Don’t ring the death knell for defined-benefit pensions just yet. A new effort is under way to rehabilitate these plans.
For workers struggling to manage their 401(k)s, employers’ decades-long shift away from traditional, professionally managed pensions seems relentless — and potentially disastrous. But now, one plan administrator is bucking the trend, backing away from a 401(k) that wasn’t working for participants and adopting a new type of defined-benefit plan designed to reduce risks for both employers and workers.
At the start of this year, roughly 4,500 Boston-area hospitality workers belonging to the Unite Here Local 26 union became participants in a new defined-benefit pension plan.
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Football manager Sam Allardyce is reportedly pursuing agent Peter Harrison over a £370,000 debt owed to the former Newcastle United boss.
The debt with Allardyce, who has recently been appointed the new manager of West Ham United, dates back to a deal in 2005. The football boss granted a loan to Harrison and one of his high-profile clients of the time, Blackburn Rovers defender Lucas Neill, in order to fund a property deal in Gateshead. The loan was used to develop a run-down property called Laverick Hall Farm into fourteen homes, but the work was never completed and the site remains derelict.
Allardyce has said that he loaned the six-figure sum in good faith, fully believing it would be paid back with interest as the three parties had agreed.
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Could this article save you some money at the gas pump? It just might. And so here we go, our latest weekly look at credit cards appearing in the news.
Fighting the high cost of gas
The New York Times’ Bucks blog recently published an article about credit cards that offer cash back rewards to consumers pumping gas. As blogger Ann Carrns observed, “With gas prices edging toward an average of $4 gallon, it may be time to consider a credit card that gives you cash back rewards at the pump.”
The article mentioned several gas rebate cards including the Chase Freedom Visa, which gives you 5 percent cash back on up to $1,500 in gas purchases through the end of March and again from July to September.
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What makes a business successful, you might ask? The answer is clear. Money. And when the going gets tough, businesses without invoicing and any system to collect debt tend to feel the pressure. It is a simple fact that any business that provides credit to its customers must send them a bill as soon as it is possible and have ways to ensure that accounts are collected on time.
First and foremost, any business needs a systematic way to ensure that its invoices are paid within its trading terms. This includes a record that needs to be signed, setting out the trading terms. These include when the company will invoice, when payment must be made, and what the repercussions of not paying an account by the deadline will be. Read full post…
Surely youve heard it before: You need an emergency fund.
The question is whether youve acted on that advice. About one-third of Americans havent and, as a result, dont have sufficient savings to pay for unexpected expenses, according to a recent survey by the Consumer Federation of America and American Savings Education Council.
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If you dont have an emergency fund and are hit by any of the unforeseen events listed below, youll be forced to rely on credit cards, take out a loan or tap your retirement account. This could leave you drowning in debt or without enough money to fund your retirement.
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