International Retirement Plan

If you are currently considering investing in a retirement plan - and to be frank anyone over the age of 18 should be if they want to be able to retire and enjoy a comfortable standard of living in their 'golden years' - then you may be interested in learning about a relatively new - but already very popular - International Retirement Plan that offers South Africans - and even South Africans working abroad but who still intend to return home when they retire - the chance to invest in a plan that offers some significant tax advantages to them.

Introducing The Conservo

The Sovereign Conservo International Retirement Plan is based in, and administered from Guernsey, an island located just off the English coast but not quite technically a part of the UK. It's low tax and death duties make it a very popular offshore finance centre for private equity funds, including private retirement plans like this one.

Benefits of The Conservo Plan

If you have already been researching your retirement savings options - or intend to now you've been nudged a little - then you'll find there are lots of options out there, including many different retirement plans. So what are the advantages of this one? There are in fact several quite significant ones:

You Can Choose How You Invest - This plan does not tie you to a strict monthly contribution schedule, or a contribution schedule at all. That means that you could invest more significantly in it while you are young and single and then taper off contributions when the responsibilities of a family call, invest one off lump sums , limit contributions to an annual, semi annual or quarterly basis and more. In other words, it fits your changing budgets as you move through your working life.

You Can Access Funds as Early as 50 Years Old - Planning on trying to retire early? Funds from a Conservo Retirement plan can be accessed as soon as your 50th birthday, so with a bit of clever planning and regular contributions that may indeed be more than a pipe dream.

You Can Choose How You Want Your Funds to Be Paid - When you do decide it's time to get out of the rat race and retire you will be allowed to choose just how the funds from your retirement account are paid out. You could take them as a monthly income stream, in a lump sum, or, as many do, a combination of both.

The Tax Breaks - The phrase 'tax breaks are available' puts a smile on almost any potential investors face. If you work hard for your money - as we all do - the more of it you can keep to yourself - legally of course - the better.

The Conservo is in fact a plan that avoids South African Donations Tax, South African Estate Tax and can mitigate Capital Gains Tax. You can also allot part of your funds to be paid - on your death - to a named beneficiary, and those funds will also be subject to significant tax savings, so you can, if you choose, provide for the well being of your kids as well as your own.

The Affordability - Contrary to popular opinion you do not need to be moving in the same circles as James Bond to get involved in offshore investing and international financial offerings like The Conservo. The 'entrance fee' to the plan is just £750 - around R13322 - and with no enforced contribution minimums you can then pay in whatever you can afford.