Seven reasons you should pay into a workplace pension

Seven reasons you should pay into a workplace pension by Tom Bunkham We’re all getting older, as they say.Sooner or later you’ll call it a day and retire. When this happens you’ll need to have income in one form or another for your retirement years. That’s why it’s vital to consider your financial position, including how you’ll clear any outstanding debts, while saving into a pension.For some tips from the experts, we asked the Money Advice Service why you should save into a pension.1.  To supplement your State pensionIf you are fortunate you may be entitled to the full State pension when you reach pension age providing you’ve made National Insurance contributions for the minimum number of qualifying years.However, you’ll probably struggle to achieve the lifestyle you want without a personal or workplace pension to supplement your income.2.  Get tax relief on your incomeWithin some workplace schemes your employer may take pension contributions from your pay before they deduct income tax. However when contributin g into personal pensions and some other workplace pension schemes your pension provider will claim back income tax at the current 20 per cent basic rate of tax and add it to your pension pot.This means for every £100 you contribute you add £125 to your pension pot. Higher and additional rate tax payers may claim further relief through their personal tax returns.3.  Get matched payments from your employerIf you’re a member of a workplace pension scheme your employer might agree to pay more into your pension if you do the same. So an employer might match any additional contributions into your pension, usually up to a maximum proportion of your salary, but no less than 1 per cent.If your employer offers this additional benefit it’s well worth considering â€" who can argue with extra money being paid into your pension?4.  Auto enrolment makes it even easier to start a pensionOver the next few years the government is making it compulsory for companies to provide their employees acc ess to a workplace pension scheme.  You’ll automatically be enrolled if you are at least 22 years of age, working in the UK and earning at least £10,000 a year.Even if you’re not automatically enrolled you may be able to join the scheme. You’ll have the choice to opt out, but be enrolled back in once every three years if you still meet the eligibility requirements.Basic State Pension age   »Automatic pension enrolment: What you need to know »Automatic pension enrolment: FAQ »5. Take advantage of greater pension flexibilityFrom April 6 2015, there’ll be more flexibility about how you can access your pension from age 55. You’ll no longer need to purchase an annuity, which is a fixed sum paid to you every year for the rest of your life, and you’ll have the freedom to draw income from your pension as you like.If you’ve decided to enter a drawdown arrangement â€" where you take money out of your pension pot â€" you’ll still benefit from having 25 per cent tax free inc ome, with the rest taxed at your highest marginal rate. For example, 20 per cent if you’re a basic-rate tax payer.Alternatively, you may take up to 25 per cent of your pension fund as a tax-free lump sum, and use some or all of your pension pot to buy an annuity if you prefer the security of having a guaranteed income for life.The government has guaranteed the right to free and impartial guidance on your new pension choices, but if you’re still unsure you should consider seeking regulated financial advice from a suitably-qualified adviser.6.  Achieve the lifestyle you want in retirementIt’s difficult to estimate how much annual income you’ll need to live comfortably in retirement, but 50 to 60 per cent of your salary is considered a good benchmark to aim for. This assumes you’ve paid off your mortgage and are debt free.Don’t forget to consider expenses such as travelling to work which may no longer be relevant and payments like your electricity bill which could rise if y ou’ll spend more time at home.Many pension providers offer tools to help you calculate the level of contribution needed. These will also take into account factors like the impact of wage growth and the effect of inflation on your contributions.7.  Start early, and reap the benefitsLike most investments your pension will need time to grow, so the more you are able to invest early on will mean less pressure to increase your contributions later to meet your retirement goals.Want to read more? Visit https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/why-save-into-a-pensionFind a job What Where Search JobsSign up for more Career AdviceSign up for moreCareer Advice Please enter a valid email addressmessage hereBy clicking Submit you agree to the

