Spencer Lodge on Expat Pension Provision for Women in Abu Dhabi and Dubai

Spencer Lodge is Managing Director of Fund Advisers and is widely recognized one of the leading financial advisers for the female expatriate community here in the United Arab Emirates. We asked him about pension planning provision for women already here in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

Here’s what Spencer Lodge had to say.

Spencer Lodge

State Pensions – An overview

If you continue to pay your contributions towards your state pension and decide to move abroad to somewhere like Abu Dhabi or Dubai, then it could prove problematic when investing for your retirement. You can continue to pay class 2/3 contributions to the UK state pension scheme, but your final entitlement will almost certainly not keep you in a luxury lifestyle in your retirement years.

Another issue is that the age of retirement for state pensions will be rising in the coming years, meaning that you will have to work beyond the current 65 year old threshold. On the other hand, if you do not continue to pay contributions into your UK state pension (since you don’t have to if you move abroad), then this could potentially reduce your entitlement completely. This would mean that you would have to start saving towards your pension through other means if you have not been investing already. In order to overcome these problems with state pensions, you will need to start saving or investing towards your retirement as early as possible.

Women Will Benefit From Saving

Whether you live in the UK, Abu Dhabi or Dubai, It is a hard reality to consider, but statistically, one marriage in two will end in divorce, and women who have not planned for their retirement could end up with nothing to live on. So do you rely on your husband to support you through your retirement years, or will you start saving and investing in your own pension fund for yourself?

Only about 20% of all women will receive an adequate pension when they retire. The large majority of women are approaching retirement without any financial security measures in place leaving them open to potential hardship should their marriage break down. Even in this day and age, a woman’s earnings will typically be much less than any man’s meaning that they will automatically have lower pension benefits. That is, if a woman has a pension in the first place. Around 50% of working women do not have a company pension plan and are less likely than a man to receive an adequate pension.

So, what can you do to ensure that you are financially secure when you retire?

Start planning your pension while you are young and begin investing as much as you can each month into your future pension fund. Although your spouse will more than likely have a larger pension fund to retire on than you, at least you have prepared for the worst with your own retirement plan. Above all, your retirement could be more luxurious than planned.

If you are based in Abu Dhabi or Dubai and would like further information on the range of products and services offered by Fund Advisers, please visit  www.fund-advisers.com

Spencer Lodge on Expat Retirement Planning Advice

Spencer Lodge is widely recognised one of the leading global advisers on financial issues for the expatriate community having worked for some of the largest financial companies in the world including deVere and Partners.

We catch up with Spencer Lodge to get some great independent financial advice for expats, talk about life after deVere and Partners and his plans to grow Fund Advisers in to a leading worldwide financial consultancy. Here’s the first part of what he had to say.

Spencer Lodge

Expat Retirement Planning Advice

A growing number of professionals of all nationalities have been moving to and working in different countries in the last decade. Whether you are a young executive or already have a diverse portfolio of global assets, you will have specific financial goals and objectives. The growing range of offshore financial products and services can help you achieve financial security and provide you with the quality of life you want when you decide to retire.

Investing in international accounts is no longer the sole premise of the rich and famous; all expatriates living abroad may now enjoy flexibility, among other benefits, by investing their money overseas. The offshore financial industry has become more popular and financial institutions from around the world have entered the offshore market as a result of rising demand. There are now many providers that offer a broad range of services ranging from saving schemes to pension and retirement plans, wealth management accounts to lump sum investment products. Let’s look at some facts.

A man who retires at age 65 can expect to live a further 19 years in retirement on average. A female at age 65 has 22 years left. This means that you could potentially spend 25% to 30% of your life in retirement and will therefore need a substantial fund to support yourself. According to recent figures, individuals aged between 25 and 44 are saving only about one third of the amount that they should be in order to support their current lifestyle in retirement. In countries other than the UK, people are required by law to make sure that their pension provisions will meet their needs in order to live comfortably, but the UK are behind in this thinking.

A good, well constructed personal offshore retirement plan should allow you to do the following:

·         Reduce or increase contributions — usually after an initial period of about two years.

·         Switch investments between different funds to respond to changes in the market, without penalties

·         Have the option of retiring when you choose to.

·         Allow you access to what you have invested, after an initial period.

·         Be realistic about how much you should be contributing.

·         Provide you with regular status checks to ensure that your prospective plan is suitable for your individual requirements.

To make sure that your pension covers you for your retirement lifestyle you would be wise to seek advice from a financial consultant who specialises in retirement planning. It is essential that you explore all avenues available so that you can live comfortably in your retirement years.

Further information on Fund Advisers please visit  www.fund-advisers.com

Spencer Lodge MD at Fund Advisers. Fund Advisers are a regulated, independent financial advisory wealth management brokerage. We are fully regulated within the territories where we have permanent offices.

deVere United Kingdom is a trading name of deVere and Partners (UK) Ltd

Spencer Lodge on The Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme

We caught up with Spencer Lodge, Managing Director at Dubai based Fund Advisers, one of the major independent financial services company in the United Arab Emirates. He is widely recognised one of the leading global advisers on financial issues for the expatriate community having worked for some of the largest financial companies in the world including deVere and Partners.

Spencer Lodge

We chat with Spencer Lodge to get some great independent financial advice for expats, talk about life after deVere and Partners and his plans to grow Fund Advisers in to a leading worldwide financial consultancy.

