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Declaracion De La Renta
By Chris Burke
This article is published on: 25th May 2016
25.05.16
Impuesto Sobre La Renta De Las Personas Fisicas (IRPF)
Declaracion de la Renta, also known as IRPF is the annual income tax return that individuals have to submit/pay to the state/region of Spain where you are tax resident. In Spain the tax year is from 1st January to 31st December and you have to declare all your worldwide income. This is essentially very similar to the annual tax return you have to complete every year in the UK.
The period to submit your tax return is from the beginning of April to the end of June depending on whether you are self employed, employed or retired. During April you can submit your tax return only if your income is from a salary or a state or private pension from Spain. In May and June you can submit all other returns.
The procedure to submit your Declaracion De La Renta is as follows:
You can ask for a draft of your tax return from the tax office, check it and if needed change the details and then submit it. All this can be done online and this system can also be used if you declare a salary.
If you have a professional activity or a business you cannot get a draft, but you can ask for your fiscal information, that is all the information the tax office already have for you. You should always check this information is correct.
If you want to prepare the tax return yourself, in the tax administration web site (www.aeat.es) you can download a program to prepare and submit it (programa PADRE).
If you are a professional or have a business/self employed (what in Spain we call an “autónomo”) it is strongly advisable that you have a digital signature. It will be useful to submit your Income Tax Return and other paper work with the tax office, for both Taxes and Social Security.
Not everybody has to submit a tax return. If you have a salary under €22,000 paid by a Spanish company or income from capital/interest under €1,600 annually, you don’t need to submit it. Nevertheless it could be advisable to check if you are entitled to have some money back, which can happen.
If you are self employed, you don’t have to submit a tax return if your annual income is below €1,000 including income from all sources. As there are other higher limits for income from capital and capital gains only, the key thing here is being self employed.
No matter what, if your capital losses are above €500 you also have an obligation to declare. This, for, example would mean if you disposed of an asset and made a €500 loss on it. Therefore, if you have a salary of €20,000 and capital losses of over €500 you have to declare it/submit a tax return.
If you receive income from outside Spain you have to submit a tax return no matter how much you have earned in one year. So, if your income is below all the limits said before, and you have monies from a bank outside of Spain that has been subject to retention or withholding tax (see EU savings directive) no matter the sum, you have to submit a tax return even if there is no tax to pay.
It might be easier and safer for you to submit a tax return via a Gestor (accountant/tax adviser) so that it is done correctly, on time and perhaps most importantly hassle free.
Tax-Efficient Savings & Investments in France
By Spectrum IFA
This article is published on: 24th May 2016
Some of you reading this article have just completed your first French income tax return. Well done if you achieved this without difficulty – ce n’est pas facile!
Whether you are new to France or not, the annual tax return is an opportunity to take stock of your financial situation. In particular, if you had to declare interest from bank deposits (including ISAs), dividends from shares (even if these were reinvested), and perhaps also gains from financial assets, then your tax and social charges bill will be higher than necessary. No-one likes paying taxes and so now is a good time to consider alternative tax-efficient savings and investments, if you want to avoid reduce your future tax bills.
For short-term savings, France has a range of tax-free accounts. The Livret A for deposits up to €22,950 and the Livret Développment Durable (LDD) for deposits up to €12,000, both paying interest of 0.75% per annum. For households with taxable income below certain limits, there is also the Livret d’Épargne Populaire (LEP) for deposits up to €7,700, which pays 1.25% per annum. You have full access to your capital in these accounts at any time.
The interest rates for the tax-free accounts are set by the French government, taking into account average short-term interest rates and inflation – both of which are very low at present. Realistically, the current tax-free interest rates could be lower, however, even the French say that it would be political suicide for the government to reduce these rates now! Whatever the tax-free rates are, however, these are better than comparable standard deposit rates for other accounts with instant access. Hence, the tax-free accounts are very useful for depositing cash that you need for an emergency fund, or to meet other short-term capital needs. The accounts do not create any tax issues and earning some interest is better than none at all.
For medium to long-term savings, the most popular type of investment in France is the Assurance Vie (AV). This type of investment is very tax-efficient as there is no income tax or capital gains tax on any income or growth, whilst the monies remain within the AV. Annual deduction of social charges is also avoided, except when investing in fonds en euros, which are offered by French banks and insurance companies.