13 Time Management Tips You Ought to Know

13 Time Management Tips You Ought to Know As a small business owner, managing your time and expectations are extremely important if you want to maintain the proper focus. I struggle with this issue and can be easily distracted by a phone call or a tendency to check my emails more often than is probably needed. Time management is one of those skills no one teaches you in school but you have to learn. It doesn’t matter how smart you are if you can’t organize information well enough to take it in. And it doesn’t matter how skilled you are if procrastination keeps you from getting your work done.. I’m going to share some of my favorite time management skills in this post. I hope they will help you. My personal favorite cut the clutter. Keep a clean desk and desktop, clutter can be very distracting. Use your peak productivity time well and make sure you get sufficient rest. Coffee will not assist you forever. It’s OK to take breaks throughout the day. Some of us are ‘morning people’ others are ‘night owls.’ You know what your strengths and weaknesses are better than me. It’s most important to know how you structure your day and manage your time that makes the difference. Know the best days and times to target your prospective clients or targeted companies â€" which may be different than you first think. Set daily goals for yourself and making sure you dont work past your burn out time. This might include networking in person, making follow-up calls, writing a business proposal or putting a budget together â€" each day complete one specific goal â€" you’ll feel much better being able to check something off your ‘to do’ list. It’s absolutely OK to block out some non-planned activities. Life happens and there will also be some unexpected event or emergencies to deal with. Or maybe you’re under the weather. Plan for some specific time away from the computer and phone, 30 minutes a day. By that, I don’t mean a coffee break or to eat a meal. Talk a walk, run some errands, anything to take your mind off your business. Meet a friend for a cup of coffee. Start your day by prioritizing what you need to get done (To-do list!). Block time out on your calendar each day to ensure you get work done. When you are on a deadline and you need to finish something Close your door (if you have one), put your phone on send to voicemail, close your email, and turn off the instant messenger. It is liberating! Not everything is urgent; yes, some things can wait until the next day. Minimizing distractions â€" distractions are a big time waster. A lot of us have this constant urge to check our email every 15 minutes. There are many other common distractions and it is important to limit them. Make sure social networks serve your purpose. Do you really need to be on all of them? Pick one or two that are really important and discard the rest. Be careful not to check your social sites while at work. It is a big time waster even if big brother is not watching. Decide the time or times when you will check mail and stick to those times. There will always be some distracting message in your in box. Keep your emails short. That is how they are meant to be. Use the phone in preference to email where feasible. Know your target company or companies whether it will be for job search or to find business partners. Starting out, that’s one of the most important things to consider. If you’re not sure what you want to do, it’ll be hard for you to communicate that to another client or company Yes weekends are a time to take a break, but not entirely. Use weekends to review the previous week’s successes (and failures) which will give you the opportunity to prepare your upcoming week. The goal is to hit the ground running on Monday morning.‘ Can you think of more time management tips? Please let me know in the comments! Image: Shutterstock

Overqualified

Overqualified In a tight labor market, there’s only one thing worse than not getting the job of your dreams; not getting the job you could have done in your sleep.  There are many reasons that jobseekers consider jobs for which they are overqualified.   In a recession, high level jobs may be scarce and competition intense.   When you transition from one industry or career to another, you may be forced into looking for entry level jobs in the new field, no matter how far you had advanced in your former career.   Baby Boomers are opting for jobs that offer more time for family and quality of life.   Others, seeking more meaning in their careers, are looking for opportunities in mission based companies or non-profits, even if the jobs pay less. Being told that they are overqualified is one of the most common complaints of mid-career professionals.   Recently, a member of the WorkSource Professional Network fumed, “Shouldn’t I be the judge of whether I’m overqualified? If I’m willing to consider a lower level position, why can’t they just look at me like any other candidate?”   The assumption among many mid career professionals is that “overqualified” is a code word for “middle aged.” They believe that it’s one way to discriminate against older workers. When an employer sees a resume from someone who obviously has more skills, more education and more experience than the job requires, it raises a red flag.   The recruiter immediately starts wondering about what is motivating the candidate.   Is he having family problems?   Health problems? Confidence issues?   If the economy is weak, the employer starts wondering what will happen with employment conditions improve. Generally, when a recruiter uses the term ‘overqualified’ in your interview, he has one or more of these unspoken concerns: You will demand more money than the company can afford to pay for the position, or soon demand a raise even though you agreed to the initial salary offer When the economy improves, you will leave immediately for a better job You will be bored at this job, and leave for something better after the company has invested in training you You have not been successful at previous positions and are seeking a low pressure haven from responsibility Other concerns that can be masked by the term “overqualified” include the fear that you’ll be difficult to manage.   A worker with years of experience (even if it’s in another field) may be reluctant to take direction from a younger manager.   This problem can be magnified if the experienced worker is feeling insecure or unhappy in the lower level position.   She may be feeling defensive about her lower status or salary, and anxious to prove that she deserves more prestige or respect. The ensuing power struggle, even though it may be unintended, can have a negative impact on any team. The challenge in defending against these concerns is that often one or more of them are correct. Most job seekers are hoping to move up in responsibility and pay, and when they offer to move down, it’s an indication that their career focus has changed.   Hiring managers have a responsibility to the long term health of the company.   They would rather hire a “good enough” employee who will stay with the company and be fully engaged in the job than a highly skilled short term employee who is obviously bored every day on the job.   In that case, the more skilled worker may not be the better value for the company. Mid-career jobseekers deplore the “overqualified” term, viewing it as a euphemism for “too old” and “too expensive.”   Their resentment sometimes comes through in the interview, which only reinforces a recruiter’s reluctance.  How can you convince a recruiter that you’re serious about the position?   The first step is to examine your own motives.   Before you schedule an interview, sit down and think carefully about why you want this job.   You must have a very good reason, and a plan for articulating it to the recruiter, whose job it is to protect the interests of the company.   One good reason to consider a lower position might be changing fields. “I know that I need to gain experience in this industry before using my skills from my previous job.   This opportunity would be a great way to learn the basics before I aspire again to a management position.” Whatever your reason, you should address the recruiter’s possible concerns in the interview.   Bringing her unspoken reservations out into the open will prove that you have given the matter some thought.   “I know you might be concerned about hiring someone who’s earned so much more in the past. As we discussed, I’m interested in this position for (whatever reasons) and not for the salary, since I have other income.”   You may offer to sign an employment agreement that outlines your salary for the first year or two of your employment. Being willing to discuss sensitive issues openly and commit to the company’s terms in writing will position you as an honest partner in the negotiation. If you can convince the recruiter that your skills will bring real value to the company, you can overcome concern about your cost.

