An International Pension for Residents of South Africa
Freedom International Personal Pension Plan (Freedom) is ideal for residents (or potential future residents) of South Africa who have savings accumulated from various sources.
Freedom is designed to accept transfers of international pension arrangements and/or contributions of cash or assets and gives the option to change the currency of your pension fund and your retirement pension if required.
An efficient way to make use of your annual foreign investment allowance and discretionary allowance, Freedom provides a tax-neutral jurisdiction for your offshore pension benefits, enables investment flexibility with access to global markets, and allows for nominated beneficiaries to receive your pension fund upon death without the need for probate.
Freedom fully recognises and satisfies the relevant Isle of Man retirement benefit scheme rules while maximising the opportunities you have as a tax resident of South Africa.
Freedom Key Features for Residents of South Africa (SA):
- Flexible Contributions: There are no limits (from an Isle of Man perspective) to the level of contributions (cash or asset) that can be made to Freedom; if your SA pension fund, provident fund, preservation fund or retirement annuity is close to your maximum annual allowance, Freedom can enable you to save more for your retirement
- Consolidate Pensions/Assets: Consolidate offshore assets (savings accounts, investment portfolios, trusts) to reduce overall cost and create simplicity
- Future Proofing: Prepare for retirement in a different country by re-domiciling your assets, or structure your finances appropriately before moving to South Africa
- No Isle of Man Tax at Source on Investment Growth and Income: Build your retirement savings in a tax-free gross roll-up environment
- Flexible Benefits and Retirement Age: Choose from 100% lump sum, ad-hoc lump sums, a structured and sustainable drawdown of pension income, or a combination of these options; benefits can be taken from age 50 at the earliest
- Gross Benefit Distributions: Benefit distributions, whether paid to you during your lifetime or a beneficiary in the event of your death, are paid without the deduction of any Isle of Man tax at source
- Succession Planning: Any residual fund within Freedom at the time of your death can be distributed, at the sole discretion of the trustees, taking into account your specific wishes regarding potential beneficiaries
- Investment Choice: Freedom offers a range of pension investment choices, from simple bank accounts to streamlined platform-based investments
Freedom is registered as an International Authorised Retirement Benefits Scheme under the Retirement Benefits Schemes Act 2000. Freedom is established under trust in the Isle of Man and Boal & Co (Pensions) Limited is the trustee and Professional Retirement Benefits Schemes Administrator.
Talk to your adviser, or one of our team, to understand more about Freedom and how it could be used as an appropriate retirement savings vehicle for your unique circumstances.
It is highly recommended that you seek your own independent tax advice in respect to your specific circumstances.
Documentation
Isle of Man
Boal & Co was established in the Isle of Man in 1995 by Gary Boal as an insurance consulting and pension services business, before branching out into pension trusteeship and administration in 1997.
Following the introduction of formal pensions regulation under the Retirement Benefits Schemes Act (2000), Boal & Co (Pensions) Limited became licensed as a Professional Retirement Benefits Schemes Administrator with the Isle of Man Financial Services Authority.
To this day the Island remains as Boal & Co's Headquarters.
The Isle of Man, over the last 25 years, has developed into one of the largest and well-respected international finance centres, attested to by international bodies including the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Organisation for Economic Development (OECD). With proven success as a strong base for insurance companies, banks, retirement benefit schemes and emerging technologies, the Isle of Man has firmly established itself on the world stage as a globally recognised jurisdiction for international financial services.
Widely regarded as a centre of excellence for pension scheme services, the Isle of Man with its unique, flexible but robust regulation of both domestic and international retirement benefit schemes, offers individuals, companies, multinational corporations and their advisors an unequivocal jurisdiction for retirement savings schemes and pension plans. With several dominant leaders in this sector, the Isle of Man offers all services required by clients and advisors through professional, locally established companies with global reach.
Some of the world’s largest companies have chosen the Isle of Man as a domicile for their expatriate retirement plans, built on the robust yet highly flexible legislation allowing scheme designers to tailor solutions to the requirements of the client.