When you do take a withdrawal from the investment, part of this is considered to be a withdrawal of capital and this part is therefore free from any tax. For the taxable element, you can opt for a fixed withholding tax rate, in which case the insurance company will take care of the necessary deduction, declaration and payment of the tax and social charges. Alternatively, you can opt to declare the gain through your annual income tax return, in which case the company will not make any tax or social charges deductions and will provide you with notification of the amount that you need to declare. The taxable gain will then be added to your other sources of taxable income and taxed at marginal rates.
Over time, AVs become even more tax-efficient and after eight years, the gain in amounts withdrawn can be offset against an annual tax-free allowance of €9,200 for a couple who are subject to joint taxation, or for ‘one-person households’, the allowance is €4,600.
Millions of French people use AV as their standard form of savings and investment and many billions of Euros are invested in this way via French banks and insurance companies, which offer their own branded product. In addition, there is a much smaller group of companies that are not French, but have designed French compliant AV products, aimed specifically at the expatriate market in France. These companies are typically situated in highly regulated financial centres, such as Dublin and Luxembourg. However, before choosing such a company, it is important to establish that the company has complied with all the formal French tax registration procedures, so as to ensure that you will receive the same tax and inheritance advantages as the equivalent French product.
Some of the advantages of the international product, compared to the French product, are:
- It is possible to invest in currencies other than Euro, including Sterling and USD.
- There is a larger range of investment possibilities available, providing both access to leading investment managers, as well as capital guaranteed products and funds.
- Documentation is in English, thus helping you better understand the terms and conditions of the policy.
- The AV policy is usually portable, which is particular benefit if moving around the EU, since in many cases, the policy can be endorsed for tax-efficiency in other EU countries.
AV is also highly beneficial for inheritance planning, both as concerns freedom to leave your financial assets to whoever you wish, as well as providing valuable additional inheritance allowances for your beneficiaries and I will cover this in a later article.
Everyone’s situation is different and any decision to invest in assurance vie should only be considered as part of a wider review of your overall financial situation, as well as your plans and objectives for the future. Hence, if you would like to have a confidential discussion with one of our financial advisers, you can contact us by e-mail at limoux@spectrum-ifa.com or by telephone on 04 68 31 14 10. Alternatively, drop-by to our Friday morning clinic at our office at 2 Place du Général Leclerc, 11300 Limoux, for an initial discussion.
The above outline is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute advice or a recommendation from The Spectrum IFA Group to take any particular action on the subject of the investment of financial assets or on the mitigation of taxes.
The Spectrum IFA Group advisers do not charge any fees directly to clients for their time or for advice given, as can be seen from our Client Charter.
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The New UK State Pension
By Spectrum IFA
This article is published on: 23rd May 2016
23.05.16
The new UK State pension scheme has now come into effect from 6th April 2016. Widely publicised by the government as being easier to understand, based on the questions we are getting, this is not the case!
If you reached State Pension Age (SPA) before the start of the new scheme, then you are not affected by the changes – even if you have decided to defer taking your State pension. Under the ‘old scheme’, the basic State pension is £119.30 per week for 2016/17, based on having 30 years of National insurance Contributions (NICs) or credits. You may also be entitled to some additional State pension and the amount varies according to your earnings during your working life and whether or not you were ‘contracted-out’ of the State Earnings Related Pension Scheme (SERPS) or the later State Second Pension (S2P). The maximum additional pension entitlement is around £164 per week.
The new State pension scheme introduces a ‘single-tier’ pension of £155.65 per week for 2016/17, based on having 35 years of NICs (or credits). So anyone starting work today, who retires with a 35-year NIC record, can expect to get the full amount of the single-tier pension and nothing more. Of course, this is subject to the rules not being changed for the next 35 years!
However, for people who have already built up a NIC record before 6th April 2016 and have not yet reached SPA, the transitional arrangements are complex. Some will get more than the single-tier pension, others will get less, and here is where the confusion begins!
If you fall into this ‘transitional group’, as a first step, your State pension under the old system is calculated as at 5th April 2016. This includes your basic pension plus any additional pension that you are entitled to receive and this known as your ‘Starting Amount’. You cannot get less than this amount.
So even though you may not have 35 years of NICs, it could be that under the old system, your Starting Amount is actually more than £155.65 per week. If so, you will receive the higher amount, but you cannot build up any more State pension, even if you continue to pay NICs. The difference between your Starting Amount and the single-tier pension is known as your ‘Protected Amount’ and this will be increased by reference to inflation.
