By: Rex Cowley
In today’s volatile financial environment, many individuals are seeking ways to safeguard their savings from political instability whilst wanting access to global financial markets and hard currency. International pension funds are becoming more sought after, particularly for South Africans, as they provide a simple and easy-to-understand, yet powerful option to ensure financial security and peace of mind.
Contributing to an international pension fund is about much more than simply saving for retirement; it is about taking proactive steps to internationalise part of one’s wealth to access hard currency and global financial markets without introducing complex cross-border tax and legal implications. In particular, foreign pensions mitigate foreign situs and enable the seamless succession of wealth on one’s passing.
South Africans looking to take advantage of an international pension, can contribute funds from within South Africa and have these funds offset against their exchange control allowances, for example, their discretionary allowance and/or investment allowance.
As contributions are discretionary, there is no obligation to continue to fund foreign pensions, and, therefore, clients can contribute as and when they wish, subject to their exchange control limits.
Where a client already has externalised funds, these funds can simply be contributed to with no further obligations to the South African Reserve Bank.
Benefits
As with all pension schemes, foreign pensions will also pay benefits once the Member reaches retirement age. These benefits typically include annuities and/or lump sums, which can allow for the full encashment of the pension. This makes international pensions highly flexible, as there are no mandated limits, unlike domestic pensions in South Africa, however, where there is no tax relief on the contribution.
On the passing of a member, the assets in the foreign pension are paid as a death benefit to the Beneficiary or Beneficiaries, which ensures a seamless transfer of wealth without the complexity of foreign wills or foreign taxes that apply to foreign assets and accounts, for example, bank accounts and share portfolios, etc.
Asset protection
Guernsey’s highly regulated environment and robust pension legislation provide multi-layers of protection for pension assets. It is this exceptionally robust environment that safeguards accumulated pension funds from catastrophe risk, which extends to any claim against an individual’s personal estate, irrespective of the claimant’s status, i.e., whether the claimant is an individual, a corporation, or a government. This gives ultimate peace of mind to Members of foreign pension schemes.
Efficiency
Foreign pensions, like domestic pensions, typically provide an environment for tax-efficient growth, as the growth in the pension or investment income only gets taxed at the point when such income is paid to the Member. This means that investment portfolios can be run very efficiently with a Member benefitting from tax deferral until the point of benefit.
On the death of the Member, the pension scheme mitigates foreign death duties and situs taxes, which otherwise could be payable in territories where the investments are registered. Furthermore, foreign pensions also dispense with the need for a foreign will and, as such, foreign probate does not apply.
This eliminates the administrative burden and costs that are typically associated with the transfer of foreign assets on the death of an individual. Taxation of benefits will depend on various factors and the law prevailing at the time of the Member’s death.
A boon for South Africans abroad
For South Africans who work abroad and contribute to a foreign pension scheme in respect of services rendered outside of the Republic, these individuals enjoy full tax exemption when these pensions are paid in South Africa under the current tax law.
Foreign pensions are not a replacement for domestic schemes, but are rather a valuable tool to complement an individual’s financial plan. Additionally, they offer significant efficiency, as they mitigate foreign tax liabilities, which means that a Member of an international pension only has to consider their South African tax position, and under certain circumstances, such foreign income enjoys full tax exemption.
Lastly, foreign pensions clearly have a role to play when clients are looking to invest abroad safely and efficiently. However, there are many variations of foreign pensions, and they are offered from multiple jurisdictions, which can be confusing to clients and advisers alike.
Therefore, it is critical to ensure that the product provider used is regulated in South Africa and abroad. This guarantees full compliance with the law and safeguards a client’s interests to ensure that the benefits sought will be realised.
* Cowley is a director and co-founder of Overseas Trust and Pension (OTAP).
PERSONAL FINANCE