Older home-owners are being given more borrowing options, as a building society launches a new range of retirement interest-only mortgages. Leeds Building Society said it is entering the market, with the new deals initially being made available through brokers. Interest-only mortgages allow people to make regular interest payments on a loan, without paying off the loan itself – but the capital must be eventually paid off. Leeds’ new mortgages are being offered to borrowers aged 55 to 80. https://uk.yahoo.com/finance/news/interest-only-mortgages-lasting-retirement-230100829.html

After 25 years with my employer, a large UK financial business, I am being made redundant at the age of 51 as they are closing my office. They offered me Voluntary Redundancy with enhanced terms on the basis I signed an agreement giving up my right to an undiscounted pension which may be otherwise payable on my redundancy. (Due to my length of service, I still have a final salary pension). I have not been given a reason why I have had to sign this other than 'it's policy'. I was hoping to take Early Retirement but the minimum pension age is 55 now. None of my other colleagues have been given this agreement as far as I know but it could be they are either no longer in the final salary scheme or are over 55. I wondered of anyone had thoughts on :- a) Should I have been offered Independent Legal Advice as I have been given an agreement to sign? b) The implications if I don't sign the agreement - could they make me take another job elsewhere? c) Even though they are not offering me Early Retirement, could there be this option open in view of the wording the agreement? Any thoughts on this would be welcome.

Hi, I am looking for any help in this situation my wife finds herself in please. First my wife has worked for a local authority for nearly 38yrs, part of this period she was not included in the pension fund due to her working part time therefore she does not qualify under the 85 year rule, she is 58yrs. Last year my wife fell at work breaking her femur requiring a rod implant then she fell in hospital (I know), this time she broke wrist badly requiring an op and manipulation. She has been of work for a year and as cook in a unit will not be able work there for a long time if ever. She applied for ill health retirement at any level as this would be more than the reduced early retirement she would be entitled to. I have had to retire due to health issues and income is very tight. My wife was put through the Occupational Health system and it appears that these registered doctors will not sign of anyone(this is one of my queries has anyone been successful?), she did appeal no success. I have looked at these rules and it appears though it is helpful for a occ. hlth. doctor to sign agreement it is not required as the final decision should be with the Authority and Human Resources, but the Authorities use this lack of signature to consent to any retirement. Union, tried them they say appeal but in my opinion they have been destroyed and struggle to exsist. I would like to know if any has been successful in getting ill health retirement and has anyone any appeal. Many thanks

I am having to retire soon due to a back injury at work. I am a hca community nurse. I am 55yrs and was hoping to work until 66 which would be my government retirement age. I have permanent damage to my spine, and no consultant will operate. I have lost my driving licence too as l have foot drop. I will hopefully receive a ill health retirement pension. However, l am going to have a serious loss of wages here as my pension will not meet what l used to earn. Can l claim compensation ? I dare not enlist a solicitor as that would cost thousands and sadly not in the union as they were no help at all once upon a time. Having not been in this situation before, l would appreciate help.My condition was brought on from years and years of kneeling on the floor and sitting under tables to get to patients legs etc! Many thanks.

Fees cut for registering a power of attorney The cost of registering a lasting power of attorney (LPA) has been reduced from £130 to £110, the government has announced.

Does anyone know how to claim Medical Retirement?

Can anyone help? I am very lucky in that whilst browsing the news recently I saw about 2015 pension changes and that from next April (I will be 58) I can take any pension as a lump sum and not buy an annuity unless I want to. I had forgotten all about some pensions I started in the 1970's and have had a good dig around and am very happy that I have a 'forgotten'; pension pot of over £90,000 in two RAC's. I do not need to generate an income for my old age as I have some property investments which provide an adequate living. My questions are Will I be able to do what I think I can do even though RACs were originally set to a retirement age of 60? From what I've seen 25% of any pot is tax free and the balance is at marginal tax rate - mine is currently 20% - but let's say my income at present is £25000, if I took EVERYTHING out at once then I could get £22500 tax free and pay 20% tax on the £67500? Or would I need to draw it out bit by bit to keep it under the 40% tax rate in any one year? I'm sure these questions will bring up others I haven't considered, and hopefully this is in the correct part of the site, if not, mods please move! Thanks in advance for all help. Bob

