and Terminal Illness cover. At RTP we have in addition saved many people money by assessing their existing cover- often to find that we can arrange the exact same cover at a smaller overall cost. Other types of Term assurance are available and could be more appropriate for your needs. Therefore if you wish to enquire about new or additional cover or quite simply enquire to see if you have a good deal on your present insurance contact one of our advisers who will arrange a quick quotation for you.


Income Protection

As the name suggests Long Term Income Protection will payout if you are unable to work due to accident or sickness and therefore this type of plan is very important as its main purpose is to help protect your standard of living throughout those difficult periods
.
It works quite simply by you choosing at the outset how long you would like to defer payment either following an accident or sickness, before the plan starts to pay out. Normally there is a 4, 13, 26 or a 52 week period, after which time the plan will continue to pay you either until your return to work, (possibly not even your original occupation) or the end of the plan term whichever is the earlier. There is no limit to the number of claims that you may have with this type of plan.
Most plans pay out up to 50-60% of your income tax-free, and can continue normally up to the age of 60. Many employers may pay full earnings for up to 6 months and then maybe half pay for 6 months but after that you would have to rely on Statutory Sick Pay (SSP). In this event would you be able to maintain your standard of living and pay all your bills. With most schemes adopted by employers, the cover may only last for a 12month period in total.
The position is made worse, when an employer does not pay any sick pay benefits and you have to rely on SSP at the outset and this could mean that any savings that you have will probably be eroded
With RTP being independent and having access to all provider companies it means that you will benefit from having the most cost effective cover to suit your requirements

Don’t wait until it happens before you consider the consequences. Contact RTP for more information, where our qualified advisers will be only too happy to help you organise the protection that you need.


Critical Illness

What are the chances of you being affected with a serious Critical Illness before you retire?

Answer - about 1 in 3 (source Association of British Insurers) 

In some cases being affected by a major illness for example a stroke, cancer, or heart attack etc, can have serious financial implications, although you may recover and live for many years thereafter. However as you are aware most life cover plans do not include this benefit. Therefore you would have to die or at least be diagnosed to be in the last 12 months of your life before the plan would pay a sum of money to you or your family
Medical history tells us that, most people do not simply drop down dead, without first suffering from quite often a prolonged period of illness, thereby often preventing them from working. If this occurs then normal bills such as mortgage and other creditors still have to be paid, not to mention possible medical costs and other essential day-to-day living expenses
Having a Critical Illness Policy in place at least means that should you unfortunately be diagnosed with a major specified critical illness, then at least you do not have the worry of how you continue to pay off your mortgage or debts and at least be able to hopefully fully recover without the stress of worrying about how debts can be repaid
For an informal discussion contact RTP where we will fully assess your requirements.


Funeral Plans

Even the most simple funeral is not cheap, but what if you have had health problems or you have been turned down for life cover, or even had to pay more for only basic cover then you might benefit from this type of cover
The cover itself is for people between the ages of 50- 75 and is on a Traditional With-Profits, Whole of Life basis, which means that as long as the premiums are maintained for at least two years then at some time in the future it will pay out the sum assured. However when early death unfortunately occurs within the first two years by natural causes then at least your premiums will be refunded to your estate
The benefit of having a Traditional With-Profits plan is that regular bonuses are added to the policy, and once added they cannot be taken away therefore increasing its value and potentially keeping pace with inflation over the years
After the first two years, should early death occur then the sum assured plus any bonuses are paid to your chosen nominee, which may avoid the necessity of these proceeds having to go through Probate and the funds therefore can be released very quickly.
So its heads you win and tails you cannot lose and RTP can show you the companies that can arrange this cover. All you have to do is to contact us to arrange the cover that you and your family require.


Long Term Care

Most people acknowledge that one of their greatest concerns is in the area of Long Term Care, and the prospect of how they are going to pay for it. For many the prospect of selling their home to have to pay for the costs is a very real one with over 40,000 homes in the UK having to be sold as a direct result of Long Term care situations.
The fact remains that anyone with savings assets assessed by a means test, of over £18,000 inclusive of property will not receive any help from the Local Authority.
The frightening thing is that the costs of residential care can range from between £15000 to -£40000pa depending on the locality and the type of care required. The only time that a residential home is discounted from the means test is when there is another person living in it such as a spouse. However when the spouse dies, or has to enter a care home themselves, the Local Authority then proceed to place a charge on the property and any debts or costs are taken from the proceeds of the house value.
Costs for personal care in the home are also not cheap as these can be around £8-£15 per hour
Our own experience informs us that the vast majority of people intend that their property and other assets are passed to their children and that they wish to retain their own dignity and independence for as long as they can without the need to sell their houses or liquidate their estates, which they have taken a lifetime to build.
Many people have tried in the past to transfer the ownership of their property and capital amounts to their children with the objective of not having the values incorporated into their means test evaluation. However if a Local Authority becomes aware that assets have been transferred with the avoidance of Long term Care costs, then they normally take actions to recoup the assets either from the person involved or the beneficiary who received these assets. There is also no time limit on such actions.

So just what can a person do to help themselves?

There are two main ways that this can be achieved, one is by buying a product in advance of immediate long-term care becoming an issue, either by regular, or single premiums, which are invested within an investment fund.
The second is by placing a capital amount into a product such as an annuity or other available scheme, where the income can help support Long Term Care costs. These funds could then be paid to the care provider and could be fully or partially tax-free.
Basically the choices are simple and straightforward, either take early action, or tackle the problem when it occurs. The consequences of the latter are that selling your home might be the only solution left open to you, either with, or without your consent should not delay too long.

We can help find an affordable, alternative solutions, to a potential problem either for Long Term Care fees now, or in the future. Contact RTP today for a friendly discussion.
The content above does not constitute investment advice or other advice within any respect and is based on current UK Law, Inland Revenue practices along with Local Authority procedures which are all subject to change, all of which may change constantly.