A round-up of today's other stories in brief

Daily saving of €2 'sufficient for pension'

Irish workers could achieve a comfortable retirement for the price of a daily cappuccino, according to Bank of Ireland Life.

If workers without a company pension plan invested €2 - the average cost of a cappuccino - per day from the age of 18 until retirement age of 65, they could build a pension fund of around €204,000, assuming investment growth of 6 per cent and indexation of 3 per cent.

As part of its annual pensions campaign, Bank of Ireland Life is highlighting the importance of starting a pension early by contributing small amounts.

"Many people are waiting until they have a lump sum to start their pension or until they are earning more. Very often, however, that day doesn't come and they start a pension plan too late in life," said Brian Sullivan, pensions sales manager.

Wedding costs 'result in stress'

Wedding costs are among the main reasons why couples planning to marry argue in the run-up to their big day, Tesco Personal Finance has claimed.

According to research undertaken for Tesco, the top five causes of pre-marital stress are arguments over the guest list; disagreements about the wedding list; arguments about costs; falling out over the venue, and differing views on the ideal honeymoon destination.

The research found that 19 per cent of couples expect their parents to pay the full cost of the celebrations, but just over half of the couples surveyed were financing the whole day themselves.

The average Irish wedding costs almost €25,000.

However, of the 1,000 couples surveyed, 87 per cent of those married said they didn't begrudge a cent they had spent.

IBF code leads to 10,000 switches

More than 10,000 consumers have taken advantage of a new industry switching code to move their current account to a new bank since February.

The Irish Bankers' Federation (IBF) has hailed the switching code as a success and said it greatly simplified and speeded up the switching process.

Permanent TSB, which introduced a new free transaction account earlier this year, claimed 9,200 of the switchers - 92 per cent - had switched to them. But the bank added that the IBF code was not essential to customers attempting to switch, as it has attracted a total of 40,000 account switchers so far this year.

Confusion over broker terms - Piba

Consumers do not understand new terms used to describe brokers, the Professional Insurance Brokers Association (Piba) has told the Minister for Finance, Brian Cowen.

Piba says terms like "authorised adviser" and "multi-agency intermediary" hold little meaning for consumers. It wants the financial regulator to return to the terms "insurance broker", "insurance agent" and tied agent.

Responding to a report showing that most people do not understand basic financial phrases, the association said brokers faced too much regulation and that this was hampering them in their role in explaining complex terms.

SSIAs fuel demand for savings guide

More than 25,000 people have requested copies of a savings and investments guide sponsored by First Active, which it says is a sign of strong public interest in the market.

Brendan O'Hora of First Active said the introduction of Special Savings Incentive Accounts (SSIAs) and their forthcoming maturity in 2006 and 2007 is behind increased interest in savings and investment products.

Copies of the free Investor's Handbook can be ordered from First Active on 1850 678 910 or by visiting www.firstactive.ie.