Question: How many days in a week? Answer: 6 Saturdays, 1 Sunday Question: When is a retiree's bedtime? Answer: Two hours after he falls asleep on the couch. Question: How many retirees to change a light bulb? Answer: Only one, but it might take all day. Question: What's the biggest gripe of retirees? Answer: There is not enough time to get everything done. Question: Why don't retirees mind being called Seniors? Answer: The term comes with a 10% discount. Question: Among retirees, what is considered formal attire? Answer: Lace-up shoes. Question: Why do retirees count pennies? Answer: They are the only ones who have the time. Question: What is the common term for someone who enjoys work and refuses to retire? Answer: NUTS Question: Why are retirees so slow to clean out the basement, attic or garage? Answer: They know that as soon as they do, one of their adult kids will want to store stuff there. Question: What do retirees call a long lunch? Answer: Normal . Question: What is the best way to describe retirement? Answer: The never ending Coffee Break. Question: What's the biggest advantage of going back to school as a retiree? Answer: If you cut classes, no one calls your parents. Question: Why does a retiree often say he doesn't miss work, but misses the people he used to work with? Answer: He is too polite to tell the whole truth Question: What do retirees do all week? Answer: Monday through Friday: nothing. Saturday & Sunday, they rest.

Hi, I'm looking for some advice on IHR. I've worked for my employer for 6 and a half years. In November I was involved in a motorbike accident that wasn't my fault. At the time of the accident I discolated my shoulder,snapped 3 of my rotator cuffs from the bone,moved my bicep and bicep tendon and was told later by the surgeon that I also damaged a bunch of tendons in my shoulder. Ive been off work since the accident,as I lost the use of my shoulder and could only lift my arm about 2 inches from hanging down at my side. Over the months I've been going through physio an MRI then finally surgery. After the operation the surgeon told me,with the amount of damage done to my shoulder I should never have been left so long to get operated on. And because of this my rotator cuffs had shriveled up so much he couldn't reconect them the normal way,he had to try a fairly new procedure and attach the rotator cuffs to the bone with cadaver skin. To cut a long storey short,the operation was 7 weeks ago,had my arm imobilised,now started physio again,still can't use or move my arm.Been told I might not get it back. I asked the surgeon if he thought I'd be able to go back to my job again at some point,to which he said he thinks I'll struggle,and didn't seem to have much hope at all. My work offered me IHR, a years wage, which I said no to.Then at the next meeting I had with my boss,he was going through the options for me and mentioned the IHR again,but this time it was three quarters of a year wages, and OH was going to phone me to assess my condition. I don't know what to do with this,When I asked the surgeon for his opinion about going back to work,it wasn't a yes I will be able to but there again it wasn't a no. When HO called, I answered all there questions without lying about anything but at the same time, I didn't volinteer any information about the details of my injury or operation,as far as they're concerned,accident,operation,heal back to work. So they advised my work that I'm not in the postion for IHR and I'll be back at some point. My question are, with me trying to hang on to my job and not declaring everything, if in 6 weeks or whatever down the line it turns out I'm not getting my arm back and I can't work will I be offered a IHR payment again? will the amount be the same? My employer gives it's employees 6 months full pay then 6 months half pay when on the sick, I'm at the end of the full pay, If I get to a point where I've only got a month or so left of half pay will any offers made by them be less, cause they've only got a month or so left to pay me before they've no more wages obligation? Should I tell the work/HO everything about my injury and risk lossing my job just now,even when the surgeon didn't give me a definate answer. I had more questions but I've wrote so much I can't remember what they where other than, If my arm gets better but not great and my employer offers me some other position in the company,will it be in the same office I'm in, or can they offer me a position anywhere and if doesn't suit for whatever reason just fire me. Any advice on this or anything I might have missed reguarding IHR would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Fangy.