However, there are many people who have a Starting Amount that is less than £155.65 per week. Typically, these are people who were contracted-out of the additional State pension scheme and thus, paid a lower rate of NICs and/or do not have the 30 years of NICs required under the old scheme. Hence, many of these people are asking if they should pay voluntary NICs to increase their State pension entitlement up to the single-tier amount.
For those over age 55, it is possible to get an estimate of your new State pension entitlement from the Department of Work & Pensions. One of my clients (let’s call her Jane) did this recently.
Jane has paid NICs for 25 years before coming to live in France. She has about 10 years to go until she reaches SPA and before the new scheme was introduced, she had planned to pay 5 years of voluntary NICs to secure entitlement to the full basic State pension, but to do this closer to her retirement. However, now she is 10 years short of the full 35-year record and so she is not sure now what she should do.
The letter that she received from the DWP confirmed that she was entitled to a State pension in the new system of £138 per week, based on her existing NIC record to 5th April 2016. As she only had 25 years of NICs, around £96 of this was basic pension and £42 was additional pension.
Under the new State scheme, you get £4.44 per week for each year of NICs (£155.65 / 35). Jane thought that she needed to pay 10 years of NICs to get the full single-tier pension of £155.65. However, this would add £44.40 per week (£4.44 x 10) to her Starting Amount, resulting in a total amount of £182.40. As this is greater than £155.65, the excess would be lost. Therefore, the maximum amount that Jane can purchase is £17.65 per week and so she only needs to purchase 4 years.
To purchase extra years, you have to pay voluntary Class 3 NICs and the rate for 2016/17 is £14.10 per week. A full year of NICs at this rate of £733.20 would increase your State pension by £230.88 per annum. In effect, this is not a bad ‘annuity rate’ and one has to question whether or not such generosity from the government is really sustainable over the long-term? A problem to be faced by a future government and not the current one!
In Jane’s case, it is 10 years until she will receive her State pension and we have seen constant change in the UK pensions arena – last year the major reform in private pensions and now the reform of the State pension. It cannot be ruled out that more changes will take place in the future, particularly as concerns the period needed to qualify for full pension and the age at which the State pension starts. There is every possibility that Jane could pay the voluntary NICs now, only to find that the ‘goalposts’ are moved again during the next 10 years.
Everyone’s situation is different. Hence, whether or not it is a good idea to pay voluntary NICs to increase your State pension will vary from one person to another. In any event, such a decision should only be considered as part of a wider review of your overall financial situation and taking into account other retirement provision that you already have in place.
If you would like to have a confidential discussion with one of our financial advisers, you can contact us by e-mail at limoux@spectrum-ifa.com or by telephone on 04 68 31 14 10. Alternatively, drop-by to our Friday morning clinic at our office at 2 Place du Général Leclerc, 11300 Limoux, for an initial discussion.
The above outline is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute advice or a recommendation from The Spectrum IFA Group to take any particular action on the subject of the UK State pensions system, the investment of financial assets or on the mitigation of taxes.
The Spectrum IFA Group advisers do not charge any fees directly to clients for their time or for advice given, as can be seen from our Client Charter
UK Inheritance Tax V French Succession Tax
By Lorraine Chekir
This article is published on: 19th May 2016
This is an area that many expats find very confusing: what and where to declare, what and where to pay, where to even start!
It doesn’t help that UK and France have completely different rules. In the UK the estate pays the tax and the net proceeds are paid to the beneficiaries. In France, the proceeds are paid to the beneficiaries. The beneficiary will then complete a Succession tax form and pay the inheritance tax, the amount of which is based on their relationship to the deceased.
What many expats do not realise is that if you are a French resident and inherit from someone who was a UK resident you need to complete and submit a French Succession tax form to URSAAF within 12 months of their death. No actual tax is payable in France as there is a tax treaty in place between the two countries.
Let’s look at a couple of different scenarios:
You are a UK resident and own a property in France. When you pass away your estate will be taxed in the UK on your worldwide moveable assets. However, your property in France will be subject to French inheritance tax.
If you are a French resident, when you pass away French inheritance tax will apply to your worldwide assets. If you still have UK assets, it may be that you will also pay some inheritance tax in the UK, however there is a tax treaty in place to ensure that you do not pay tax twice on the same assets.
