AN OMBUD FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES SECTOR Back on the agenda is the Governments proposed “twin peaks” approach to regulating the financial services industry. The proposal is a single statutory ombuds office in line with the government’s policy document “A safer financial sector to service SA better”. It has been confirmed that this has been commissioned [...]
Your Month by Month PlannerLet this be the year to sort out anything to do with money by using a month by month planner. January• At the beginning of any year, make this the perfect time to get your paperwork and finances organized.February• February is the end of the financial tax year; let this be the year [...]
Following Your Children Overseas Will Affect Your Pension Fund After Retiring Your children have grown and flown the coop, and have decided to settle and raise their families overseas, and you have to decide what to do with the rest of your time; do you follow your children, but what are the repercussions and how [...]
Much of the economy in SA depends on the small to medium-sized businesses that have sprung up due to the fact that times are tough; people are finding themselves out of jobs in the formal market, hence the birth of many small to medium enterprises. Many people run businesses from home, and feel that they [...]
AN OMBUD FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES SECTOR
Back on the agenda is the Governments proposed “twin peaks” approach to regulating the financial services industry. The proposal is a single statutory ombuds office in line with the government’s policy document “A safer financial sector to service SA better”. It has been confirmed that this has been commissioned by the National Treasury. This is not the first time the government has considered creating such a body; it attempted to do so in 2003 and was met with dogged resistance by most of the financial services industry who wanted to retain the status quo.
Currently there are a number of dispute resolution structures in place, i.e.
• Pension Funds Adjudicator
• Ombud for financial service providers
• Credit ombud
• Ombudsmen for long-term and short-term insurance
• Ombudsman for banking services
Both the statutory and non-statutory dispute resolution offices are supposed to hand down decisions that are based on ethical considerations and not only the strict letter of the law. There is no evidence on the table to suggest that consumers would be better served by a single complaints structure. Cas Coovadia, managing director of the Banking Association says the industry is not in favour of a single statutory ombud’s office; they cannot fathom the rationale behind such a concept since the various ombuds have performed very well to the benefit of consumers and in promoting sustainable sectors. These voluntary ombuds are funded by the sectors, while a statutory single ombud would have to be funded from the fiscus which would be a waste of taxpayers’ money.
The government in its twin peaks policy document says “international best practice requires the financial sector to provide consumers with speedy and affordable redress when resolving disputes”. The paper also states that “the SA financial services sector is characterized by high and opaque fees and, in some cases, the unfair treatment of customers”.
Your Month by Month Planner
Let this be the year to sort out anything to do with money by using a month by month planner.
January
• At the beginning of any year, make this the perfect time to get your paperwork and finances organized.
February
• February is the end of the financial tax year; let this be the year you get all your taxes in order and ensure that you are getting all the benefits due to you.
March
• March is a good month to draw up an accurate budget.
• Essentials have to be paid first.
• Start saving this year.
• The best way to save is to organise a debit order that will take a fixed amount off your salary every month.
• Budget for luxury items only after the essentials are paid off.
• When drawing up a budget remember that spending more than you earn will only get you into hot water.
April
• Consolidate debts in April
• Take out a second bond or loan to consolidate your debts; this way you will only pay one lot of interest.
• Something that should be taken into account is that the interest rate of the loan or the bond to consolidate these debts should be lower than that of the debts you are consolidating.
May
• Revisit your long-term insurance.
June
• Revisit any and all investments you have; these include taking an in-depth look and ensuring that you will get the best returns on your investments.
July
• Update your will, and if you do have dependents this is of paramount importance.
August
• Your children will hopefully go onto university after they have completed school; if you have not provided for them in this regard, then taking a long and hard look at how this can be done is essential.
September
• Plan for the end of year festivities; take a long and hard look to see where you can cut a few corners on your budget in order to make provision for those extras.
October, November and December
• Prepare in advance for the shock of January after the long festive period.
With this savvy financial guide you won’t have any more sleepless nights.
Your children have grown and flown the coop, and have decided to settle and raise their families overseas, and you have to decide what to do with the rest of your time; do you follow your children, but what are the repercussions and how would that affect the nest egg you so carefully worked towards and put aside; all that hard-earned money for your golden years. For example, a retirement fund cannot be transferred to a fund in New Zealand. The funds have to be released here first, with taxes paid on these funds. All about Pension Funds in SA So, if a member decides to immigrate then what steps can that person take to overcome the situation? If the pension fund member would like to resign from the pension fund prior to retirement, and if the pension fund is agreeable, the money can be transferred to another fund or a preservation fund in SA without it being taxed.
Following Your Children Overseas Will Affect Your Pension Fund After Retiring
• Only one third of a person’s retirement fund is paid out in a lump sum when an individual retires.
