From: Daytona 
Newsgroups: uk.finance
Subject: Re: Can I ensure my parents have a decent pension?
Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2006 16:34:27 +0100

On Sun, 13 Aug 2006 00:44:10 GMT, "Tina" 
wrote:

>What I am asking is: is there any kind of insurance scheme I can contribute 
>to that would supplement my parents' basic pension and help protect them 
>should they get ill or fall on hard times financially?

GSV hit the nail on the head - 

>in general, insurance companies make 
>money. I.e. what they charge you is more than  they (expect to) have to 
>pay out. It follows that, in most cases, saving the money yourself is a 
>better bet. 

For this reason insurance for them is out of the question, they must
rely on state benefits as a basic minimum. Any extra income they
receive is likely to mean clawback on state benefits, so if you want
to do something, simply save/invest money yourself for later use in an
emergency. Use an ISA and consider the iShares FTSE Dividend Plus fund
. Why ?
Because investing for income has a long history of beating all other
investment strategies and automatic index tracking funds have a long
history of beating human fund managers
.

If they ever need treatment, and are suffering on a long waiting list
on the NHS you can pay for treatment privately (pay-as-you-go). The
private sector built too many hospitals some years ago so they
encourage individual patients as well as patients from health
insurance companies -
.
There's several brokers who will negotiate the best deals.

Their tenancy agreement may be a valuable asset, and if taken out
before 15th January 1989 it may give you succession rights.

Daytona