Attracting and Retaining Staff

The “2018 National Skills Bulletin”, published by SOLAS, makes for interesting reading if you are running a company; you need to know what is in store for the labour market in your sector. If you are a parent with kids pondering their…

What's your financial plan for 2019?

This year, it's time for us all to think about planning for the next 20 years rather than just on the year ahead when it comes to planning for our retirement. At this time each year, I would usually write nine things to do better in 2019…

Tax Relief through Pensions

For most people, paying less tax is desirable. Paying less tax through tax relief schemes is possible and it's a great way to help yourself in the future. It’s that time of the year again when financial advisers and accountants are focused…
Analogue Clock Face

The Need to Defuse the Pension Time Bomb

What is the pensions time bomb? In a short, it's the unavoidable shortfall between pension requirements and the State's ability to pay it. Excluding public sector workers, who have close to full pension coverage, the private sector figure…

The need for mandatory pensions in Ireland

If you follow my regular advice column in Construction Magazine, you’ll note that there is a heavy bias towards retirement planning.  As a Financial Advisor for the construction sector, I meet many members of the sector’s two big schemes,…
Milestone Advisory - Protection

A Guide to Key Person Cover

Did you know that if you are a business owner, there is a way to protect your business in the event of the death or serious illness of an important member of your team?
Protecting your family

Are you covered for sick pay?

Self-Employed now entitled to sick pay With effect from December 2017, self -employed people in Ireland have finally became entitled to long- term sick pay. This is great news for this cohort of people, who typically have been treated unfairly…
Building Equality in Construction - CPAS

Building Pension Equality

By the time you are reading this piece, the third flagship #BuildingEquality campaign event from the Construction Industry Federation will have taken place on International Women’s Day. The purpose of this is to recognise the women that already…
Engineer reviewing plans

Reviewing Your Finances in 2018 - The Doom and Gloom

I do not want to start 2018 off on a gloomy note, so I will start with the good news! With effect from December 2017, self-employed people in Ireland finally became entitled to long-term sick pay. This is great news for this cohort of people,…

Avocado Toast

You may have recently heard of Grant Sabatier, a 31 year old apparently self- made millionaire – who blames avocado toast for the reason millennials can’t save money. Grant’s theory, when read properly actually makes a lot of sense, he…
Pexels_Drone Delivery

Empathy and AI

Why AI will never replace your financial adviser. For those who worry about AI (and technology in general), sounding the death knell of our careers, it is worth considering the limitations of AI before concluding that we will all be replaced.…

Reasons to start a pension

Reasons to start a pension The dictionary defines a pension as “A fixed amount, other than wages, paid at regular intervals to a person or to the person's surviving dependents in consideration of past services” or “an allowance, annuity, or subsidy.” Can…