The Classic Swiss Franc Annuities

Transcription

1 An Invitation from GONTHIER GROUP SA The Classic Swiss Franc Annuities Retirement Income You Can Count On Pierre-André Gonthier International English edition

2 Preserving your Purchasing Power with a Swiss Franc Annuity Is retirement today a mirage? Whatever worries we have about retirement, one of them is bound to be money. In fact, the availability of money is what makes retirement possible. But just having money is not enough. When we speak of money at retirement, what we are really speaking of is purchasing power, the ability to acquire the goods and services we need. Money is only valuable to the extent of its purchasing power. A dollar is always a dollar s worth of something. The assets you have accumulated over a lifetime of work can be destroyed by inflation. Yet, these are the assets that must produce the purchasing power on which an independent retirement depends. Increasingly, people are asking themselves the troubling question: Can I afford to retire? Until the 20th Century, the average person was usually unable to accumulate sufficient funds for an independent retirement. Then, retirement depended upon financial support from the currently working members of the family unit - usually the children. This situation often left elderly people in an uncomfortably dependent situation. As the Chinese proverb says, Why is it that one father can support ten sons but ten sons cannot support one father? Today, in most industrialized nations, the standard of living is sufficient to provide the average person with more money than needed to meet current living expenses. These surplus funds can be used to create assets for the nonworking retirement years. The combination of personal savings programs, private and government sponsored pension plans, will allow most individuals to count on a retirement independent of support from their children and relatives. The Classic Swiss Annuity Solution We all know that retiring requires us to have money available. What we don t always realize is that it matters greatly what kind of money we have. As we know, a retirement program is no better than the currency in which it is denominated. When we retire, what we need is purchasing power. To have purchasing power, our retirement income must increase faster than the depreciation of our local currency. This edition contains products which are non-u.s. tax compliant. An edition for U.S. nationals is available at 1

3 Over the life of a Swiss annuity, the amount paid in francs never varies. What changes is the value of the Swiss francs when received and The converted Swiss to your own Classic national currency. Deferred Annuity In the exhibits below and on the following pages, we will take a look at how Swiss annuities have developed historically for investors in: Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States. For each country we show two graphs: one of purchasing power and the other of Swiss franc appreciation. You will see that over the past decade, the Swiss-franc has achieved substantial appreciation relative to each currency. AUD 140,000 and The Australian Investor What 4% Compounding Achieved Over The Last 10 Years Australia 128, , ,000 92,000 80, The Life Income That Protects Your Purchasing Power Purchasing Power Australian Dollar Purchase Value over 40 Years Our investor deposited CHF 100, into a Swiss Classic Deferred Annuity in the year In that year this equaled AUD $95, By the end of the year 2009, combining the average four percent compounding of a Swiss Classic Deferred 1.00 Annuity with the rise in the Swiss franc, the total value of the annuity account stood at AUD $139, GONTHIER GROUP SA Avenue du Casino 13, CH Montreux, Switzerland TEL: FAX: info@gonthiergroup.ch GONTHIER GROUP SA Exhibit 1 shows how a life income in Swiss francs developed over the past decade relative to the Australian dollar. The Swiss franc life income more than offset the dollar s loss in pur- Year chasing power. Exhibit 1 2 Copyright 2010, GONTHIER GROUP SA

4 The Life Income That Protects Your Purchasing Power Exhibit 2 shows how a life income in Swiss francs developed over the past decade relative to the Canadian dollar. The Swiss franc life income more than offset the Canadian dollar s loss in purchasing power. Canada CAN 165, , , , ,000 85, Canadian Dollar Purchase Value over 40 Years 1.00 Purchasing Power Year Exhibit 2 This edition contains products which are non-u.s. tax compliant. An edition for U.S. nationals is available at 3

5 The Life The Income Swiss That Classic Protects Deferred Your Purchasing Annuity Power and The British Investor Exhibit 3 shows how a life income in Swiss francs developed over the past decade relative to the British pound. The Swiss franc life income more than offset the pound s loss in purchasing power. What 4% Compounding Achieved Over The Last 10 Years United Kingdom 90,000 79,000 68,000 57,000 46,000 35, Our investor deposited CHF 100, into a Swiss Classic Deferred Annuity in the year In that year this Purchase equaled 39, Value over By the end 40 of Years the year 2009, combining the 1.00 average four percent compounding of a Swiss Classic Deferred Annuity with the rise in the Swiss franc, the total value of the annuity account stood at 87, Purchasing Power British Pound GONTHIER GROUP SA Avenue du Casino 13, CH Montreux, Switzerland TEL: FAX: info@gonthiergroup.ch GONTHIER GROUP SA Year Exhibit 3 4 Copyright 2010, GONTHIER GROUP SA

