Saturday 21 June 2014

Britain's banking job hotspots revealed

Britain's banking job hotspots revealed

Last year, jobs across the banking sector fell by 17,000, but a handful of towns and cities around the UK have bucked the trend by creating thousands of new jobs

Banking job hotspots of post-financial crash Britain revealed
The number of banking industry jobs in Lewisham and Chilten both rose by over 70pc 
Staffordshire Moorlands and Brentwood have emerged as the banking job hotspots of post-financial crisis Britain, official figures show.
Jobs across the banking sector fell by 17,000 in 2013, according to figures from the British Banking Association (BAA).
However, a handful of towns and cities around the UK bucked the trend, creating thousands of new jobs, data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveals.
Between 2009 and 2012 the areas with the biggest rise in banking jobs were Staffordshire Moorland where there was a 1450pc increase, and Brentwood which showed a 99pc increase.
The town of Leek in Staffordshire Moorland has become one of the Co-operative Bank's hubs, although the fate of the struggling bank could see the upwards trend for jobs in the area reversed.
"These figures shatter the myth that only a narrow part of Britain benefits from banking,” said Anthony Browne, chief executive of the British Banking Association (BAA).
“In fact two thirds of jobs created by this industry are based outside the M25. These are diverse jobs ranging from good entry-level positions for those without direct banking experience to highly-skilled, technical roles."
The BBA, who carried out the research into banking jobs, said that Cardiff and Manchester each generated more than 1,000 new bank posts in just three years.
Over the same period, the number of banking industry jobs in Lewisham and Chilten both rose by over 70pc, in Reigate and Banstead by 60pc and in the North Wales town of Wrexham by 48pc.
These figures compare favourably with the City of London, which created 32pc more jobs from 2009 to 2012, and Westminster, which created 28pc more jobs over the same three years.
The BBA’s research showed that a number of leading banks have been creating new roles outside of London, bolstering the jobs figures in Britain's regions.
Since launching, Virgin Money created around 1,800 jobs in Newcastle and 200 jobs in Norwich, while 72pc of Handelsbanken's 1,216 new roles since 2008 have been outside of London.
Mr Browne said: “It’s heartening that as the recovery takes hold there are good grounds to suggest that communities across Britain will benefit from jobs created by this vital industry.”

Culled from the Telegraph (Camilla Turner)

Sunday 15 June 2014

Deferred Income Annuities and Your Retirement: Are They Right for You?

Deferred Income Annuities and Your Retirement: Are They Right for You?

Annuities have a bad reputation among many investors, with fees that often exceed what other types of investments charge. But some annuities can be extremely useful, and one type known as the deferred income annuity has gotten more popular lately.
In the following video, Dan Caplinger, The Motley Fool's director of investment planning, looks at deferred income annuities and their pros and cons. Dan notes that by giving you pension-like monthly income in retirement throughout your lifetime, deferred income annuities take away the risk of your outliving at least portion of your money. The trade-off, though, is that if you die before you reach the age at which the deferred income starts, you can end up with nothing. Dan notes that you can choose annuity options that would leave something for your heirs, but you'll pay more in upfront costs for an annuity with those options. Dan concludes that for some, deferred income annuities make sense, but you need to weigh your own financial situation to make the best decision for you and your family.
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