When you reach your retirement age you not only have to consider buying the best annuities now for your retirement income then but also in the future. Retirement might last 20 or 30 years and you need to consider will you have sufficient income at this time to continue to live comfortably?

What about your dependants?

You should also consider your dependents and how will they manage. You may find the best annuities today for yourself, but if you died how would they cope financially? It is vital to ensure that provision is made for your dependants within your pension.

Some of the things you have to consider when buying the best annuities are:-

• Annuity rates. Are they on the decline or are they likely to rise in the future, is now a good time to buy annuities?
• If you buy an annuity now will it still be the right choice in 10 years or even 20 years’ time, what is the longevity of your chosen financial solution?
• Your dependents. How will you support them during your retirement and what will happen to them, financially, upon your death.
• Do you need the flexibility to change your retirement income, to increase or decrease income as your life changes during retirement.
• Do you want absolute guarantees from your retirement income?
• How much can you, or do you want to, spend looking after investments or reviewing your retirement income?
• How good is your health? Are you a smoker or do you take any prescribed medication that might qualify for enhanced annuities.
• What happens to your money upon your death? Read the rest of this entry »

The growth of the city budget shot up from $69 Million in 1999, to $471 Million by 2007 – quite an increase. This caused increased reliance in the city’s finance department, and, accounting practices became less pressing needs.

After two major financial failings last year, however, the city went out and hired an accounting firm. It seems as though the finance office just couldn’t keep up, and, an audit was needed. Auditors arrived this past Monday to start looking at everything from city payments to surprise investment. City leaders, at this point, hope that the audit will identify flaws in the city’s financial state.

It appears as though the failure to keep up with accounting demands is a byproduct of rapid growth. This latest audit follows a problematic one from 2007, where a California based consulting company decided that the city had real, serious financial issues.

City leaders were more hard pressed to order this latest review after two embarrassing disclosures were announced. For one, in July of 2008, the city failed to perform an industry standard procedure, contributing to a $4.5 Million shortfall. Second, the city discovered overpayments to more than 20 former employees; these were severance payments that cost the city about $28,000. Read the rest of this entry »