International Pension Planning.

When we are young and begin our careers retirement is often the furthest thing from our minds. However the ideal time to plan and save for retirement is basically as soon as possible. The sooner you start the bigger the pension pot will be.

An interesting metaphor to illustrate the effect of compound growth in later years and why it is so important to start early is the golfing example. If at the start of a game of golf you bet your partner 10c for the first hole and you agree to double the wager each hole, so that the 2nd hole is 20c, third is 40c, and so on. What do you think the wager would be at the 10th? $51.20, at the 15th $1638.40 at the 18th it rises to $13,107.20.

Retirement planning as an expatriate or international investor is very important. There are many tax advantages to using offshore pension plans and for those people retiring from the UK there are QROPS or SIPPS these can reduce tax on UK based pensions quite considerably, and at the same time give you access to 30% of your pension funds without the need to buy an annuity. You can actually use these vehicles to buy property. See our QROPS and SIPPS sections. For investors from other countries in Europe the QNUPS may be an ideal way of removing your home based pension assets from the burden of tax?

For younger expatriates this is actually the ideal time to begin planning for the golden years. You should not rely on social security benefits or generous windfalls from investments, or company pension schemes if there is the possibility you will not be with that company long-term? So we recommend taking a proactive approach to retirement planning.

We only recommend large household names based on the Isle of Man and Guernsey for offshore pension planning. These companies are amongst the largest and most respected in the world, and both locations offer excellent investor protection laws safeguarding up to 90% of client funds.  

Failing to Plan is simply Planning to fail.

Why is financial Planning so important?

Most people don't think financial planning is for them. Some think they are not rich enough to worry about such things, others believe they are rich enough so do not need to bother with financial planning. But financial planning is for everyone no matter what your current financial status? If you have no wealth then you need a plan for creating it, using ideas such as compounding growth combined with regular saving. If you already have wealth then you need to ensure it is protected, from areas such as tax, liabilities in business or relationships, or from financial failure of banks and market turmoil, whilst at the same time ensure you are receiving a good enough yield.

In reality we are all financial planners and most people have a financial plan on some level, whether they are trying to learn about managing debt, find the best interest rates, save for education, buy a house, save for retirement, almost everything we do requires some form of financial plan.

The most important aspect of financial planning is being prepared for the unexpected as well as the expected. On a basic level we are all expected to retire, so we must plan for that, if we have children we must plan for them areas such as school fees for example. But preparing for the future is simply essential and remember the unexpected can happen at any time.

Will you be prepared for the coming government debt crisis; it will most likely last a decade in Europe and the USA, and will cause a social security crisis? Competition from countries such as India and China’s new workforces will add to the unemployment of the west. The current economic crisis? Do you have a plan for when you lose your job or for when stocks crash once again? Those are just a few examples of what you should be prepared for. It takes a lot of work, and a healthy dose of realism. No need to panic as that is what we at Parmafey are here for; we will help you build a financial plan that relates directly to your needs and your goals.

How do I get started?

There’s a lot of information on our website and we are adding to it on a daily basis. We will cover everything from retirement planning to bank deposits and tax. We will show you how to ensure that no matter what happens in the world at large your plan will be built on a solid platform; that will withstand all the things that are sure to happen between now and the day you retire.

For example if you have more than 15 years before you retire the odds are that there will be at least one more financial crisis. So what can you do to ensure your assets work hard enough during this time without placing them at undue risk?

None of us can foresee the future, although it is fairly easy to see trouble coming. Use your common sense, if every country in the west has high unemployment, with interest rates at almost zero and very little to no GDP growth. This should tell you that something is fundamentally wrong? Combine this with high levels of debt in almost all Western Countries and there is certainly something to worry about? The possibility of a recovery that will take a decade or longer is the most likely outcome and none of this can be good for equities surely?

Well with a good financial plan linked to your specific needs we will be able to show you how to prosper even in such an environment. You will still be able to achieve most goals. It will be possible for you to invest for long term growth for your retirement using equities in areas with higher GDP growth. It is also possible to invest your savings and receive rates in excess of 8% and at the same time keep your capital secured with the correct research anything is possible.

You must first follow the basic rules of financial planning and these we will discuss with you during your free consultation. It is not just the initial consultation that is free all consultations are free, in fact you are never under any obligation to do any business through us. We will be happy to help you with any questions you have and provide as many telephone or face to face meetings as you may require.

It would not be wise for us to reveal our secrets on the web, but suffice to say the majority of the strategies we use to ensure your plan will be a success are ultimately just common sense

Please contact us to find out more? 

Alec Maclaren.