Family Planning, and We Don’t Mean Buying Contraception!
Posted on February 14th, 2010
Life is very demanding, especially when you have a family. Not only do you work hard to provide for them, there are physical and emotional demands with family life too. Of course family life is tremendously rewarding. But it does have its pressures. Is there a way of reducing some of this pressure, so you can all live life to the full, now and in the future?
If you have a family you probably value it above all else, the last thing you want is to have anything threatening their financial security. But life doesn’t always go according to plan. You will have insured most of your possessions in case of unexpected events: your home, your car. Have you done the same for yourself and your family? Making plans to cope financially with unexpected events can be part of your commitment to your family.
What if you or your partner became seriously ill?
Quite apart from your income, your lifestyle may have to change to help you get better. Or you may need special nursing equipment or make alterations to your home. Not only would your current plans be put on hold, your family would have to adjust and learn to cope too.
Although many people have basic life assurance to provide financial protection to help them cope with life, death is not necessarily the threat. What if the need is financial protection to cope with life? The good news is that you can protect your family against the financial consequences of unexpected events and it’s easy to get cover.
You may think “it won’t happen to me”. But what if it did?
Unfortunately, illnesses such as cancer, stroke and heart attack ore facts of life. What financial effect would such an illness have on you and your family?
If there was only one person earning in your household, how would you cope if that income was reduced or removed? If both you and your partner are earning, would one salary be enough to cover your current commitments and meet future demands? If you are the one who looks after your family at home, would there be enough income to meet the cost of a home help and extra childcare costs? Considering the effects of having less to live off is a sobering thought.
Even if you dipped into your savings, it would probably affect your future plans and also put extra pressure on you to replace your savings.
What about the state and my employer you may ask?
If you are lucky enough to be employed by the NHS you have a generous sick pay scheme, but beware as the level of cover you are entitled to depends upon your length of service. With the maximum of 6 months full pay and 6 months half pay only kicking in after 6 years service.
Although the state will look after you if you can’t work because of illness, the benefits are very low. Short term benefits for 2009/10 add up to only £79.15 per week (Statutory Sick Pay (SSP)) and if you are ill for more than 28 weeks it only goes up to £80.15 (Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)).
Could you manage on £79.15 per week?
In this article we will look at the ins and outs of family protection. The first step is to look at the different types of cover that are available.
What types of cover are available?
There are several different ways of arranging cover to protect your family. Initially you should consider whether you would like a regular income, or whether a lump sum or one off payment would suit your family better. Also you should look at what cover you have already got, this will help you indentify what else you will need and make sure you get the best value from your existing arrangements as well as considering extra cover.
The next step is to think about the level of cover you will need, how much it might cost, and how much you can afford to spend.
Finally think about the other arrangements you can make to get the best value out of your plans and make sure that they help your family as much as possible. For example, you could consider writing your insurance under trust to help cover any inheritance tax or just to make sure that you leave the benefits in good hands.
With such a wide range of products and benefits on offer, it always makes sense to take financial advice, take independent financial advice from an IFA they are able to help you get the best value for money and help you choose the most appropriate plan for you.
Carl Bradshaw
http://www.carlbradshaw.co.uk
Positive Business Development
Professional Business Advice in plain English. Freelance Sales and Business Development. Covering the UK.
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Tags: Family, Family Planning
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