Retirement
Planning the Offshore Way
By R.L.Williamson
Retirement
Planning the Offshore Way Why do so many of us constantly push the
thought of retirement planning to the back of our minds? Reluctance…!
1 Reluctance to save for an event that seems so far off 2 Reluctance
to tie in to an inflexible pension scheme 3 Reluctance to put a large
portion of our current income out of reach for the long term But in
terms of retirement planning, putting off until tomorrow that which
you could get done today will end up costing you very dearly. Every
month you delay your retirement savings planning, you significantly
reduce the value of your future potential retirement fund.
Or put
another way, every month you delay your retirement savings planning
you significantly increase the amount that you will need to invest
to achieve the same level of retirement income than if you’d started
today. If a 25 year old and a 35 year old were to start saving for
retirement at 55 and the 25 year old invested £300 a month towards
retirement, the 35 year old would have to increase his contributions
to £803 a month to achieve the same potential returns. At the
state retirement age of 65 the average man will have some 19 more
years to live and the average woman, 22 years. You will have to support
yourself without work and, very likely, without state income.
This
means that you will spend 25% to 30% of your life in retirement. You
will need substantial sums of money to support yourself in retirement
in the manner to which you will have become accustomed throughout
your life to date. Recent figures show that individuals aged between
25 and 44 are saving 1/3rd of the amount they should be saving in
order to support their current lifestyle in retirement. In most countries
you are forced to make your own pension provision if you want to have
any chance of a comfortable retirement. The value of the government
pension that you could once rely on is diminishing every year.
Ready
to Start Planning? If you’re an expatriate you are in a more privileged
position than most – chances are you’re enjoying a higher salary and
extra benefits as a result of working away from home. Furthermore
expatriates have greater freedom when it comes to making investment
decisions: they are not necessarily restricted by the same regulations
that domestic investors experience. Decisions That Need To Be Made
The most sensible solution would seem to be finding a safe harbour
to anchor your retirement investments so that you can move from country
to country as necessary without this having any negative impact on
your assets. However, if you decide to do this you need to decide
exactly where that safe harbour should be.
Offshore
financial centres present a viable solution - especially if you are
undecided as to your eventual retirement destination. Basing your
pension investment offshore should mean that future movements of capital
or income are not impeded. What To Be Aware Of Your own personal circumstances
are unique. Be realistic about how much you should be contributing.
Consider
the charges the bonuses and the flexibility of any investment plan
- generally
the more flexible the plan the more charges will be. Know that a good
offshore retirement plan should allow you to do the following without
penalty:
-1 Reduce
contributions without penalty (normally after an initial period of
one to two years).
2 Switch
investments between different funds to respond to changes in the market.
Preferably including funds managed by other people outside of the
institution zone.
3 Have
the option of retiring when you want to without penalty.
4 Allow
certain access to monies invested (again, after an initial period).
How to Find the RIGHT Solution Finding out what each provider's best
products are currently, and then hand picking the best to suit your
own personal needs and current circumstances is the best idea! But
how impractical!
Do you
have the time to do this? Would you consider yourself an expert in
offshore investments and pension planning? Where would you start?
Obviously professional advice will get you the right solution and
save you time and money and reduce your cost of delay significantly!
To find out more about what solutions are on offer in the market place
and to learn more about offshore investing and saving for your future,
visit http://www.offshoreinvestmentguide.com today. Discover how to
build wealth, enjoy greater privacy, protect your assets and secure
your financial future with the Offshore Investment Guide.
R L Williamson
is an independent offshore financial specialist. She has worked in
the fields of financial advice, specialising in retirement planning
and she has worked in investment banking. Through her work she has
travelled widely and lived in many different countries around the
world. Meeting expatriates, international investors and being an expatriate
herself, she is well versed in understanding the different financial
needs of the individual, and she is an expert when it comes to finding
the RIGHT offshore solutions.