• The balance has to be utilised for a monthly income, or a pension.
• The third that is paid out in cash is taxed by SARS.
• If the individual has never received any retirement reimbursements, then the first R315 000 won’t be taxed.
• The balance of the paid out amount will be taxed as any other monthly income would be.
• The remainder of the money that is invested is not allowed to be transferred to a new offshore fund.
• This is not permitted by SA law.
• This is also prohibited by many SA pension funds.
• The third that is paid in cash is first taxed before he can take it overseas.
• The balance will be paid out in the foreign country.
• This will form a portion of the total amount in foreign currency allowed for immigrants.
• The total amount is R4 million for single individuals.
• For families it amounts to R8 million.
• Take note that the income that is earned in SA from the rest of the investment will be paid out, without any limits, in the foreign country, but only once the amount has been taxed in SA.
Much of the economy in SA depends on the small to medium-sized businesses that have sprung up due to the fact that times are tough; people are finding themselves out of jobs in the formal market, hence the birth of many small to medium enterprises. Many people run businesses from home, and feel that they are adequately covered should their equipment get stolen or damaged, but this is seldom the case. Taking out enough cover under the umbrella of office insurance will ensure that you are adequately covered should your very important equipment need to be replaced.
When you broach this with your insurance broker, you will need to give your office insurance broker the necessary information so that your individual specified items will then be correctly listed on your insurance schedule.
When covering individual electronic equipment
Without this important information, your insurance company would not be able to list these items on your insurance schedule.
Your PC is usually covered under Household Contents if you are working from home, therefore individual office insurance would not be necessary if this is the case. The cover would then include provision for damage through fire, explosions, storms, theft, lightning, earthquakes and explosions.
Certain insurance companies will even go so far as to cover the software, but this has to be specified separately right from the outset, and proof of software costs would be required.
Not all power surges and incidental damages are covered by all insurance brokers; this cover has to be specified separately and will certainly push up the costs of your premiums.
If you need cover for the office, ensure that your office insurance is sufficient in order to protect your livelihood against any and all eventualities; consult your broker to find out more about what needs to be specified right from the outset.
These days there aren’t many people who haven’t found themselves at least a little bit in debt. The current economic downturn and hangover from the credit crisis has meant that there are a great many families currently struggling to get rid of debts they built up when credit was free flowing and times were good. However clearing debts is not always easy, regardless of your intentions. The following article outlines some suggestions as to how to get your debts under control:
Firstly, make sure you talk over your financial situation with either a friend, family or someone who can counsel you on debt. People who have been in your situation may be able to offer some tips on how they managed and what they did to get their debts under control.
Once you have done this it is time to get a full picture of the state of your finances and then an idea of what you owe and what you can afford to pay off each and every month. Set yourself a budget to pay all your monthly outgoings and to control your spending, and include in that budget your new repayment schedule.
Always make sure you cover the minimum payments at a bare minimum as this will keep your interest rates lower, avoid punitive charges and keep your credit score respectable. If possible however, try and clear more than the minimum each month as this will help you to clear the debts much more quickly.
Where possible, try and find a balance transfer deal to move all of your debts into one low interest lump sum. If you have credit card debts try to move them over to zero percent interest special offers.
Finally, try and build up an emergency fund – just a small donation every week from your salary – even $20 – is enough to cover you should something go wrong one month.
Follow these suggestions and stick to your budget and you will soon see those debts rapidly clearing.
Alex is a financial writer and blogger. He writes about everything from credit cards to mortgages to tax reduction.
Our lives are all filled with busyness, therefore it is not surprising that our passports expire or that our licenses expire, too. We used to receive a renewal notice to renew our car license, but many of us no longer receive this warning, making this a huge problem when we find ourselves on the wrong side of the law. Chances are you will only discover that your passport has expired when you most need it, too, and when it is too late, and chances are you will not have enough time to take out of your frenetic day to renew your passport, standing in a lengthy queue; sometimes it could up a good portion of the day; time you simply cannot afford to waste!
Don’t find yourself stranded when you win that exquisite travel prize, or if you are in need of a passport for an emergency or business trip.
Always ensure that your passport is well up to date, and if it is not, decide to have that sorted out immediately.
It is year end and most of us are desperately trying our best to wind down for our annual break for the Christmas year end holiday period. Don’t be caught without your documentation being up to the minute; but don’t despair either. Someone might have been generous and offered you time share in Mozambique or you might find a lovely chalet on the banks of Lake Malawi.
