!! GO GREENER STILL..!.

New Earth Solutions Recycling Facilities Fund

Waste Management is now a serious business in the UK. The Government is keen to avoid huge European Union fines for missing recycling targets. If it fails to recycle 40 per cent of the country's waste by 2010 (the current rate is 31 per cent) the European Court of Justice could impose heavy penalties.

This fund will aim to tackle this problem head on by investing into recycling waste management systems in the United Kingdom.

FOR MORE DETAILS ON BOTH THE ABOVE

Please see

'Products page - Savings and Investments' and scroll down to Alternative Investments

or CONTACT US FOR FURTHER DETAILS

International Savings 2

17 May 2008

Low Level Contributions available FROM 17 May 2008.

Flexibility and Portability are not only desirable features of long term savings and pensions generally, but are very important for internationally mobile people - expatriates.

Spectrum International are able to offer extremely flexible and portable plans with low level regular AND single contributions.

PLEASE CONTACT US FOR FURTHER DETAILS

Alternative Investment

15 February 2008

If you are considering a lump sum investment but are 'risk averse' please refer to the links in the left column, Click on 'Products' and then click on 'Savings and Investment' and scroll down to 'Alternative Investments'- for details of investments that are uncorrelated to the Stock Markets and do not involve SUB-PRIME Mortgage market instruments.

Long Term Care

7 January 2008

The British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, announced his intention to introduce a range of new Health Measures including screeening for Heart Disease, Diabetes etc.

It was also announced that the British Government would be considering the development of a Long Term Care programme. Rather typically this 'sounded' as though it was yet another great British 'innovation' - a bit like recycling, wheelie bins and Chip and PIN cards!

Domestic waste recycling, wheelie bins and Chip and PIN cards were established in Germany for some time before the UK 'discovered' them.

Similarly the need for Long Term Care and the development of Long Term Care insurance (Pflegeversicherung) was introduced in Germany in 1995!

Nevertheless, Mr Brown's announcement does recognise the pressing need for this sort of programme. Of course it will be expensive, but as medical science progresses, we live longer , for which we are grateful, but this longer life can often be accompanied by medical problems, which therefore require attention for a longer period - hence the inevitable increasing cost.

Much of the cost involved in Long Term Care is not so much a medical cost but the expense involved in providing care facilities and 'carers'.

We have all heard the horror stories of older people having to 'sell-up' their home and assets to pay for the cost of 'care'. Although Mr Browns proposals are welcome and will hopefully go some way to alleviate this situation, there will still inevitably be a 'gap'.

It is difficult these days to try and plan for all eventualities but if you are in Germany then the Long Term Care insurance is one way to provide for this. It is officially a legal requirement Germany, but it is possible to 'slip through the net' and many expatriates have done so. Ongoing legislation in Germany is intending to 'close' the various loopholes that currently exist.

Please contact us for further information on the German Pflegeversicherung (Long Term Care Insurance) or other options.

Click her for more info.

Loss of Income Insurance

15 December 2007

The British Government recently announced that they are proposing to reduce the number of 'unemployed' by applying more stringent tests for 'disability' and unemployability!

Whilst there may be some sympathy with this move - by excluding for example, Alcoholism and Obesity - although I am not sure why Acne should have been included, as it was - the move is nevertheless indicative of what may be to come.

Loss of income Insurance has previously been largely ignored by many - not least because of the cost and the perceived belief that 'it will never happen to me! ' How many times have I heard that!

Medical Science is wonderful and we are all grateful for the progress, and the ability to recover from previously life-threatening circumstances

BUT there may be another price to pay -:

I know you don't REALLY want to read this, but ....

In the past, serious accidents or illnesses invariably resulted in death, with the payment of Life Assurance (if there was any) being there to ease the financial predicament of the survivor(s)

Of course Life Assurance is still most important, but as described above, what would happen if the life of your loved one and 'bread winner' was saved , but at the cost of a disblement or continued illness preventing him or her from being able to provide.

Of course in most civilised countries there would be some help from the State but, as we are seeing State welfare is increasingly difficult to obtain and the benefit may not always be adequate.

Please contact Spectrum International for more details and individual quotations.