Personal Finance

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Your personal finance questions – Will I qualify for the auto-enrolment pension scheme when it comes?

Q I have been working part-time with the same employer for the last six years. My employer doesn’t offer a work pension scheme. As a part-time employee, will I be able to join an auto-enrolment pension scheme when the system gets up and running? And if so, when can I expect to do so?

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Online platforms ‘must compensate fraud victims for hosting fake sites’

ONLINE platforms that host fake websites as part of investment scams should be forced to compensate victims of fraudsters.

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Gallery

KBC Bank to permanently close all but one of its branches in Ireland today

THE shutters are to come down on most KBC branches today as the bank winds down its Irish operations ahead of its exit from this market.

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Fake brochures, scam websites: how fraudsters are targeting over-55s and their life savings with elaborate investment scam

More retired people and pensioners are being targeted in sophisticated scams in which fraudsters are seeking investments of upwards of €20,000, banks have warned.

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Savers stuff €4bn into deposit accounts in just three months

SAVERS stuffed almost €4bn into banks and credit unions in the last three months of last year despite massive pressure on household incomes from surging prices.

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Mortgage rates hit three-year high with more hikes on the way

MORTGAGE interest rates in this country shot up to a three-year high in January as lenders imposed a string of rises in response to higher European Central Bank rates.

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Multiple mortgage rate hikes by vultures a ‘disaster’ for borrowers

Mortgage “prisoners” whose loans were sold to vulture funds are coming under increasing pressure to meet higher repayments, a service that supports those who are struggling financially have told politicians.

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Ireland tops EU league of shame for uninsured cars on road

Ireland now has the highest level of uninsured vehicles in the European Union.

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Mortgage pain to intensify as fixed rates head for 5pc

Borrowers have been warned that mortgage rates are heading for levels not seen for decades.

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Government in temporary u-turn on company cars tax hike

FINANCE Minister Michael McGrath has announced a temporary climb-down to controversial tax changes that came in at the start of the year for people with company cars.

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Revenue tax defaulters: Company director hit with €1.3m fine for under-declaration of income tax

A company director has been hit with a fine of over €1.3m by the Revenue Commissioners for the under-declaration of income tax.

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Permanent TSB to hike its mortgage interest rates for the third time

LENDER Permanent TSB is to increase the cost of its fixed-rate mortgages for the third time since the summer.

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Pension savers told not to panic about Irish Life property fund move

THE move by Irish Life to restrict withdrawals from a major property fund it runs should not be a cause for alarm for pension savers, a leading financial adviser said.

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One in five say they know someone driving without insurance cover

AMOST one in five people say they know someone who has got behind the wheel without insurance.

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Homeowners denied full home insurance cover due to flood risk fears based on ‘map errors’

Thousands of homeowners are being denied full home insurance cover due to flood risk fears, with claims that some householders are being wrongly denied cover.

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Gallery

ECB’s first chief economist says bank acted too late on inflation

One of the pioneers of European Central Bank (ECB) monetary policy has a stark warning for officials about the threat of more inflation bearing down on the region’s economy.

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Ruth Scott on finances: ‘Copenhagen was so expensive I had to buy breakfast and lunch at Lidl every day’

Ruth Scott is a radio and TV presenter, an MC, and a wedding solemniser. She presents an 80s and 90s show on Classic Hits Radio. The 49-year-old lives in Inchicore with her husband Rob Morgan.

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Why you should always hold some physical cash, even as more things go contactless

If you’ve tried paying for a flat white with cash in an urban hipster café recently you may have found that the barista looked at you as if you’d suggested using the barter system to pay .

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Banks sold thousands of trackers to vultures after admitting overcharging homeowners

BANKS sold thousands of tracker mortgages to vulture funds – despite having to admit they overcharged on them.