Inheritance Rules:
In the UK the law says you can make a will naming whoever you wish as your beneficiaries. If you have not made a will, then the rules of intestacy apply and the distribution of your estate is based on these. If you have no living relatives, even long lost and distant, then everything you have will go to the Crown. Anyone born in Scotland would have some restrictions on who they could leave their estate to.
In France you cannot freely dispose of “la réserve” which must be held for your children. You are only free to dispose of as you wish the “quotité disponible”. A spouse is not a protected heir in France, however unless you specifically disinherit them, they are entitled to a quarter of your estate. The amount freely disposable from your estate will depend on the number of children you have.
- If you have one child they are entitled to half of your estate with half freely disposable
- Two children are entitled to two thirds with one third freely disposable
- Three children are entitled to three quarters with one quarter freely available
Since August 2015 it has been possible, in your French will, to adopt the inheritance rules of your country of nationality. This means if you are from the UK then you can adopt UK inheritance rules and leave your estate to whoever you wish. However, it is important to note this applies to inheritance rules not tax, French inheritance tax will still apply. I think this change in legislation will be of particular importance to people in second marriages with children from previous relationships and maybe from the current relationship also. For some reason, the UK and Ireland have chosen not to sign up to this change, which means if you are from the EU and living in the UK your estate will be subject to UK inheritance rules and tax.
Inheritance Tax Rates:
In the UK, the first 325,000 GBP of a person’s estate is free of inheritance tax. From the tax year 2017/18 if you have a family home that will pass directly to your children, then an additional allowance of 100,000 GBP will apply, rising to 175,000 GBP by 2020. This means that by 2020, married couples and those in civil partnerships with a family home to pass to children, could pass a total of 1m GBP free of inheritance tax. Inheritance tax in the UK is 40% of everything above your allowance.
In France, each person can leave 100,000 Euro to each of their children free of inheritance tax. Above this there is a sliding scale starting at 5% and rising to 45%. However as a guide, between 15,932 Euro and 552,324 Euro, the rate payable by the beneficiary is 20%.
For siblings, the first 15,932 Euro of what you leave them is free of inheritance tax, then they pay 35% on the next 24,430 Euro and 45% on everything else
Nieces and nephews can have just 7,967 Euro free of tax then pay a whopping 55% on the rest.
Everyone else (including non-married partners) can inherit a measly 1,594 Euro free of tax and will pay a massive 60% on amounts above this.
An important tax planning tool is the Assurance Vie. Providing it is set up before age 70, you can name beneficiaries and each beneficiary can inherit 152,500 Euro free of inheritance tax, amounts between 152,500 Euro and 852,500 Euro will be taxed at 20% and anything over this at 31.5%. As you can imagine, this could make a huge tax saving, especially for non-married partners, nieces, nephews and beneficiaries not related to you, with potential tax savings of up to 60%. The great thing is, it remains your money until you die which means you have full access if you need it, unlike when you put money in a trust in the UK to try and reduce your inheritance tax liability. In addition, it is the nearest thing the French have to an ISA as your money grows tax free.
If you want any more information or would like some advice, please contact me on the number or email below.
I also hold a free financial surgery in Café de la Tour in Les Arcs on the last Friday morning of each month where you can discuss your own situation in confidence over a cup of coffee.
This article is for information only and should not be considered as advice and is based on current legislation. 04/05/2016.
Overseas rental property – have you thought about this………?
By Gareth Horsfall
This article is published on: 13th May 2016
Financial markets are very quiet at the moment. From my view point the financial world appears to be almost at stand still.
The world appears to be awaiting the UK vote on whether to leave Europe or not!
In the meantime, life goes on and whilst the UK celebrates the Leicester City win of the Premier League with a Roman manager, I continue to get contacted by various people asking my opinion on how they should manage their finances as residents and non residents in Italy. The majority of those people also have rental property in their home country as part of their overall financial arrangements.
A review of taxation on overseas rental property for Italian residents
The most common question I am asked is how income from property held overseas is taxed in Italy. Is it exempt from Italian tax because tax has been paid on it overseas first and is it subject to the same taxes as Italian domestic rental income?
I would like to dispel any myths and confirm that, as a resident in Italy, you do have to pay Italian tax on the profit from any rental income on properties held overseas.
The law for Italian tax residents clearly states that the net profit (after allowable expenses in the country in which the property is located) must be declared in the Italian end of year tax return. The net profit is then assessed as income by adding it to the rest of your income for the year and then tax paid at your highest rate of income tax in Italy (that could be as high as 43% depending on your cumulative income for the year).