We first asked him to explain the features of SIPP, the Self-Invested Personal Pension

SIPP (Self-Invested Personal Pension)

A SIPP is a personal pension plan that is suited to the more sophisticated pension investor. There are very few restrictions on what is available to invest your money in, meaning that you will have complete control over your own funds. With that comes full responsibility for its performance, which is why sound advice is so crucial.

With a SIPP plan you are able to invest in most funds, listed shares or commercial property, both in the UK and internationally. All assets within a SIPP fund benefit from IHT mitigation, but can be subject to the death benefit charge of 55% on death.

Investing within a SIPP can have great benefits for those who regularly pay into the fund, such as:

·         You can claim full tax relief on contributions based on an annual income of £50,000 (2012/2013) if you have relevant UK earnings.

·         You do not need to purchase an annuity — the earlier quasi-compulsion to purchase an annuity has been abolished.

·         Prior to taking benefits, the fund can be made available to your beneficiaries free of the death tax charge should you die.

·         If you retire abroad, you are able to move your SIPP to another jurisdiction using a QROPS scheme.

·         Having a wide choice of investment options available to you creating greater flexibility, but you need expert advice to ensure good performance.

·         You may also benefit from staggered or phased retirement.

Further information on the Self-Invested Personal Pension can be found at www.fund-advisers.com

About Fund Advisers

Fund Advisers is a large independent financial consultancy group with global operations. We work with international investors and expatriates to find financial services products that best suit their medium to long-term requirements for investments, savings and pensions.

With in excess of US $2 billion of funds under administration and management, Fund Advisers has more than six thousand clients in twenty countries. Our independence and ability to offer financial products that are tailor-made to fit an individual’s needs are behind our success, and our work ethic is without equal in the industry.

Further information on Fund Advisers please visit  www.fund-advisers.com

Fund Advisers are a regulated, independent financial advisory wealth management brokerage. We are fully regulated within the territories where we have permanent offices.

deVere is a trading name of deVere and Partners (UK) Ltd

Spencer Lodge

"Invest in yourself. Your career is the engine of your wealth." - Paul Clitheroe
We all want wealth, but how do we achieve it? It starts with a successful career which relies on your skills and talents. Invest in yourself through school, books, or a quality job where you can acquire a quality skill set. Identify your talents and find a way to turn them into an income-generating vehicle. In doing so, you can truly leverage your career into an "engine of your wealth."

Spencer Lodge

  "Know what you own, and know why you own it." - Peter Lynch
Do your homework before making a decision. And once you've made a decision, make sure to re-evaluate your portfolio on a timely basis. A wise holding today may not be a wise holding in the future.

 We've used derivatives for many, many years. I don't think derivatives are evil, per se, I think they are dangerous. …So we use lots of things daily that are dangerous, but we generally pay some attention to how they're used.  We tell the cars how fast they can go.   -Warren Buffett

Spencer Lodge

Spencer Lodge

Managing Director

Fund Advisers Ltd

DUBAI

Spencer Lodge

Fund Advisers Managing Director Spencer Lodge has been at the very top of the international financial industry for over 18 years however, since leaving the deVere Group he has set about redefining the way their industry does business by offering expatriate clients a refreshing and jargon free approach to financial services. 

deVere Group will surely miss his drive and tenacity but he is now 100% focused on channeling all his efforts in to building the rapidly growing FundAdvisers.

Commenting on Fund Advisers, Spencer Lodge said “We place a huge amount of emphasis on getting to know our clients first before being able to give the right financial advice. Being an independent company allows us to fully research and establish the most appropriate life insurance or investment account from the tens of thousands of financial options available ensuring we firstly meet and later exceed our clients requirement.”

Transparency is also a key factor to the success of the company. “Every single one of our clients is given full disclosure on any fees and commission we will earn when a policy is taken out by the client as a result of our independent financial advice. It’s been a major factor to our success and a major differentiators between Fund Advisors and our competitors.”

Probably the biggest change made by Lodge was that he does not allow any one employed by his company to cold call prospects. “This simply isn’t the right way forward. We all hate being cold called and when dealing with important financial decisions such as pensions, investments and savings funds it really gives a bad first impression.

Fund Advisers host and present an ongoing program of free seminars where industry experts share their knowledge and insights on all aspects of the changing financial landscape - new legislation, pension changes, investment strategies and opportunities. These events appeal to our future customers as our events are informal affairs they feel comfortable to discuss their financial position and future requirements with us. “

Further information on their free seminar programs can be seen at http://www.fund-advisers.com/seminars

Fund Advisers is perfectly positioned within the financial industry and has established strong relationships with leading banks and insurance providers not just in the UAE but throughout the world. From these collaborations, we have developed many financial products that are unique and exclusive to Fund Advisers customers providing them stronger longer-term returns on investment when compared with many of the “off the shelf” solutions offered by our competitors.

Fund Advisers has over 50 staff employed in the Dubai office with more being added weekly to cope with demand for their services. For further information on Fund Advisers, visit their website at www.fund-advisers.com or contact them on +971 (0) 4 448 6650.

Article: Jessica Spear

Fund Advisers UAE

16th Floor

U-Bora Tower

Business Bay

Dubai

UAE

P.O. Box 50685

Fund Advisers are a regulated, independent financial advisory wealth management brokerage. We are fully regulated within the territories where we have permanent offices.

deVere Group is a trading name of deVere and Partners (UK) Ltd