they worked on this day.

We hope that you all enjoyed the first Public Holiday of the year and that this information will be of use for those still to come. Should you have any queries or concerns on any business or financial matters, please don’t hesitate to contact us here at EcovisDCA, where we are always happy to help.

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~ DCA PARTNERS, DECLAN DOLAN & EAMONN GARVEY

Salaries On The Rise

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More Money, More Problems?

As January draws to a close and we emerge bleary eyed from the post-Christmas slump things start to cheer up. The days start to get brighter for longer and we are no longer coming and going from work in total darkness. The sun begins to warm up for spring and we start to slow down our bemoaning to our colleagues the absolute length of January and we cast an eye towards booking our summer holidays. With this casting off of the darkness of January, we all like to receive a bit of hopeful news and this week there has been talk of some wallet-bulking changes.

It was reported this week as part of Bank of Ireland’s monthly Economic Pulse survey that almost half of workers can expect a pay rise this year as employers begin to make more plans to increase wages. This follows on from the findings that firms in all disciplines have heightened expectations for January’s business activity. Data from January shows that 44% of business owners are planning to increase employee wages this year, which is an increase of 7% from last year. It is believed that this is reflective of both the increase in minimum wage and a tightening of the labour market over the past 12 months.

Chief Economist with Bank of Ireland Dr. Loretta O’Sullivan has stated that

“The mood was positive this month […] the economy is doing well and public finances remain on track […] the Economic Pulse started the new year on a positive note, with consumer confidence posting a two-year high and business sentiment up on December’s reading. While some of the improvement this month is due to seasonal effects, the Budget changes to social welfare payments and income taxes lined pockets in January, as did the rise in the national minimum wage, which helped lift the mood”

This is of course a very positive note on which to begin the New Year as the post-Christmas sales also increased consumer confidence as almost half of consumers have stated that post-Christmas was the perfect time to make major purchases for the home like electrical goods or furniture. It was also found that despite rising house prices eliminating many from the market, over 30% of existing homeowners are planning on spending large sums of money on home improvements in 2018.

Bank of Ireland have stated that despite these positives, it is important that businesses not become complacent particularly in the unknown field that Brexit presents.

Should you require any further guidance please do not hesitate to get in touch with us here at EcovisDCA where we will be happy to assist you in starting 2018 on the right foot.

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~ DCA PARTNERS, DECLAN DOLAN & EAMONN GARVEY