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Abandoning the ‘Lottery Mentality’

Of course, few people consciously bank on winning the lottery to fund their retirement. However, many have a subconscious lottery mentality that prevents them from doing what is likely to be in their best long-term financial interests: that is, sitting down with a wealth manager or independent financial advisor to develop a regular savings plan and retirement strategy that will work towards a set of financial goals.

Quite simply, those who don’t plan for their retirements as soon as possible are unwittingly entering a kind of lottery in which their future and that of their dependents are placed entirely in the lap of the gods. The same can be said for those who bring a scattergun, uneducated or myopic approach to retirement investment: without a well-diversified and intelligently researched portfolio of retirement investments, you are engaged in a game of chance in which the odds of a favourable outcome are not stacked in your favour.

Regular Savings – a First Step?

A regular savings plan is often the first step towards successful expat retirement planning. By simply saving money on a monthly basis and investing into a vehicle that offers the potential for growth, expats can increase their chances of reaching their financial goals.

Inevitably, it is a better idea to put money into a regular savings vehicle than any kind of lottery. For example, if you spent £10 each week (two tickets twice a week on the Euromillions draw) over the course of 30 years this would amount to an outlay of £15,600 with, probably, little to no return.

If you instead put the money into a modest savings account, you will still receive some return, but by making a slightly larger regular contribution to a savings account or investment vehicle – for example, two hundred pounds a month – you greatly increase your chances of having your money work for you and, if you invest early, of also enjoying all the benefits of compound gains.

But time is of the essence – it is never too early to sit down with your wealth manager to develop a regular savings plan for your retirement – you certainly don’t want to be one of the 15% of millennials who consider the lottery to be part of their retirement plan.**

Expat Retirement Planning with Blacktower FM

Blacktower FM is committed to helping clients develop a regular savings plan that aligns with their expat retirement planning goals.

We work across the UK, Europe and the Caribbean to help our clients confidently plan their long-term futures. For more information contact us today.

*   https://www.lottery.co.uk/euromillions/odds
** https://myirionline.org

This communication is for informational purposes only and is not intended to constitute, and should not be construed as, investment advice, investment recommendations or investment research. You should seek advice from a professional adviser before embarking on any financial planning activity. Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the information contained in this communication is correct, we are not responsible for any errors or omissions.

Other News

SIPP Providers – Getting it Right

Right or WrongMoney Marketing, a UK newspaper for financial intermediaries, has published details of a Freedom of Information Request it made it in relation to complaints received by the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) regarding Self Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) products.

It revealed that over the most recent 12-month period, 22 SIPP providers made 48 complaint referrals to the Ombudsman regarding investments.*

This latest revelation follows a SIPP dispute involving financial planner Berkeley Burke and the FOS in which it was heard that the firm failed to carry out full due diligence on a £29,000 unregulated collective investment scheme for one of its clients. It also follows a high profile but as yet unresolved case against Carey Pensions.

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GREXIT

Grexit

Yet again what another country does or doesn’t do could have huge implications of the rest of Europe and the Western world. 

The clock is ticking for the Greek government to pay back the International Monetary Fund over €1bn (£720m) in loans in early May, as well as fund €1.4bn Treasury bill redemptions, and other major payments, including coupon payments on Greek government bonds.

It would appear that the Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis has been sidelined in Greek debt negotiation talks, but as Holly Cook from Morningstar says “The situation hasn’t changed that much, no matter who is actually doing the talking, they can’t stray too far from what their original mantra was, because their original mantra was all about anti-austerity… They’ve got a relatively tight margin for maneuver.”

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