Bill Posted February 13, 2013 Report Share Posted February 13, 2013 As usual, looks like I’m the odd one out again. When my time comes, I’d like to think that any wealth that I’ve managed to accumulate would go to ensuring that someone would be able to give my wife and myself a good standard of care in our final years. In an ideal world, the family would look after its own elderly parents, but to be honest, in today’s society I just can’t see my children giving up their careers to look after me. The last thing I’d want for them is having me becoming a burden on their lives. Aside from all that, I don’t believe that passing on material wealth is necessarily a good thing. My parents were poor and left me with a bit of old furniture and a council house (that the council promptly threw me out of) but it taught me much about how life works and the true value of things. I’ve told my two they're not going to get anything when I’m gone and if they want nice things, then they’re going to have to work hard to achieve it just like I did and I don’t think that’s altogether a bad thing. Bill 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asperity Posted February 13, 2013 Report Share Posted February 13, 2013 Quite right Bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inky pete Posted February 13, 2013 Report Share Posted February 13, 2013 It is very frustrating though to pay mega tax & insurance for what you perceive will be a better future for you & your family only to see your Utopia crumble into dust. Davy, it's only frustrating until you realise that NONE of the taxes or NI contributions you have made are for your own future benefit. It's all spent as fast (or faster) than it's paid in. The quality of life and care that each of us can look forward to in later life is dependent on just two things. How much money we can each salt away while we're able, and how much taxpayers in the future are willing to pay to care for us. Our own tax contributions are totally irrelevant to what our futures hold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
observer Posted February 13, 2013 Report Share Posted February 13, 2013 Quite right Bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazj Posted February 14, 2013 Report Share Posted February 14, 2013 Bill, I can understand your sentiments, however I am assuming that your kids are already out of school and have houses and jobs.... I have an 11 year old who I fear may never be able to find work or afford his own place the way things are going. I will leave him enough to be able to get the start in life that I never had because I do not think it is quite as easy to start a working life now (or even more so in 6 or 8 years time when my lad leaves school) When I left school, I finished on a Friday and started work on Monday.... got fed up with that job and left after 3 months. Started another job straight after... and did the same a few times before I found what I wanted to do.... try doing that now! and try saving your 10% deposits with student loan repayments.... You lot might be quite happy to use your hard earned wealth to pay for other peoples care when you end up in a home and let your kids fend for themselves.... personally I'd rather make sure mine don't have to start in life worrying about such things 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victor Posted February 14, 2013 Report Share Posted February 14, 2013 I'm going to sell my house, spend all the money and go and live with Dizzy !!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cleopatra Posted February 14, 2013 Report Share Posted February 14, 2013 Does Dizzy know that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
middlec Posted February 14, 2013 Report Share Posted February 14, 2013 Put your property into trust for your children. Do it in plenty of time, and the state cannot claim on it in later years for care services. There are many specialist solicitors who can arrange this. It's quite simple, not expensive to arrange, and doesn't affect your rights to your property at all whilst you are alive. A perfectly legal way of avoiding the state claiming from your property "asset" to pay for your care, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inky pete Posted February 14, 2013 Report Share Posted February 14, 2013 There are tax implications - both Income Tax liabilities upon the trustees, and Capital Gains Tax on the trusts assets - for properties held in trust. Each individual case would need to be looked at in detail by a specialist in the field before recommending this as the best course of action for anyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
middlec Posted February 14, 2013 Report Share Posted February 14, 2013 Absolutely. Of course I should have said that. But it is worth looking at, especially if you are in the lower to average property owner bracket. The more you're worth, I think the less likely the benefit will be from putting your home into trust! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Posted February 14, 2013 Report Share Posted February 14, 2013 Understand what you’re saying Baz and we all have to make the decision’s based on our own personal circumstances. I may well end up leaving the house to the kids but I’m sure as hell not going to tell them this so they can sit back and just wait for me to pop my clogs. The future needs people that can take on the difficult challenges that life throws at us but I feel that we’re at risk of creating a cotton wool wrapped society if we’re not careful. We’ve already seen postings on this very forum from the younger generation complaining about how people of our age had things so easy and how unfair they think the current system is. As I say, I’m probably on my own with this line of thinking but the way I see it is that I’m not going to be able to look after my kids forever and what I pass on to them is worth more than money can buy. It’s the same argument that some people use when talking about how we should preserve energy so that our children won’t suffer. Rubbish I say, keep yourself comfortable and let our children learn to adapt and innovate. Bill 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asperity Posted February 14, 2013 Report Share Posted February 14, 2013 I'm with you on this Bill. If I leave anything when I go, then it will be a bonus for the hordes that will have to divide the spoils between them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
