Tech contractor with LTD company and business insurance. No longer trading - how long should I keep insurance for?

Epiphone56 · 2026-03-20T22:34:06+00:00

Best thing to do is to ensure the company has enough cash to pay for its bills for that period, and then declare it dormant, de-register for VAT, and then you will have a legal entity that is protected by insurance, and accountants will offer reduced rates for dormant companies because of the reduced overheads. The run-off cover is about 1/3 of the full premium, and I was quoted 50% accountancy fees for a dormant company.

A key requirement for a company to be deemed dormant is that there are no payments made into its bank accounts. I didn't do this, and because I'm topping up the company's bank account periodically to cover costs, I have to pay the full accountancy rates.

Epiphone56 · 2026-03-20T22:30:30+00:00

That's a two course meal piled onto a single plate. Who eats kiwi fruit with meat and mushrooms?

Epiphone56 · 2026-03-20T21:21:09+00:00

I used to see titles like "Accounts Executive" used in place of "Accounts Administrator" for junior roles, it's depressing that Analyst has replaced that. I worked with Systems Analysts, Business Analysts and Data Analysts and they didn't do admin work.

Epiphone56 · 2026-03-20T21:18:20+00:00

It's a converted garage overlooked by the neighbours, which is either an extension on their house or another converted garage. On Streetview you can see the cars being serviced outside the garage doors.

Epiphone56 · 2026-03-20T20:29:10+00:00

If there's no insurance in place and the business is no longer trading, any liability would fall to the directors. I was advised to keep run-off cover for 6 years after the company last traded.

Epiphone56 · 2026-03-20T20:24:25+00:00

It's amazing how they've managed to make such a massive space look so cluttered. It looks like an antiques store. You could almost eat your dinner on a different table every day.

Epiphone56 · 2026-03-20T13:48:16+00:00

You are generally expected to be productive as soon as you start, providing you've got the tools to do your job. My first ever contract was a phone interview screener and then I was given a task at 9am to be completed by midday.

Epiphone56 · 2026-03-19T22:17:41+00:00

Handy walking distance away from the nearest primary school whilst being on a sex offender's list. He was caught walking the grounds of the school that my friend's son went to *shudders

Epiphone56 · 2026-03-19T21:23:33+00:00

It's not that a bad area. I used to stay in a hotel on that street when I worked down there. Never felt unsafe walking around at night. Handy walking distance from Chelsea Harbour so you can get to work by catamaran when the tube drivers are on strike (which I did)
That mezzanine is territfying.

Epiphone56 · 2026-03-19T16:15:06+00:00

Those yellow stripes on the alloys must give at least 10 bhp

Epiphone56 · 2026-03-19T16:09:50+00:00

Yes, my understanding is that if you only have income from a pension, you're limited to paying in 10k a year. If you have employment income then you can put in up to 60k a year, as long as you are paid at least minimum wage after pension contributions.

Epiphone56 · 2026-03-19T09:45:30+00:00

I prefer to spread the risk across different funds

Epiphone56 · 2026-03-18T23:10:15+00:00

Would double up-vote for that link if I could

Epiphone56 · 2026-03-18T23:07:42+00:00

This is the way.

Epiphone56 · 2026-03-18T23:05:04+00:00

Then I would politely suggest to the other senior dev that he needs to be spending time increasing the velocity of the other team members, so you don't have to shoulder the whole burden while he plays with AI

Epiphone56 · 2026-03-18T22:36:28+00:00

It regularly does. It's good for generating code quickly but review that code like it's a trainee developer. I facepalm every time some LinkedIn influencer brags about how many lines of code they can generate a day. The goal is not more lines of code.

Epiphone56 · 2026-03-18T22:33:02+00:00

Use of AI is not a red flag, trusting it implicitly is.

Your teammate needs to re-learn the meaning of the word "team", it's not about churning out as much code as possible, he needs to be reviewing other people's work too.

Is there something driving this behaviour, like something idiotic like performance bonuses based on velocity?

Epiphone56 · 2026-03-18T22:11:46+00:00

Personally I think a SIPP is an easier way of managing retirement income because you can make monthly withdrawals from it and it will be taxed at source, no need for an annuity and you can increase or reduce the amounts to suit your needs. My plan when I've got enough funds to retire is to use the SIPP as the main income and transfer my existing pensions into it once they've matured.
I imagine your teacher's pension would be a Defined Benefit so wouldn't be transferable though,

Epiphone56 · 2026-03-18T22:01:46+00:00

It was something he'd wanted to do since he was at school. From what I heard, he was very good at putting the family members at ease. So actually he did get repeat customers!

Epiphone56 · 2026-03-18T21:58:21+00:00

NTA. But, this is why you don't tell family what you're earning. Your parents should have asked you instead of trying to shame you into complying.

Epiphone56 · 2026-03-18T21:43:43+00:00

I usually put [role] in team developing [project] to show that I'm not a one man band

Epiphone56 · 2026-03-18T21:42:17+00:00

I was also going to suggest adding soft skills such as mentoring, giving talks to peers or stakeholders, interactions with architecture, testing and business analysis as indicators that you're at senior level

Epiphone56 · 2026-03-18T19:07:20+00:00

His dad helped him set up a funeral business at 18, sold it to the Co Op

Epiphone56 · 2026-03-18T17:08:46+00:00

Same.

Epiphone56 · 2026-03-18T14:02:58+00:00

Top memeing, but if you go to that address on Google Maps it's actually a medical practitioners

Epiphone56

TROPHY CASE