Let’s not forget the IVIE tax as well which is 0.76% of the property council/cadastrale/rateable value (or whatever you choose to call it) of the property.
If tax has been applied in the country of origin, this can be reclaimed through your tax return. You are protected through a double taxation treaty as long as your country of origin has signed one with Italy.
To clarify, any rental income from properties held overseas must be declared in Italy. This is the NET income (after allowable expenses) and this net figure is added to your other income to determine at which rate of income tax it is assessed in Italy.
But wait a minute. Have you thought about this?
Now, this is all well and good but as most landlords of properties overseas discover, if they are relying on the income from the property to live on then any income benefit can quickly be diminished by additional tax to be paid in Italy.
Do you have useful relatives?
Do you have trustworthy relatives/family members in the country where the property is located? If so, then you might think about gifting the property to them (effectively signing it over to them) and getting them to send the rental income to you as a gift.
The recipient of a gift is not taxable in Italy and therefore you could have a non taxable income stream
However, before you start looking to sign your properties over to family members you need to think of a number of tax consequences of doing this. Mainly the inheritance tax obligations that it imposes on your estate, any tax considerations and administrative burdens it now places on the holder of the property (they would have to be the sole recipient of the money and the sole named owner of the property). That person would have to receive the money in their accounts and submit their tax returns accordingly. They would have to send the money to you under a word of mouth agreement and you would have to trust the other party implicitly, not to mention a number of other tax questions it may pose.
However, assuming those problems could be overcome you might find that you could have the rental income from your overseas property paid to you in Italy, without detraction of Italian tax but through a gift arrangement.
Cross border financial planning at work!
Stay invested and don’t try to second guess the market – Discipline is rewarded
By Derek Winsland
This article is published on: 6th May 2016
06.05.16
Individual investors may face many “known unknowns”—that is to say, things that they know they don’t know. The UK’s referendum on EU membership is one of them, confronting people with a large degree of uncertainty. But as we’re witnessing, it’s not just the investor that’s afflicted by this Known Unknown condition – the markets are really uncomfortable as evidenced by the fall in the value of the pound.
We have though been here before; perhaps not having to make decisions that could affect our financial stability for years to come, but as the chart below shows, major global events that have impacted on our lives to a greater or lesser effect. Through all of them, the markets have shown a remarkable resilience over the longer term and that is one of the most important lessons the individual investor can learn.
You see, it’s not necessary to “make the right call” on the referendum or its consequences to be a successful investor. Our approach is to trust the market to price securities fairly; to take account of broad expectations of future returns.
In arguing for the status quo, the “remain” campaign is able to point out familiar characteristics of membership.
The “out” campaign, however, is based on intangibles that can only be resolved after the result of the referendum is known. It is impossible for any individual to predict the implications of these unknowns with certainty.
But this is no cause for concern. While the referendum is imminent and its implications are potentially vast and unpredictable, it is not necessary for individual investors to make any judgement calls on the outcome. We have faced many uncertainties in the past—general elections, market crises, recessions, wars—and throughout all of them, the market has done its job of aggregating participants’ views about expected returns and priced assets accordingly.
And while these events have caused uncertainty, volatility and short-term losses and gains, none of them has altered the expectation that stocks provide a good long-term return in real terms.
We have a global view of investing, and we know that the market is very good at processing information that is relevant to future returns. Because of this view, we don’t attempt to second-guess the market. We manage well-diversified portfolios that do not rely on the outcome of individual events or decisions to target the expected long-term return.
These events are not offered to explain market returns. Instead, they serve as a reminder that investors should view daily events from a long-term perspective and avoid making investment decisions based solely on the news. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. MSCI data © MSCI 2016, all rights reserved.
Research has demonstrated time and again that the best returns are achieved through ‘Time in the Market’ and not by trying to ‘Time the Market’; in other words, stay invested rather than guess the best time to invest and disinvest.
If you would like more information on our investment philosophy, please ring for an appointment or take advantage of our Friday Morning Drop-in Clinic here at our office in Limoux. And don’t forget, there is no charge for these meetings.
Spectrum IFA sponsors Freddie for a Day
By Chris Eaborn
This article is published on: 4th May 2016
04.05.16
This September would have been the 70th birthday of Freddie Mercury, legendary lead singer of the rock band Queen.
His final recordings were made at Queen’s Mountain Studios in Montreux, where Freddie also lived.