Why Unemployment Statistics Can Be Very Misleading

Why Unemployment Statistics Can Be Very Misleading Statistics. They’re great if used appropriately and they’re understood. According to a recent U.S. government ‘statistic’ the inflation rate is about 1 percent. But anyone who buys anything knows that’s probably not a true portrayal of costs event though that rate is defined as ‘the rate at which the general level of prices for goods and services is rising.’ The same argument can be made for what the media, government and politics use when quoting the unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That rate refers to “the percentage of the total labor force that is unemployed but actively seeking employment and willing to work.  But that rate is not an accurate portrayal of the percentage of Americans who want to work full-time but arent able to. The official rate doesnt include those whose unemployment benefits have run out, those who are under-employed (e.g. working part-time when they’d rather work full-time) or others who choose for whatever reason not to file an unemployment claim.   That’s one reason why I’m opposed to the decision to cut off federal unemployment benefits. By using the ‘official unemployment rate’ nearly 90,000 New Jersey residents had their unemployment benefits cut off on December 28th as Congress failed to vote on extending long-term benefits before going on recess until early next year. But even that number is a bit deceiving as it doesnt include what I call the forgotten unemployed  â€" those who aren’t counted by the government. Viable system: I agree there needs to be a finite amount of time before a person’s unemployment benefits expire. But along with unemployment benefits, there needs a viable system in place to help train those that want to work in a field but don’t have the needed skills. This isn’t just about re-training someone to do a different type of job as much as it is to explain how to ‘network’ â€" that generic term meant to explain how to find jobs besides applying online to job boards and sending up your resume hundreds of times without hearing back. Teach how to connect with people, schedule ‘informational’ interviews, have resume review sessions and schedule job fairs which don’t just have customer service or sales jobs. More experienced workers: For those of us (me included) who are a specific ‘age’, we acknowledge there are many biases that hinder our individual job searches. Many employers won’t hire someone who’s out of work; others will find ways to not hire an older person by questions they ask and by how they phrase a job description. Others assume we won’t work for a specific salary based on our job history.   Let’s just say when I get called by a recruiter and their first question is whether I’m working and I say ‘no’ that conversation ends abruptly without any acknowledge or interest in my situation. I’ve learned to ‘dance’ around that question and others like it. READ MORE:  How to  Get  a  Job  Past the Age of  50 Conclusion: We all can agree to disagree on how we got into this situation â€" but pointing fingers and grandstanding isn’t going to change anything soon. Emotions run high and there are some simple ways that we can fix things as long as we acknowledge the system is broken and not point fingers and play the ‘blame game’. There needs to be an open discussion between hiring managers, recruiters, those out of work and those who are working. We need to leave government out of this equation as much as possible. I’ve said on more than one occasion that the government Healthcare website would’ve been up and running a bit easier if they let many of the IT and marketing people who are out of work, fix it. As well-meaning as some in government may be, a long-term (no pun intended) solution needs to come from a consortium of officials at Fortune 500 companies and other stakeholders. There are many great job support groups that have sprung up out of necessity â€" the challenge is to integrate the best of each into one location. I’m calling on those who are in position to help me make this dream come true. I also facilitate several job support groups in northern NJ. I welcome LinkedIn connection requests.

