| TheStar.com | Business | What you need to know about your pension
Suppose you have job offers from two employers that are very similar in terms of salary, working conditions and other priority items. Comparing the retirement plans might tilt the balance for you, especially if you don't plan to stay with either employer until retirement. Here are some questions to ask about a pension plan so you can make an informed decision. They're from a publication, "Your Pension Rights," by the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (www.fsco.ca), which regulates registered pension plans. Am I eligible to join the pension plan? When? Can I join if I work part-time? Do I have to join the plan? What type of plan do I belong to? Do I have to contribute to the plan? Can I contribute more if I want to? How much does my employer contribute? What happens if I leave my job before I retire? What is the normal retirement date under the plan? At what age can I retire early? Will my pension be reduced if I retire early? How is my pension calculated? Is it indexed to the cost of living? Will my benefits be reduced when I receive Canada Pension Plan benefits? What happens if my employer sells the business or goes out of business? Do I have a say in how the plan is administered? What is the financial position of the plan? Don't worry if you don't get answers right away.
Administering Pain
One thing that is almost always overlooked in assessing the value and the rewards of a 401(k) plan are the plan administrative fees that are charged to the participants. The largest enemies to your long-term savings through a 401(k) plan are excessive fees by the selected mutual funds. Another set of fees also is circling around your retirement funds, nibbling away at your savings and nearly invisible to the naked eye. These are the fees associated with running the 401(k) plan itself. Participants in 401(k) plans are currently not adequately informed about the fees associated with the day-to-day operational costs of running increasingly more complex plans. These fees include the costs of mailings and other record-keeping, telephone voice response systems, daily valuation services, educational seminars, retirement planning software -- and all the rest of the clutter.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT
The Athens centre's job is to help Greek consumers enjoy the full benefits of the EU's internal market. It is part of the so-called Euroguichet network of consumer advice offices across Europe. The Athens office is hosted by the Greek Consumer Institute (INKA) and jointly funded by the European Commission, the Central Bank of Greece and the development ministry. Information is available in both Greek and English. The centre is also open to EU citizens visiting Greece who feel they have been swindled, ripped off or bamboozled, and to people living in Greece who feel they have been scammed by businesses in other EU member states. The most common complaints involving purchases concern price hikes, faulty or defective products, inaccurate, misleading or deceiving advertisements and below-standard services as well as instances of exploitation.
Haggerty, MacKenzie star for McGill lacrosse
Unlike high school, when they played lacrosse during the spring season, Teagan Haggerty of Salem and Whitney MacKenzie of Hamilton have gotten used to playing their college lacrosse in the fall, due to the fact that spring comes so late in Canada.
Nevertheless, Haggerty and MacKenzie are coming off of outstanding seasons for McGill University in Montreal this past season.
Haggerty, a junior captain and goaltender, was selected as a Second Team All-Star for the Ontario University Athletic League. A third-year math major, she helped the Martlets finish the year 7-6-3, qualify for the playoffs and made 19 saves in a tough 7-5 loss to Western Ontario University in the playoff quarterfinals.
MacKenzie, who transferred into McGill from William Smith College in New York, contributed to the Martlets' offense as an attack wing.
January 2008
Paul's online supporters helped him raise almost $20 million last quarter, most of it online. But it looks like there might be a new champ in town. Or maybe he's just reclaiming his title. TechPresident reports that in the past two weeks, the Barack Obama campaign (which has had a great track record online since Obama announced his candidacy last February) says it has raised money from more than 100,000 donors via the Internet. The report is based on an e-mail sent out by the Obama campaign Wednesday afternoon. "After the New Hampshire primary last week, we set a goal of 100,000 online donors in 2008 - a goal we hoped to reach before the Nevada caucuses on Saturday. Last night we got there five days early. Think about that: 100,000 donors in 15 days." As TechPresident notes, that is a huge number of supporters.
Claiming losses from sale of timeshare
Baltimoresun.com's tax-advice column features three experts from the Hunt Valley accounting firm SC&H Group answering questions about preparing your return every Monday until April 16. To be included in the following weeks, please use the form at the right side of this page to submit your questions.
Editor's note: The first two questions are answered together.
Paul, Timonium: If I sold a timeshare I have had for 19 years, is it tax deductible as a long term loss?
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Gardner faces builders over moratorium
It could have been a case of Daniel walking into the lions' den, but Frederick County Commissioner Jan Gardner received a cordial reception Friday in an address to the Frederick County Builders Association. Gardner said when she was invited to speak some time ago to the group, she expected to give an update on the state of the county. Instead, she found herself explaining the county's initiative to put a halt to new residential construction for the next two years. The commissioner emphasized that the reason for the initiative was driven by transportation issues. "I get 200 e-mails a day," she said, "and every single day some of those are on traffic problems." She said the county has made progress on school construction, but the needs of transportation is the overwhelming issue.
Extreme Makeover
Shaaban nods sadly, then shows me the newly installed lavatories outside, at the back of the riwaqs, and admits that maybe the pipes had been laid in too much of a hurry to meet the deadline for the grand opening. Building the washrooms gave work to a large number of poor people, though, he pleads defensively. In front of one of the prayer niches, a rather large noisy group of Pakistanis — men, women and children — are listening to the lesson being given by a bearded old man. The men are all dressed in white shirts and white pants with a little white cap on their heads. Even the very small boy running around sports the uniform. In contrast, the women are in colorful dresses with large scarves around their heads and shoulders. “They are Shi'a," explains Shaaban as if this excused the racket, “and only use the niche where the name of Ali appears." .
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