Expats heading abroad to be better off

Almost half of British professionals who head abroad expect to be better off, according to the results of a new survey.

Findings from Natwest reveal that the average wage for an expat is £67,000 compared to the UK average of £47,000.

The United Arab Emirates tops the expat wealth ranking with professionals earning an average of £79,000 a year while Portugal, at the lower end of the scale, has an average wage of £58,000.

David Isley, head of NatWest International Personal Banking, said that the wage packets of expats were very encouraging for those tempted by a move overseas.

“The expat wealth rankings shows that people who are willing to move abroad not only benefit from bigger earnings in countries such as Spain and Italy, but also have the advantage of a lower cost of living,” he continued.

Meanwhile, nearly half of first-time buyers would consider moving abroad in a bid to make their first step onto the property ladder.

Tags: NatWest International Personal Banking, Political philosophy, expat wealth rankings, david isley, wage

Taxation benefits for married couples

Married couples receive financial benefits when both partners have savings in place, claim financial experts.

MDM Associates has said there are possible higher tax allowances on pensions and potential inheritance tax advantages from joint savings.

Lisanne Mealing, director for MDM Associates, said: “With investing in pensions, you’re losing out on some pretty good tax allowances if you only fund on one [partner's] side and not the other.”

She added that in terms of income payments, “it’s easier to have the income split in retirement; because, again, you’re going to pay less tax… You’re taking full advantage”.

Ms Mealing also said that women’s income is usually spent on household items, incidentals and holidays whereas the husband’s earnings will be used for financial planning.

However, a recent report from the Fawcett Society warned that women are likely to struggle financially for a longer period following a divorce than a man, as women are less likely to have savings in place.

Tags: Taxation benefits, earnings, financial planning, director, inheritance tax advantages

Start saving if you are under forty

According to a recent report younger consumers in their twenties and thirties have become so reliant on credit that many are simply spending all of their money on frivolous spending or repaying debt rather than putting money away for their future.

Twenty and thirty-somethings are now being urged to put money aside into savings or investment for their future to reduce the risk of being left without an adequate retirement fund when they reach retirement age.

The government’s state pension has declined over the years, and with increased life expectancy and higher living costs to also consider younger consumers now need to start thinking about their future in terms of how they will manage financially.

Historically, most people in their twenties and thirties tend not to think much about mortgage provisions, but this has become an increasingly important consideration for the younger generation if they wish to enjoy a certain standard of living when they come to retirement age.

One official advised younger consumers to start putting money into savings or an investment fund as early on as possible to ensure that they had a tidy sum available for when they retire. Increased life expectancy means that consumers must put aside more money to cover the cost of living after retirement, and this has made it even more important for younger consumers to start putting money aside as early as possible.

Consumers in their twenties and thirties are advised to cut back on their frivolous spending, try and avoid getting into further debt, and start putting money aside on a regular basis. Many younger people are wasting a small chunk of their income each month on repayment of interest on their debts, all of which could be used towards saving for the future.

Tom Smith
5th November 2007

Tags: save, saving, Banking, interest, retirement, salary, future, wages, earnings

Consumers advised to inflate earnings to get mortgage

A recent report has revealed that many consumers in the UK are being advised to lie about their earnings on mortgage applications forms in order to enable them to get a larger loan – one that many cannot realistically afford based on their actual earning as opposed to the inflated amount that they state they earn.

This advice is being given to those that self certify, which means that they state their own income and this is often not checked out or verified by the lender.

A number of industry professionals, such as brokers and advisers, have been found to have been advising consumers to put down that they earn far more than they actually do, and this means that they get a larger mortgage loan. However, it also means that the repayments are far higher, as the lender will have based affordability on the earnings reported on the application form.

One man told investigators that he had managed to get a mortgage for eight times his salary by stating that he earned £50,000 per year as advised to do so by his financial adviser – he was actually earning half of that amount. As a result, stated the consumers, he was left repaying a huge mortgage that takes up the vast majority of his income, and has even had to deal with the threat of repossession through difficulties with affordability.

Campaigners are now urging financial regulators to look into this practice and put a stop to it, as it could add to the problems that have spread from the sub-prime market in the United States, leaving many of those in the sub-prime sector unable to cope with their repayments. The practice came to light following an investigation conducted by the BBC.

Tom Smith
24th October 2007

Tags: extra, increase, repossession, mortgage, earnings, inflate, salary, income

For Career Development Loans, past credit score is key

Good or bad credit in the past provides a “good indication” of future credit prospects, according to the Co-operative Bank.

In an interview about Career Development Loans – a bank loan designed to help pay for vocational learning – spokesperson Andy Hammerton said that if an applicant for the loan had “a very, very poor credit history” then the bank “wouldn’t accept them just because it’s a career development loan, they still have to be credit scored. We have to be a responsible lender.”

Mr Hammerton also said that just because an applicant was taking a course – which might be said to make higher future earnings more likely – does not mean that they will not be a credit risk.

“Just because they’re taking a course doesn’t necessarily mean they’re going to be a sound credit risk in the future. They need to have a reasonable credit record.”

Career Development Loans, which offer anything from £300 to £8,000 to fund learning for up to two years, are currently offered by Barclays, the Co-operative Bank and the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Tags: Royal Bank of Scotland, earnings, hammerton, credit risk."Just, Career Development Loans

Hips earnings ’sliced in half’

Pack providers have cut the earning potential of home inspectors implementing the new Home Information Packs (Hips), it has been claimed.

Interviewed on BBC Two’s Working Lunch, home inspector Alyson Cadd said that her potential earnings could now have been halved, thanks to meddling by high street providers.

“The pack providers… have now basically driven themselves between us and our clients, which would have been the estate agents or even the self-seller, the seller of the property, we now have the pack providers and these panels that we have to contact.”

She added that providers were “not just taking the commission or a cut; they’re actually taking half our fee in many cases, certainly the larger pack providers which really seem to have cornered the market with a lot of people”.

Hips, sometimes known as seller’s packs, will become mandatory for sales of homes with four bedrooms or more in England and Wales on August 1st, before being extended to cover all properties over the next year.

Ms Cadd also strongly criticised the delays to the scheme, which was originally to have been implemented across the country earlier this year.

Describing herself as “angry and stunned” by the hold up, she said that she knew of people who had given up jobs to become home inspectors in time for the original start date who had been left badly out of pocket as a result.

Tags: Home Information Pack, pocket, start, inspector alyson cadd, bbc, half, property, earnings