Hidden costs & charges

Are you paying for something you’re not receiving?

• Renewal commission

• ‘Trail’ commission

• Ongoing ‘adviser’ costs

Please note:

If you have an excellent Financial Adviser who not only did a great job for you in the first place but continues to give you service, this does not apply to you!

How closely do you look at statements you receive from your investment company or pension plan provider? Is there a charge for ongoing service by the adviser who set up the plan?

Do you receive a service from your adviser? Do you even remember who was the adviser?

Many people tell me that they don’t! So why are you paying? Well it’s in the fine print, in the Terms & Conditions which you signed. That doesn’t mean you can do nothing about it. If you don’t know if there’s a charge and receive no service you can still write to the company concerned and ask them to stop any payment from your account, plan or pension.

Financial Pages in Spain can also offer you a way out. You can ask for a review with a fully qualified, correctly regulated and professional adviser. Let us know your details, the details of your plan or policy plus the name & address of the investment company, insurance, QROPS or pension provider. If you have doubts just ask.

I hope that you have a good adviser, one you can trust and who gives you good service but I want to help you with the ones who don’t.

Just EMAIL if you have any queries

David Goodall

Financial Pages in Spain

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Additional reading:

·        Unauthorised Advisers

·        Readers’ Favourites

·        Foreign Exchange – Beat the Bank

Malta-based PENSIONS - something VERY IMPORTANT has CHANGED

PENSIONS including SIPP's and QROPS

You will need suitably QUALIFIED and fully INDEPENDENT financial advice with the correct AUTHORISATION

You will definitely need professional advice with regular reviews. Contact My Email

 What has changed?

The changes are quite extensive and qualified advice is needed to see how it affects you. The headlines of the changes are as follows;

1. Investment Restrictions

2. Revised Member Disclosure requirements
 
    * Cost and commission disclosure
    * On-going investment fee disclosures

3. Introduction of Members 'right to cancel'

4. Licensing requirements & changes to 'Terms of Business'

    * Especially distinguishing between European and Non-European 'Advisers'

5. Introduction of 'Professional Member' classification

6. Revision of QROPS payment rules



Complex? Confusing? Did your adviser tell you?

I could give you more detail but much of this is very technical. One thing which is for sure is that all Malta-based Pensions are affected!

How can I help you?

Send me a few outline details about your Malta Pension, together with your email address or contact number and I will get a suitably Qualified and Independent financial adviser to contact you, without obligation.

My Email

IMPORTANT: Your financial adviser MUST be;

• Suitably QUALIFIED
• REGULATED by the correct authority
• EXPERIENCED with an appropriate record of achievement in the UK

DUE DILIGENCE needed as this article shows;

Qualified Financial Advisers

David Goodall

Financial Pages in Spain

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Further Reading;

Scam Watch

Readers’ Favourites

Hidden Costs & Charges

The Finance Tour? Workshops? Seminars? BUT who's giving the Financial Advice?

Thinking of attending one? Did you think they were independent? Are the advisers qualified?

Please consider this BEFORE you attend

Important

Any of you who have read my previous blogs will know how passionate I am about the importance that Expats take advice from a suitably qualified, experienced and regulated, independent financial adviser.

Believe all Adverts?

So, when I saw the publicity for this  – The Finance Tour is the only truly independent investment and pensions seminar in Spain Really? I thought to myself, “this is something I should look at”. If 3 high profile product providers have come together to participate in an independent tour, this is something I must comment upon.

However, from my many years working in the UK, I know that product providers will never endorse one adviser over another, irrespective of how qualified or experienced an adviser might be.

I decided to investigate further. All 3 providers told me that they would never knowingly endorse one adviser. It's not in their interests!

Someone has gone to great lengths to make consumers believe that 3 product providers have come together to offer their expertise to British Expats in Spain, and to help them, they have invited one “Adviser” firm, chosen from the many that operate in that area. This gives the false impression that the 3 product providers are in some way endorsing that particular firm above all others. THEY DO NOT!

Due Diligence

Now, all the above might be fine if the adviser firm in question could pass my due diligence process but they don't!

As you may know, I am able to help Expats to find an adviser who is suitably qualified to advise them. I have a strict due diligence process and I would never send a consumer to an adviser until they pass my test.

I have carried out my due diligence on the advisers working for the firm in question and they are not a firm that I would be able to refer my readers to for advice.

'Financial Pages in Spain' averages over 13,000 readers per month

David Goodall

Financial Pages in Spain

Email

Facebook

Additional reading:

Scam Watch

Readers’ Favourites

Hidden Costs & Charges

Explaining Terms and Expressions - Pensions

Explaining terms & expressions is important but nothing beats Regulated and Qualified Financial Advice

·       Cut through the jargon

·       Check Further Reading

·       Beware: Unauthorised ‘advisers’ about!

