With a new arrival comes new responsibilities and financial commitments.
 
As a new parent you may well have gone down to a single salary or be relying on maternity pay. And the cost of parenthood will mean money has probably never been tighter.
 
It is not a thought any of us want to think about at this time of joy, but what would happen if you died suddenly? How would your family cope financially?
 

• Could the other parent afford the mortgage or rent?
• Would they have to depend on costly childcare?
• Would debts and loans become overwhelming?
• Would any savings get eaten up?
• Would the family home be at risk?
• And if you’re a single parent, could you leave your child’s guardian the money they’d need to raise the?

That’s why your new family needs you to have Life insurance. It not only protects their home but also the life you’d hoped to give them.
 
And protecting your family is probably cheaper than you think.
 
For example
€200,000 worth of Life Cover for 30 years could cost you as little as €13.60 per month*
 
We all hope we never have to face this scenario. But we would be delighted to talk to you about how we can put cover in place, to ensure you have the peace of mind knowing that should it ever happen, your family will be taken care of financially.
 
 
*Term Assurance for a 30-year-old non-smoker. Valid as at 22/03/2023

Household deposits in Ireland stood at €135bn at the end of September 2021. This leaves us scratching our heads a bit… This money is earning no interest, in some cases negative interest rates are applied and the value of this money is falling as inflation reappears in the Irish economy. Money sitting in a bank account is making people poorer. So why are deposits at record levels?

There’s no doubt that some people are completely risk averse and see deposits as risk free. Yes they are guaranteed up to €100,000 in each institution, but they are also guaranteed to make you poorer in the current zero interest environment with inflation gathering pace. Other people may have had poor experiences with investments before the financial crash, others may like to know they can access their cash at the drop of a hat. For others, it’s down to inertia – the money’s fine in the bank and it’s too much hassle to move it (tip: it’s not difficult at all). We recognise some of these reasons for holding cash, but surely there has to be a better way?

Some money on deposit often makes sense
There’s no doubt that an emergency fund that is immediately accessible in a case of crisis is a very valuable asset. Deposits can make sense here, or indeed if you have a very short time horizon before using the money. But these reasons often don’t require placing all of your money on deposit where it will earn zero or negative interest rates.

Inflation is the enemy for deposit holders today
Inflation was forecasted at 1.5% - 2% for 2021 and the same again for 2022. This is the silent killer for deposit holders, reducing their purchasing power and making them poorer as their money sits on deposit earning no interest.

We always come back to diversification
When we advise people regarding their assets, we always come back to diversification and not having all your eggs in one basket. Deposits play a role in most investment strategies, but so potentially do other asset classes such as property, equities, bonds etc.
A carefully crafted investment strategy considers your time horizon, your appetite and capacity for risk, and the broad range of asset classes available to you. The goal is to create a strategy that will enable you to achieve your investment objectives, while living within your stated risk parameters.

Get your money working for you
So what do you do, because no-one wants their wealth to just dwindle away? We think that you start by deciding what you want your money to do, what your actual objectives are. When you’re clear about these, have a chat with us. We’ll help you to clarify your timeframes and your attitude to risk. Then we can come up with a plan to help you achieve those objectives. The plan may well entail some of your money remaining on deposit. However, going forwards your assets will be aligned with achieving your own stated objectives. This beats watching your wealth drain away in the bank. 

If you’ve got a death in service benefit through your employer, you may be thinking you do not need life insurance as well. 

The level of cover set under your death in service benefit is determined by your employer and so you may want to consider whether this amount would be enough to support your loved ones should anything happen to you. Would the lump sum provided by your employer’s scheme be enough to cover debts and maintain your family’s lifestyle?

What if you left your current employment, to change jobs or retire? You no longer have that death in service benefit in place once you leave your job. While you could take out life insurance after leaving a job, it is important remember that premiums rise with age.

When getting a mortgage, it is a requirement that you have life cover in place to cover this loan and you will not have the option so assign your death in service benefit to your mortgage as circumstances can change and the term of your death in service is not guaranteed and the amount of your benefit may not cover the amount of your loan.

Therefore, it is important to take out additional life assurance to have consistent cover in place regardless of the changes that occur in your career. It is also beneficial to have this cover in place early as you can decide the level of cover that is sufficient, you can avail of lower premiums, and it can be assigned to a mortgage if required.
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You can buy life insurance anytime and keep it whether you’re working or not.