NEED SOME FREE FINANCIAL HELP? JUST ASK PAUL

AskPaul – the free financial advice service – has just hit 10,000 followers on Facebook. Followers get their queries answered for free plus there are video blogs on timely financial topics such as mortgages by financial adviser Paul Merriman, which have clocked up 600,000 views. And he knows his onions – Paul had 15 years in the industry working with RSA and Irish Life before going off to do his own thing in 2010. However, his success is a little bit of a curse as he admits that as the page and his website Askpaul.ie are taking its toll with many early mornings and late-night stints working on queries to make sure he gets back to everyone within the targeted three days. We ‘asked Paul’ for some tips and he gave us a couple:

PAUL’S TIP #1:

Buy income protection cover. The chances of a 34-year-old male (for example) dying during a life policy is just 4%, but he or she is 10 times more likely to need some form of income protection. For income protection of €504 a year net of tax relief, a 34-yearold could protect 60% of his income.

PAUL’S TIP #2:

Get whole-of-life cover instead of term assurance. Term assurance covers a particular period and when it ends, usually long before you are likely to die, you end up with nothing. Whole-of-life cover is ongoing and if extended into retirement could really pay out handsomely. Why pay for life cover in retirement when you don’t really need it? Well, maybe you’d like to pay out a handsome inheritance to your family, tax free. Or maybe if you were thinking of cancelling the policy, it would be worthwhile for your beneficiaries to keep paying to keep it going. The main thing is to be aware of the value of such a policy and don’t let it lapse without due consideration.