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.
