What is income protection?
Income protection pays you a regular income if you can’t work because of sickness or disability and continues until you return to paid work or you retire.
Who can get income protection in Ireland?
To qualify for an income protection policy, you need to be either:
- Employed for over 16 hours a week
- Self-employed
Financial stability in case of a rainy day is something we all hope to achieve, but most of us avoid thinking about. However, what if one day you find yourself in a position where you cannot work, how would you be able to meet your commitments, such as paying a mortgage or paying for your basic day-to-day living? Income protection gives you the peace of mind of knowing that if the worst happens you’re going to be okay.
Everyone wants to have income protection put in place when they get sick, but they often don’t make it a priority before then. Unfortunately, anyone can get sick, no matter their age or health, we all run the risk of becoming ill. In more recent times, COVID has taught us all that we are vulnerable to the unknown.
It is important to remember that you can’t claim income protection payments straight away if you fall ill or become disabled. You usually have to wait a minimum of four weeks but payments can start up to two years after you stop work. Therefore it is important to have a plan in place in case you fall ill. When you decide to take out an income protection policy, you can choose when you would like your policy to start paying out. This period of time is called the deferred period. The longer the deferred period you choose, the lower the monthly cost of your policy.
Generally, people most commonly consider taking out an income protection policy, if:
- They would struggle financially without their salary
- They have dependants
- Employed but don’t have long term sick pay benefits
- They’re self-employed
What are the benefits of income protection?
If you fall ill, the last thing you want is not only a health problem but also a financial problem. Income protection can help you avoid this unnecessary stress. An income protection plan gives you the peace of mind that financially everything will be okay. It’s difficult enough to cope with illness without having financial worries as well.
For more help and advice contact the experts here at Rockwell Financial Management. We’re here to help you manage your financial affairs as effectively as possible. We want to elevate stress from your life and help you make smarter decisions along the way! Contact us today!
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