As part of a number of fundraising events, students of SEG, the Swiss Education Group, a leading hospitality education network, is hosting a fundraising weekend on 14th and 15th May in Montreux, entitled Freddie for a Day, to celebrate his life and raise money for the Mercury Phoenix Trust.
The Trust was established after his death and focuses on HIV awareness and prevention with a focus on young people in developing countries.
http://www.mercuryphoenixtrust.com/site/aboutus
Spectrum is a sponsor and one of our Swiss-based advisers Chris Eaborn, will be attending on our behalf.
So What’s Your Strategy ?
By Chris Webb
This article is published on: 30th April 2016
30.04.16
Investing is not a sure thing in most cases, it is much like a game – you don’t know the outcome until the game has been played and a winner has been declared.
Anytime you play almost any type of game, you have a strategy. Investing isn’t any different – you need an investment strategy.
An investment strategy is basically a plan for investing your money in various types of investments that will help you meet your financial goals, depending on your time horizon.
Each type of investment contains individual investments that you must choose from. A clothing store sells clothes – but those clothes consist of shirts, trousers, dresses, skirts etc. The stock market is no different, it’s a type of investment, it contains different types of stocks and different companies that you can invest in.
If you haven’t done your research, it can quickly become very confusing – simply because there are so many different types of investments and products to choose from. This is where your strategy, combined with your risk tolerance and investment style, all come into play.
If you are new to investments, we will work closely together to ensure you have a full understanding before making any investments. I will help you develop an investment strategy that will not only fall within the bounds of your risk tolerance and your investment style, but will also help you achieve your financial goals.
Never invest money without having a goal and a strategy for reaching that goal! This is essential.
Nobody hands their money over to anyone without knowing what that money is being used for and when they will get it back! If you don’t have a goal, a plan, or a strategy, then you are essentially handing your money over without any idea of what it can do for you!
How Much To Invest?
By Chris Webb
This article is published on: 28th April 2016
28.04.16
Many first time investors think that they should invest all of their savings. This isn’t necessarily true. To determine how much money you should invest, you must first determine how much you actually can afford to invest and, just as importantly, what your financial goals are.
So, how much money can you currently afford to invest? Do you have savings that you can use? If so, great! However, you don’t want to cut yourself short when you tie your money up in an investment. What were your savings originally for?
It is important to keep three to six months of living expenses in a readily accessible savings account – don’t invest that money! Don’t invest any money that you may need to lay your hands on in a hurry in the future.
So, begin by determining how much of your savings should remain in your savings account, and how much you feel you are comfortable to use for investments.
Next, determine how much you can add to your investments in the future. If you are employed, you will continue to receive an income, and you can utilise your surplus income to build your investment portfolio over time.
Together we can work at setting a budget and determine how much of your future income you will be able to invest.
With my help, you can be sure that you are not investing more than you should or less than you should in order to reach your investment goals.
For many types of investments, a certain initial investment amount will be required. This at first glance, may look out of your reach. However I may be able to reduce these entry levels.
If the money that you have available for investments does not meet any required initial investment, you may have to look at others. Never borrow money to invest, and never use money that you have not set aside for investing!
Retirement Benefits
By Pauline Bowden
This article is published on: 21st April 2016
For people in all walks of life, retirement can be an uncertain prospect. At the very least it raises all kinds of questions concerning personal financial stability and the maintenance of living standards.
For those whose work takes them to a number of different countries during their career, the uncertainty is increased.
Until recently, retirement plans have traditionally offered a restrictive and inadequate package which was expensive to implement and complicated to arrange.
Most people require a simple yet flexible retirement benefits package, offering the possibility of a secure and prosperous retirement. An investment programme that allows you to decide exactly what you want and when you want it, how much and which type of protection you feel is appropriate for your own personal circumstances.
A plan where you can have the flexibility to take it with you from employer to employer and country to country, where you can increase or decrease or even temporarily suspend payments. You want to choose at what age you wish to retire and choose how you wish to receive your money upon retirement.
Flexibility and choice are the key words to most people when they start a retirement plan. Gone are the days when you worked for one company for 40 years, religiously paying into the company pension scheme. It is each individual’s responsibility to make sufficient provision for their retirement and which route to take to achieve future financial security can be a complicated search of bewildering facts and figures when comparing products available.
To get personal and confidential advice regarding your retirement provision, it is necessary to discuss your own individual future financial needs, together with your full financial planning objectives.