middlec Posted February 14, 2013 Report Share Posted February 14, 2013 Best to spend it all whilst you're alive, and leave little or nothing to no-one. Wasn't it actor George Raft (who was broke in the last few years of his life) who said he spent most of his fortune on gambling, booze and wild women, and the rest he squandered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lt Kije Posted February 14, 2013 Report Share Posted February 14, 2013 Agree with Baz's last post 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asperity Posted February 14, 2013 Report Share Posted February 14, 2013 I should imagine it all depends on your personal circumstances. Whether you have any descendants to pass your chattels on to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davy51 Posted February 15, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2013 As Baz said ,it isn't easy to find any job these days & the ones that do come along are usually part time or for fixed term contracts so it is getting harder & harder for people to settle into a lifetime of work & accrue pensions & savings in order to pay for themselves in later life. Unless the government of the day can return some order to the lives of working people in this country & return some sanity to the benefits system & keep a lid on inflation by keeping a lid on essential prices then i fear the future for everyone will be bleak with even leaner times ahead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inky pete Posted February 15, 2013 Report Share Posted February 15, 2013 I don't know what country everyone else is living in, but here in the UK of the real world we have more people in permanent full-time employment than at any time in history. We have a minimum wage which guarantees a basic level of income in return for an individuals labours. We have the highest level of tax free allowances on income ever. And we have employers who are having to import staff from overseas - and pay out for English lessons etc. - because they can't get enough UK staff to fill their vacancies. The fact is that many UK youngsters think they're far too good to start work for minimum wage - because they have a "degree" in Media Studies from a "university" - and so they'd rather sit in their bedrooms moaning to their Facebook friends about the lack of jobs paying £30,000 a year for people with no relevant skills or experience, and how unfair it is after all the "work" they put into getting their worthless qualifications. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davy51 Posted February 15, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2013 But a lot of these jobs are agency based with no guarantee of work or no guaranteed weekly pay ,but the government are happy because people registered with agencies are off their figures.Maybe if we got a few bodies off benefit there wouldn't be a need for so much imported labour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lt Kije Posted February 15, 2013 Report Share Posted February 15, 2013 Inky, I dont think your on the same planet as everyone else Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inky pete Posted February 15, 2013 Report Share Posted February 15, 2013 Yes, quite a lot of the machine operators at the two factories where I most often work start off being employed via an agency. So what? They get slightly above minimum wage and a 40 hour week to start with, 33% uplift for working nights or weekends, paid holidays, overtime if they want it, training which makes them valuable to the company, sick pay, etc. etc. Anyone who turns up for shifts on time and actually works while they're there is guaranteed continuing employment. Anyone who shows aptitude or initiative is very likely to be taken on permanently, trained up to higher levels of competence and paid significantly more - all of the Key Operators, Machine Setters and Production Supervisors, and most of the Production Managers, started out originally as machine operators. But can we get any of the UK youngsters who are apparently so desperate for work to do it? No, most often the ones the Job Centre send for interview deliberately sabotage their own chances or get the job and then don't turn up for their shifts. And the ones who apply for vacancies off their own bat almost all turn their noses up at "only" £18,000 a year plus overtime for shift work. So my customers have to use Polish machine operators - many of whom have only marginally good English - but who at least are prepared to turn up for their shifts and work while they're there. This may only be my personal experience, but the situation is the same in BOTH of the two main factories - owned and operated by completely different companies - where my own company sends me to train machine operators and maintain machines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazj Posted February 15, 2013 Report Share Posted February 15, 2013 So my customers have to use Polish machine operators - many of whom have only marginally good English - but who at least are prepared to turn up for their shifts and work while they're there. I see you have fallen for the hype Inky that every English person doesn't want to work and won't get out of bed for less than 20 grand so we have to employ Poles to do the jobs instead..... utter nonsense.... in the last few months alone we have had Comet, most of BlockBusters and heaven knows how many other companies go bust and all throwing perfectly good, English speaking people onto the dole.... we do not need foreign workers to fill vacancies.... companies that take them on do so by and large because they will work for less money and work longer hours.... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lt Kije Posted February 15, 2013 Report Share Posted February 15, 2013 Well said Baz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolfie Posted February 15, 2013 Report Share Posted February 15, 2013 Regis and Supercuts hair salons pay their employees £5.25 an hour and I have no doubt that many restaurants pay their employees less than the minimum wage, all topped up by customer tips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazj Posted February 15, 2013 Report Share Posted February 15, 2013 If they do that Wolfie they are breaking the law.... HMRC have already taken places to court for including tips to top up their salaries... there is a way round it however and that is if the companies take those tips for the company and then use them to top up salaries to minimum wage levels..... There are always loopholes unfortunately Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asperity Posted February 15, 2013 Report Share Posted February 15, 2013 The Poles and Romanians employed by the company I work for actually get paid more than their British counterparts by dint of not paying income tax and NI. Go figure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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