How to Become a Successful Virtual Assistant

How to Become a Successful Virtual Assistant With more and more businesses getting globalized, the operational activities are getting complicated.As a result, entrepreneurs are struggling every day to manage all the work that matters to the growth of their businesses.However, unlike some other business owners, who are too exhausted for wearing too many hats, the successful ones are redefining their working style by trying not to manage everything by themselves.evalThey are rather hiring highly skilled professionals over virtual platforms to do their personal as well as administrative jobs such as bookkeeping, web development, email management, social media management and many more!Do you think that you have the right skill to perform these jobs?If yes, then virtual assistance is the dream job that you were looking for!As a virtual assistant or VA, you can work autonomously and work from anywhere within a time setting chosen by you!Besides, the popularity of assistants working online is rising day by day due to their high level of proficiency in performing a variety of tasks in a trustworthy and reliable manner.Are you ready to be a successful part of this independent virtual workforce?Don’t start selling your skills straightaway. Rather lay a very strong foundation by following some essential steps.evalNot sure how to start?Keeping your interest as a beginner in mind, MyTasker has developed an attractive infographic for you, which not only offers a great visual treat, but would also tell you 9 easy steps of becoming a successful virtual assistant.Just go through the infographic and be your own boss in the professional world!Infographic Credit -mytasker.com

Facing Career Change in 2009 Tune in For Positive, Practical Advice Wed (Jan 7)

Facing Career Change in 2009 Tune in For Positive, Practical Advice Wed (Jan 7) 2009 has already been a year of change. Ive heard from many people who have come back to work from the holidays only to find a pink slip. Some felt shock. Others anger and still others relief. All were left with many questions as to what to do next.To help, Im focusing my radio appearances this week on Martha Stewart Living Radio on SIRIUS 112 and XM 157 on positive and practical steps you can take if youre dealing with an unexpected layoff or want to shift careers this year. All segments are live and listener questions are welcome at 1-8. For a free 3-day trial of SIRIUS visit www.maggiemistal.com/radio.Tune in this Wednesday Jan 7th to SIRIUS 112 or XM 157:7:30am eastern, Ill share advice on the key steps to take if youve been laid-off, what to say to family and friends and how to get support if you havent planned for a pink slip. 2pm eastern, Ill be talking about where the jobs are in 2009. 4pm eastern, a full hour of Making a Living with Maggie. Ill be joined by author and fellow career expert Marci Alboher to talk about how you can shift careers in 2009!Also check out my new 2009 line-up of teleclasses, webinars and group coaching and get the help you need with your career this year.Are you dealing with an unexpected layoff? Is it time you shifted careers to something new in 2009? What career goals and ideas would you like to see come to fruition in 2009?

Writing and Objective For a Functional Resume

Writing and Objective For a Functional ResumeWhen writing and objective for a functional resume, it is important to keep in mind that it should be concise and informative. It should also include relevant details about the position the applicant is applying for, but can still be found in other positions within the company or even to other employers.There are many ways to write an objective for a functional resume. One of them is to use words like, 'motivated'ability to contribute' as a part of the statement. Another method is to state the main reason the person is applying for the position in the objective.If someone has been offered a position based on their personal qualities, for example, you can write, 'Ability to work under pressure,' or, 'Motivated and self-starters.' However, in this example, a person applying for a position of customer service will not be able to work under pressure. Therefore, the reason for the application may be stated in the objective. Or if there is a nee d for both the customer service and sales manager, you may state that the applicant can handle both tasks, along with a statement about his or her leadership abilities.Before writing and objective for a functional resume, it is important to remember that it should only cover a specific job that the applicant is applying for. If the person applying for a position in the accounting department has not been selected yet, it would be more appropriate to state, 'Strong communication skills'Outstanding interpersonal relations.'There are also some things to consider when writing and objective for a functional resume. For example, if the objective is not specific, it would be more appropriate to use phrases such as, 'Ability to work well under pressure'Motivated and self-starters.'When writing and objective for a functional resume, one can also include a few bullet points about specific experience, skills, and talents in order to describe what the applicant has done before he or she started working for the company. This is often the way that companies are looking for employees and hiring managers to search for candidates. After all, if the company has someone who has worked in the accounting department for five years, they would not want to pay someone who had only worked there for two weeks.Writing and objective for a functional resume is generally considered to be the best approach for most employers. They know that people will be more inclined to hire an applicant who has some experience or skill, than they would a person without any experience at all.Writing and objective for a functional resume is very easy to do, since the intent is to be brief, to concise, and to concise. When you put those three things together, you will have a functional resume that can get the attention of a potential employer, and then get the person hired.