Pensions and Property Planning

We are all aware of the need to provide for retirement, but the traditional pension planning route is under scrutiny as more and more people are becoming disillusioned with stock market performance and pension annuity rates. In some instances, this means that people approaching pensionable age may not be expecting to get the level of pension they had perhaps hoped for, and younger people seem to be faced with the prospect of making monthly pension contributions that appear unaffordable.
All of this, together with the rise in property prices, has led many to consider investing in property as a means of building wealth and providing for future pension needs, and we have seen a marked growth in the number of property investment transactions.

Investing in property of course needs to be considered from a tax planning perspective and there are many issues to be considered such as:

Will you invest in commercial or residential property?

Is the intention to hold a property for the long-term or are short-term profits attainable?

Do you wish to generate rental income or develop property for re-sale?

All of these factors could affect how you structure a property acquisition and specifically whether the transaction is in your own name or perhaps through a company that you set up for this purpose, or even your pension scheme. The tax consequences of how you hold property investments can vary dramatically, and can be costly in tax terms if you get it wrong.

In addition, we expect that from April 2006, it will be possible to hold residential property within a pension fund, and this provides further issues to consider in the longer-term.
As you consider New Year's resolutions to boost your finances, aside from offering our Season's Greetings, we hope to help you achieve some of your financial aims.
We are all aware of the need to provide for retirement, but the traditional pension planning route is under scrutiny as more and more people are becoming disillusioned with stock market performance and pension annuity rates.

We are experienced in assisting clients to structure property investments as tax-efficiently as possible, and if you would like to discuss the above issues in more detail, please contact Les Styles on 01925 761600.