State pensions

This week we are starting a small series on state pensions. There are 2 main types of state pension. The basic state pension that is available to everyone and the State Earnings related pension Scheme (SERPS).

Basic state pensions increase in line with inflation and are not under any threat from being abolished. State pensions are based on National Insurance (NI) contributions and are dependant on the number of qualifying years you have earned over your working life. The payments you make do not accumulate a fund for you but instead pay the pensioners of today.

The amount you will receive weekly is a fixed sum and is no way connected to earnings. The full weekly rates at the moment are £84.25 for a single person and £134.75 for a married couple.

To read a full question and answer article on the basic state pension please click on the following link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/basicstatepension

The 80/20 Rule

This week, we thought we would include an article about Pareto’s principle or as many people call it the rule of   80 / 20.

The 80/20 Rule is one of the most helpful of all concepts of time and life management. It is also called the Pareto Principle after its founder, the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, who first wrote about it in 1895. Pareto noticed that people appeared to divide naturally into what Pareto called the "vital few," the top 20% in terms of money and influence, and the "trivial many" the bottom 80%.  He later discovered that virtually all-economic activity was subject to this Pareto Principle as well.

For example, this rule says that 20% of your activities will account for 80% of your results; 20% of your customers will account for 80% of your sales; 20% of your products or services will account for 80% of your profits; 20% of your tasks will account for 80% of the value of what you do, and so on…..  This means that if you have a list of ten items to do, two of those items will turn out to be worth as much or more than the other eight items put together!

Next week, we will include an exercise on how to apply this principle to your own business to help maximise profits.

For further information, contact Pam Harris at www.coachingonlife.com

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