Or put another way, every month you delay your retirement savings planning you significantly increase the amount that you will need to invest to achieve the same level of retirement income than if you’d started today. If a 25 year old and a 35 year old were to start saving for retirement at 55 and the 25 year old invested £300 a month towards retirement, the 35 year old would have to increase his contributions to £803 a month to achieve the same potential returns. At the state retirement age of 65 the average man will have some 19 more years to live and the average woman, 22 years. You will have to support yourself without work and, very likely, without state income.

This means that you will spend 25% to 30% of your life in retirement. You will need substantial sums of money to support yourself in retirement in the manner to which you will have become accustomed throughout your life to date. Recent figures show that individuals aged between 25 and 44 are saving 1/3rd of the amount they should be saving in order to support their current lifestyle in retirement. In most countries you are forced to make your own pension provision if you want to have any chance of a comfortable retirement. The value of the government pension that you could once rely on is diminishing every year.

Ready to Start Planning? If you’re an expatriate you are in a more privileged position than most – chances are you’re enjoying a higher salary and extra benefits as a result of working away from home. Furthermore expatriates have greater freedom when it comes to making investment decisions: they are not necessarily restricted by the same regulations that domestic investors experience. Decisions That Need To Be Made The most sensible solution would seem to be finding a safe harbour to anchor your retirement investments so that you can move from country to country as necessary without this having any negative impact on your assets. However, if you decide to do this you need to decide exactly where that safe harbour should be.

Offshore financial centres present a viable solution - especially if you are undecided as to your eventual retirement destination. Basing your pension investment offshore should mean that future movements of capital or income are not impeded. What To Be Aware Of Your own personal circumstances are unique. Be realistic about how much you should be contributing.

Consider the charges the bonuses and the flexibility of any investment plan - generally the more flexible the plan the more charges will be. Know that a good offshore retirement plan should allow you to do the following without penalty:

1 Reduce contributions without penalty (normally after an initial period of one to two years).

2 Switch investments between different funds to respond to changes in the market. Preferably including funds managed by other people outside of the institution zone.

3 Have the option of retiring when you want to without penalty.

4 Allow certain access to monies invested (again, after an initial period). How to Find the RIGHT Solution Finding out what each provider's best products are currently, and then hand picking the best to suit your own personal needs and current circumstances is the best idea! But how impractical!

Do you have the time to do this? Would you consider yourself an expert in offshore investments and pension planning? Where would you start? Obviously professional advice will get you the right solution and save you time and money and reduce your cost of delay significantly! To find out more about what solutions are on offer in the market place and to learn more about offshore investing and saving for your future, visit www.offshoreinvestmentguide.com today. Discover how to build wealth, enjoy greater privacy, protect your assets and secure your financial future with the Offshore Investment Guide.

R L Williamson is an independent offshore financial specialist. She has worked in the fields of financial advice, specialising in retirement planning and she has worked in investment banking. Through her work she has travelled widely and lived in many different countries around the world. Meeting expatriates, international investors and being an expatriate herself, she is well versed in understanding the different financial needs of the individual, and she is an expert when it comes to finding the RIGHT offshore solutions.