A Day
6 April 2006 was the day the UK Government pension simplification rules came into effect.

ASP - Alternatively secured pensions
At the age of 75 an alternatively secured pension would allow an individual withdrawal of income, similar to an unsecured pension fund such as income drawdown

AVCs – Additional Voluntary Contributions
A pension top-up for an occupational pension scheme. The scheme members pay contributions into an arrangement run by the employer to boost the main pension.

FSAVCs – Free-Standing Additional Voluntary Contributions
A pension top-up policy for an occupational pension, but separate from the employer’s pension scheme and normally run by an insurance firm.

CNMV
Comision Nacional del Mercado del Valores is the principal financial services regulator in Spain and responsible for authorising investment products. A CNMV adviser can be recommended, please click here

DGS
Direccion General de Seguros y Fondos de Pensions is the Spanish regulator for insurance products which can be marketed in Spain. Email me to be referred to an authorised adviser

FCA
Took over from the FSA in April 2013. The Financial Conduct Authority is the UK's financial services regulator. The FCA also ‘passports’ authorised advisers to operate in Spain. For a recommended adviser click 

Group Personal Pension
A type of personal pension offered by some employers but not classified as occupational (see money purchase pension).

Lifetime annuity

A lifetime annuity converts money from a pension fund into pension income, which is taxable. There are different types to suit different circumstances and generally treated favourably for tax purposes in Spain.

MiFID
Markets in Financial Instruments Directive is the EU legislation which covers investment intermediaries and their activities. It also enables, for example FCA approved advisers to be' passported' into other EU countries such as Spain .

Money purchase pensions
Some occupational pensions and all personal, group personal, stakeholder, FSAVCs and some AVCs are money purchase pensions. The contributions are invested in, for example, the stockmarket or bonds. The size of the fund depends on the contributions and how well the investments perform. At retirement, there is a choice of options to provide you with a retirement income.

Occupational pension
These are only available through employers and run by pension scheme trustees. There are two types – salary-related (defined benefit) and money purchase (defined contribution).

Pension Liberation
It should be made clear that Pension Liberation is illegal. Typically, unauthorised advisers offer access to your pension before the statutory retirement minimum age of 55. Proven cases attract a penalty of up to 55% of the funds liberated.

Personal pension
A pension policy taken out by an individual from an insurance company or another financial institution and into which personal contributions are made. It may also be offered by employers.

Protected rights pension
This is the part of a pension fund which was used to contract out of the UK State Second Pension (SERPS or S2P) that must be used to buy a protected rights annuity.

QNUPS -  Qualifying Non UK Pension Scheme, which meets the criteria set by the regulations the UK government brought out in February of 2010. This means that for a UK or non-UK resident, there is an opportunity to make contributions to overseas schemes, established as QNUPS, with the knowledge that those funds will be sheltered from UK IHT. Individual advice should be taken in all circumstances from a regulated and authorised adviser. Please email for a recommendation. Also see reading below

QROPS - Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Schemes
These became available from A-Day. It is a pension scheme set up outside the UK that is regulated and recognised for tax purposes as a pension scheme in the country in which it is located. QROPS have been established in various countries across the world, many in jurisdictions with beneficial tax rules. For specialist advice click here Also see reading below

Salary-related pension scheme (final salary or defined benefit)
A type of occupational pension. The amount of pension you get is worked out on your salary at or near retirement, or when you left employment, and your pensionable service.

Stakeholder pension
A type of personal pension that has to meet certain standards set by the UK Government. An individual can take one out or it may be available through an employer, but is not classified as occupational. 

State Pension
The UK Pension Service (part of the Department for Work and Pensions) will pay the basic State Pension based on an individual’s National Insurance contribution record. In addition, individuals may also qualify for the State Second Pension based on their own earnings and National Insurance contributions.

State Second Pension
The State Second Pension is an additional State pension paid on top of your basic State Pension. This was called SERPS. Self-employed people cannot build up a State Second Pension.

Tax-free lump sum
More accurately, tax free cash should be called Pension Commencement Lump Sum (PCLS). This is an amount of cash set by tax law which you can take at retirement free of tax under UK rules. Salary-related occupational pension schemes may have different rules on the amount of tax free cash you can take.

Unsecured Pension (Income Drawdown)
This is an alternative to buying an annuity but provides an income whilst the pension is still invested. At age 75, the unsecured pension must cease and be replaced by either a Lifetime Annuity or ASP. For non UK residents or those intending to become non-resident, QROPS could be another alternative.


Pensions Advisers, including the ones that I recommend, will be happy to cut through the jargon. Email me for a recommendation


Further reading

QROPS 2015

QNUPS 

La Torre Fx – Foreign Exchange



David Goodall
Financial Pages in Spain

davidgoodall.spain@gmail.com