5 Tips For A Prosperous 2022 & Beyond
Ensure you start 2022 as you mean to go on. Follow these 5 simple steps and you will have a structure in place for years to come.
These tips have been created after helping the expat community in Switzerland for nearly 10 years and this strategy will ensure you maximise your earnings, tax relief and growth.
Also if you live in the EU or UK this strategy remains the same accept the tax relief elements and pensions will differ.
No.1 – Calculate your surplus income
This may sound obvious but you will be surprised how many people do not know how much they have left after all of their necessary expenses such as rent/mortgage, healthcare, utilities etc.
Once you are aware how much your surplus income is you are able to start making plans for your future.
No.2 – Invest 25-50% of your surplus income
Once you know exactly what your surplus income is we recommend that you pay yourself 25-50% of this amount and move it into an investment account that will generate returns well above inflation. This should be allocated to a portfolio which is inline with your current risk profile. If you are unsure what your risk profile is you can use our free online tool. RISK PROFILE. Your remaining 50-75% should be kept in cash with your existing bank. You may also wish to move it to a savings account where your bank will pay you very little but some interest.
No.3 – Do the same with your children’s benefits for their education
We always advise that the funds you receive from the Canton for your children, should also be invested for their future. As we all know university fees are extremely expensive and the sooner we start to plan for this expense the less we need to invest on a monthly basis.
Similar to Tip no.2 – divert this capital to an investment account which is again inline with your attitude to risk. If you invest just 300 francs per month when your child is born, come the time they are 18, you will have accumulated nearly 105,000 francs that can be used for their education. This is based on a modest return of 5% per annum.
No.4 – Put your savings to work
Even though you are now diverting some of your capital on a regular basis to your new investment account, you will still accumulate additional capital within your standard current/savings account. We recommend that you retain up to 6 months living expenses for your emergency fund. This is to be used for any unforeseen expenses that you have not planned for and prevents you having to liquidate your investments.
Anything over 6 months living expenses should be moved to a different investment account where again you can invest this capital inline with your ATR and generate returns. This is even more important now with interest rates being so low and even negative with some banks.
No.5 – Maximise your tax relief and pension contributions
Third Pillar
Every year ensure you are contributing the maximum amount to your third pillar pension. The current maximum allowance is CHF 6883 / year. For those who are self employed can pay contributions equal to 20% of the income, but up to a maximum of CHF 34’128 / year.
If you are planning to stay in Switzerland until retirement and beyond it could be beneficial to open your third pillar with a life company such as Swiss Life or AXA. They offer additional benefits such as life cover.
However, if like most you are unsure how long you will stay in Switzerland, we advise you open your account with your bank. This is simply because you will not be tied into any form of contract and will be able to start and stop your contributions as you wish.
When opening your third pillar with your bank, select their option that allows you to invest your contributions into a managed portfolio in line with your attitude to risk. UBS have a custody account that enables you to do just this UBS Pillar 3a custody account.
In addition if you do choose to invest your contributions we recommend that you do so on a monthly basis. This will help you mitigate risk whilst maximising your potential returns. So setup a standing order for 573.58 each month and you are all set.
Second Pillar
You either have already or will soon receive your end of year statement for your company pension scheme (second pillar). On this you will see how much you are entitled to buy back and also receive further tax relief on. This amount will be much more significant than your third pillar pension so you may wish to contribute and buy back the maximum over a number of years to ensure maximum tax relief and pension income.
We hope you have found this article useful and start to implement some if not all of the above 5 tips. Should you wish to speak with one of our trained team for guidance please do not hesitate to contact us. Simply leave your details below and we will get back to you as soon as we are able.
