Offshore Pension Plans for Expats

Why offshore pension plans offered through life assurance companies are often an exceptional offshore investment product for expats

If you’re living, working or travelling abroad chances are you’re enjoying an exciting life and have so far given little thought to your retirement and how you will afford to live once you stop working.  I say ‘chances are’ – because few if any of us like to pay much heed to the warnings about needing to save for a secure pension.

Expatriates however have both a distinct disadvantage and advantage when it comes to saving for retirement and today we’re going to look at offshore pension plans for expats and why they make a lot of sense for a lot of people!

As stated, thinking about and planning for retirement is a bit dull – but the fact of the matter is, there comes a point when we all have to do it and the sooner the better.  In fact, the sooner you start to plan and save the more you will eventually likely have to retire on and with and the sooner you can just forget worrying in the back of your mind about getting a pension in place of course.

Expatriates who live and work abroad are distinctly disadvantaged when it comes to the utilisation of traditional and state pension products. 

For one thing, if an expat wants to be eligible for a state pension they have to pay into it but if they then move location they risk losing their contributions in country A once living in country B – or if there is a social security cross over between their former and new countries then they face reams of paperwork and hurdles to prove that they paid in either or both countries at a given time.

Naturally this becomes all the more complicated for expats who re-relocate and those who plan on repatriating at some point.  Besides, as we all know, state pension contributions are rising whilst the payout is staying the same in nations like the UK, Germany and the US for example because fewer people are paying in, more people are drawing out and it is only a matter of time before the cupboard is bare. 

Our opinion at Shelter Offshore is that anyone in their 30’s now will not see any form of state pension by the time they do come to retire…

So what’s an expatriate to do?  Take out a local private pension plan?  But what if they relocate or repatriate – many are non-transferable.  Take out a pension plan back home then?  Most expatriates aren’t eligible to do so, and if they are what if they remain overseas, what about currency fluctuations, what about the limits placed on a contributor relating to the amount they can invest in any one year?

All a bit of a headache really to say the very least – which is just one more reason why few who are living life as expatriates, living, working, travelling and enjoying the world can be bothered with sorting out their retirement planning.

But – when it comes to saving and investing offshore for retirement and in particular offshore pension plans for expats, there are some exceptional products available that are flexible, transferable and many even allow for tax deferred growth.  So really, there is no excuse – as an expat it is your duty to your future financial security to find out all about offshore pension plans. 

You will quickly discover that you can usually contribute as much as you like into such a policy meaning you can save intensively now so you don’t have to worry so much tomorrow.  Another seriously value added benefit is that most offshore pension plans are sold by life assurance or insurance companies and as a result, many major governments in the world recognise these investment vehicles as qualifying insurance products and allow for the tax deferred growth of money in the investment pot – with tax only being possibly payable upon benefit withdrawal.

As you can see – as an expatriate there are financial hurdles placed in your way – but there are also many, many deep and substantial financial benefits to your status as well, one of which is the ability to utilise an offshore pension plan…get informed today and start on the path to future financial security sooner rather than later.