I have my dreaded ESA tribunal next week. today I have had a letter from dwp which informs me that due to age change I will receive state pension on 3rd January. I cannot see that anyone would employ me given that I have been ill since 1997 and given that I am so close to retirement. has anyone got any experience of being in this situation and will it be taken into account at the tribunal?

Hi I really need some help my late mother's retiremet plan A couple of weeks ago i heard that loads of money was held in unclaimed pensions so i decided to make an enguiry to the Pension Tracking service. They came back and said that they had a record so i wrote off to the company. i recieved a reply from the company saying they did not hold a record of her but JPMC Retirement Plan did. I contaced them last week and the chap on the phone said that they did have a record of my mother's death oin 1993 and said he would send out some forms and mentioned birth certs. This morning i recieved a letter from Mercers (the administrator) saying that all funds that were due would have been paid at this time and because my mum did not leave a surviving spouse there were no further benefits payable. This was signed by someone - For Mercer Limited, administrator acting on behalf of the Trustee of the JPMC UK Retirement Plan This sounds to be as if this plan was held in Trusts and if this is the case would my mum not have had to nominate beneficiaries and if so do they not have to pay out to me ? As i say i am not sure about any of this and really need to know what my next step shoul be? any comments would be appreciated thanks

Hi I have just been awarded partial ill health retirement backdated to end August 2013. I have now received a letter saying my employment will be terminated from the same date and I would receive any outstanding holiday pay.When I queried why I would not receive any notice pay and why there was no notification of my contract being terminated I was told that as I had requested to be considered for ill health retirement, I had effectively handed in my notice and would not be entitled to notice pay. I have been with this employer for 21 years. I would appreciate feedback as I have lost trust in my employer. If it's right then that's ok but I'm not convinced. Thanks

I have a question, what is the grounds for you to be medically retired on the grounds of ill health. I am currently employed however I have a medical condition called sacroiliac joint injury of which the characteristics are: Pain on the right of my lower back. The pain ranges from an ache to a sharp pain which restricts my movement to the point where I cannot leave the house. If I leave the house, I walk for around 5 mins then experience pain in my back and legs and struggle to return home. Experience difficulty turning over in bed, struggle to put on shoes and socks and sometime get pain when getting in and out of cars. Have stiffness in the lower back when getting up after sitting for long periods and when getting up from bed in the morning. Have difficulty climbing stairs and have been advised to avoid stairs and take the lift whenever possible. This condition have now become worse since coming back from holiday into the cold which was -2 degrees at the time. My symptoms was extreme pain in both legs and my feet however I managed to go to work for over a week. However I have now been off work since 13th December due to the extreme pain in my back and legs and have been told by my GP that it now appears that my condition has worsened and I have have a pinched nerve in my back which he feels has been exacerbated by the cold weather. Although I am feeling a bit better through taking three types of medication and trying to do some gentle exercise, I am fearful that my work place will take a negative view of yet another bout of sickness. I have been told that I have had 99 days sickness since I have been with the company and I have been there 20 months. However when I initally started I was off for 5 weeks due to being injured during training. (I also have a screw in my clavicle and was injured during physical training). I have injured my shoulder twice since being in work amounting to 6 weeks off. I have also been off with my back on two occasions lasting from one to two weeks, this is the third occasion. The other times have been colds and flu and sinusitus. (As I work in a private mental health hospital they discourage staff from coming in when they are unwell, however as we do not recieve company sick pay, many staff work whilst being sick)! My company have already been advised that my back and shoulder fall under the DDA 1996. I am concerned that my company may take the view that I am unable to work and consider dismissal due to my record of sickness or even feel that I should be medically retirement. What is the implications of this as I do not want to be medically retired or even loose my job as I am only 44. Any advice. :-(