Dontq will assist by standing in the long, unpleasant queues on your behalf. This time you will not have any excuses not to have your passport right up to speed. To get immediate relief from standing in long queues and to have your passport renewed no later than today simply contact us to find out how easily this can be done, and you won’t have to take time out from work or the day off varsity to renew any important documentation.
It is an instrument that aids in
the observation of remote objects by collecting electromagnetic
radiation. Telescopes originated when scientists discovered the
properties of light to deviate from its original path as it passes from
one medium to another, also known as refraction. This ability of a lens
to redirect light to a desired point is what lies behind the basic
telescopic invention. Scientists are known to have used lenses with
variable diameters and focal lengths to achieve desired visuals
magnification of objects in the universe. And there are different celestron telescopes like the refracting telescopes which use different lenses. As
the name suggests, it makes use of refractive properties of light and
is used for terrestrial and astronomical screening. In refraction, the
parallel rays of light are passed through a convex lens that refracts
and converges at a focus. The image at the focus is then observed using
small magnifying lenses called the eyepiece. Reflecting telescopes are
made using mirrors and lenses. It uses the reflective properties of
light which is helpful for astronomical viewing. In this case, we use
the reflective property of light rays that converge parallel rays of
light at the center using a concave reflector/mirror that is magnified
using an eyepiece lens. Once the light gets focused at the prime focus,
the image here is carried to a convenient location for observation using
various systems of auxiliary mirrors and lenses.
These telescopes do not use lens or
optical device. Radio telescope makes use of radio signals from
different sources in the universe. Radio Telescopes help us detect and
map waves beyond visible light, which is just a small part of the
Electromagnetic spectrum. Radio Telescopes also follow the same
principle of converging vast range of radio frequency to a point and
then using this data to map the sources and composition of such signals.
Now that you know what it is and if
you feel that it is interesting then you can go out and give it a try
and buy it and check out the wonders of the sky and who knows you might
discover something out of the ordinary.
<
If you are in the market for car insurance and drive a specific make of vehicle, Carandhome Car Insurance will be able to guide and assist in finding the perfect insurance to suit any type of vehicle that you drive.
So you drive a Merc, and want the kind of insurance that will cover your investment; always ensure that you protect your investment with excellent cover. Merc insurance from Carandhome Insurance covers commercial vehicles and also personal Mercedes Benz vehicles driven by individuals. This insurance policy is available to the owners of all new cars as well as persons who already own Mercedes Benz cars and will provide comprehensive car cover and also a full range of benefits that will cover both the car and also the driver. Other products that are on offer are home and contents cover.
When you take out Mercedes Benz comprehensive cover through Carandhome Car Insurance you will be covered for accidental damage, car theft, third party insurance, personal accident cover, and lock and key insurance for the replacement of locks and keys. Also covered is emergency accommodation as well as car rental. The cover guarantees all repairs that are done on the vehicle at approved MBX-SA manufacturer with authentic Mercedes Benz parts, and best of all this cover will pay legal liability costs up to an amount of 5 million Rand.
There are a couple of benefits that will only apply to individual clients, though, and these include your vehicle being written off, stolen or hijacked where the vehicle will be paid out at the market value of the car at time of loss, but taking depreciation into account.
Carandhomeinsurance Car Insurance covers all types of vehicles and terms and conditions will apply to the car you drive and your car of choice. All you need to do is to fill out an application form with your details and we will come back to you with the relevant information pertaining to the vehicle that you drive.
I really like sports activities, thus I was incredibly pleased to uncover about bet.co.za for sports betting.
They’re a sports gambling site which has the top customer care that I have ever seen and are proficient in this industry sector. They respond to queries quickly and also, they certainly do not waste any moment paying out winnings – which is one of the key reasons to set sports bets – to win – so whenever the company ensures that you cash in on your takings just on time, it’s actually a really big addition for them in my books.
When I was looking at this website, I saw many ways that will help beginner bettors master sports betting. Once a particular person browses this website, they don’t just leave with more passion for sports wagering, but additional education as well.
The site bet.co.za has got an attractive mobile phone highlight allowing you sports bettors to quickly bet from their particular mobiles while they commonly are not in front of their Personal computers. This is certainly an excellent attribute that works adequately with all mobile phones with internet characteristics. This permits me to gamble from just about any location! Wagers can additionally be placed on live games; I believed this function was quite awesome as well. When the rugby game was being broadcast on TV, I decided to add a bet on my cell phone and I surprisingly won!
Their website is absolutely well presented, the gambles are straightforward to make and for the first-timers – there’s a face book betting game that is a look-alike of the genuine thing, so you can actually even acquire some training prior to you attempt adding real money. You just type into your face book search bar “Fantasy Sports betting” and you’ll get it.
Theme by ThemeZee.com