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Pensions Update – by Laura Mann, Regional Manager Canary Islands

For expats who are not resident in the Canary Islands and intend on drawing down income benefits in the coming months, and wish to avoid being subject to emergency tax, we recommend you contact HMRC in advance, in order to obtain a personal tax code and thereby automatically claim any personal allowances due. Please note that this process can take some time. 

Malta:

At the moment, if your Pension Fund is held under the jurisdiction of Malta there is no flexibility available with regards to accessing your Pension Funds early (at the age of 55 years), however, new primary legislation has already been passed to mirror the aforementioned developments in the UK. Following discussions with the Malta Financial Services Authority, further updates and guidance are expected later this year.  It is expected that most Maltese Schemes will be offering flexibility no later than 1st January 2016.

Gibraltar:

If your Pension Fund is held under the jurisdiction of Gibraltar, flexible access is currently under discussion with HMRC.  At this stage the 70 / 30 rule still applies, with drawdown subject to capped income of 150% of GAD rates.  

Isle of Man:

Currently, the Isle of Man is looking to add flexi-access to its legislation. This will be debated in the Manx Parliament this Autumn. In the meantime the 70 / 30 rule still applies, with drawdown subject to 150% of GAD rates.

Flexi-drawdown plans set to impact delisted QROPS in Guernsey

If, on the other hand, your Pension Funds come under the jurisdiction of Guernsey, your ability to access flexi-drawndown may be affected by new legislation, especially if your scheme has been delisted QROPS.  If you are unsure about this, please contact us NOW so that we can review your circumstances and advise how this will affect you.

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.

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Money BagLabour MP for Islington South and Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry has published an article for Politics Home in which she calls for greater pensions freedoms for public sector workers.*

Written as part of her failed leadership campaign, the article named five major policy areas she felt the party needs to address in the future: climate crisis, the NHS, Social Care, affordable housing, and pensions.

In fact, the article was largely concerned with the issue of public sector pensions as Ms Thornberry warned that the country faced a “ticking time-bomb” in respect of the sums which will become payable in future decades. She quoted a 2017 estimate which suggested that public sector pension liabilities had a £1.7 trillion shortfall. She said that the public currently spends around £40 billion a year meeting this gap.

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As such, it comes as little surprise to us that a recent piece of research by ComPeer suggests that wealth managers should digitise their operations and embrace fintech if they are to continue to attract clients.

It is truly an exciting time to be involved in wealth management. As one of the UK’s longest standing wealth management companies Blacktower has all the requisite experience of both serving clients and dealing with regulators; we believe that coupling this strong foundation with a commitment to technological modernisation puts us at the forefront of wealth management in Grand Cayman as well as the other locations from which we operate.

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