6 The Life The Income Swiss That Classic Protects Deferred Your Purchasing Annuity Power and The American Saver Exhibit 4 shows how a life income in Swiss francs developed over the past decade relative to the U.S. dollar. The Swiss franc life income more than offset the U.S. dollar s loss in purchasing power. What 4% Compounding Achieved Over The Last 10 Years United States 140, ,000 USD 104,000 86,000 68,000 50, Our American deposited CHF 100, into a Swiss Classic Deferred Annuity in the year In that year this Purchase equaled $66, Value over By the 40 end Years of the year 2009, combining the average four percent compounding of a Swiss Classic Deferred Annuity 1.00 with the rise in the Swiss franc, the total value of the annuity account stood at $125, Purchasing Power US Dollar GONTHIER GROUP SA Avenue du Casino 13, CH Montreux, Switzerland TEL: FAX: info@gonthiergroup.ch GONTHIER GROUP SA Year Exhibit 4 This edition contains products which are non-u.s. tax compliant. An edition for U.S. nationals is available at 5

7 The Swiss Annuities: Income Today or Income Tomorrow Classic Immediate Annuities As the name implies, an immediate annuity is one in which your life income begins within one year of paying your premium. It is as simple as that. You receive an income that you cannot outlive. Each month, your insurer wire-transfers to your local bank the value, in your national currency, of your Swiss-franc income payment. The amount of your life income in Swiss francs will depend upon several factors. These include your age, the amount of premium paid as well as what provision, if any, you make for your beneficiaries. A summary of the various beneficiary options available is in Exhibit 5, Beneficiary Options. Classic Deferred Annuities Deferred annuities are cash accumulation accounts held by Swiss insurance companies. You make a deposit with your insurance company and it pays you interest on your funds. The interest rate you receive is composed of two parts. The first part is a guaranteed interest rate, which is around 1.75 percent per year for most insurers. In addition to this, a bonus rate or dividend is paid, depending upon current investment conditions. This compares very favorably with Swiss bank accounts where one is fortunate to earn 0.50 percent interest. Swiss-franc annuities pay a higher interest rate than Swiss bank accounts. You may withdraw all or a portion of your funds whenever you wish. You may also instruct your insurer to begin paying you a life income, in effect turning your deferred annuity into an immediate annuity. The minimum investment for an immediate or deferred Swiss-franc annuity is Chf. 50,000. Asset Protection Swiss law affords Swiss annuities very strong protection from the actions of creditors. This even extends to shielding your assets during bankruptcy proceedings. You will find on our website a downloadable brochure entitled, Asset Protection that explains in detail how a Swiss annuity shelters your assets in ways that dollar-based annuities cannot. Ownership Options You may own your annuity directly or it may be owned by a trust, company or other legal structure. The owner and the insured (the person upon whose life the annuity is based) may be different. This means that you can buy an annuity for someone you love. The policyowner is the person who has complete control over the annuity. All rights vest with the owner. 6 Copyright 2010, GONTHIER GROUP SA

8 The Classic Swiss Franc Annuities Exhibit 5 Beneficiary Options The size of your life income will depend on several factors: Your age, sex, amount of investment and what provisions - if any - you make for your heirs. Regarding your heirs, the following beneficiary options are available: 1. Straight Life (Without Refund) Option. This option will give you the largest life income. At your death, all payments cease. 2. Ten-Year Certain Option. With this option, you will receive the next highest income. The insurance company guarantees to pay you an income for life - or to pay your beneficiary for at least 10 years. For example, should you die after receiving your income for two years, the insurance company will continue to pay your beneficiary the income for eight more years for a total of 10 years altogether. 3. Refund Option. With this option, you will receive an income somewhat less than the 10- years certain option. At your death, the insurance company will subtract all payments, and refund the difference, if any, to your beneficiary. 4. Joint & Survivor Option. Under this option, you create a life income for two people - usually a husband and wife. At the death of one person, from one-half, two-thirds or even the full annuity will continue to be paid to the other. This edition contains products which are non-u.s. tax compliant. An edition for U.S. nationals is available at 7

9 Key Points The key points of a Swiss annuity are: You own a long term accumulation account with a Swiss insurance company Classic Deferred Annuities have a proven track record of out-performing currency depreciation Guaranteed life income is available Annuities can be denominated in any major Western currency Full range of beneficiary options is available Minimum single premium: CHF 50,000 Swiss law protects you from creditors, even during bankruptcy Your relationship with the insurance company is covered by Swiss privacy and confidentiality laws Policies are issued by Swiss insurers You are exempt from all Swiss taxes. The annual policy s gains are considered taxable income 8 Copyright 2010, GONTHIER GROUP SA

10 An Invitation from GONTHIER GROUP SA We invite you to join the world of GONTHIER GROUP SA clients. In this world, a portion of your assets are domiciled in Switzerland, safe from the prying eyes of bureaucrats and attorneys. In our world, you make the decisions regarding your investments. You are always in control. Your assets live in the safest investment structures possible. We are a firm of international annuity and insurance brokers. We welcome the opportunity to work with you in the development of the investment structure which best suits your needs. We are not investment advisors; however, if you wish, we can introduce you to outstanding investment professionals. As with everything we do, you the investor make all decisions regarding your assets and how they are managed. We also welcome you to visit us at our website and, of course, at our offices in Montreux. Our contact information is: GONTHIER GROUP SA Avenue du Casino 13 Case Postale 1245 CH-1820 Montreux, Switzerland info@gonthiergroup.ch Tél Fax Swiss Federal Insurance License Number As with any financial decision, we at GONTHIER GROUP SA, recommend that you seek the advice and counsel of your tax and legal advisors. This edition contains products which are non-u.s. tax compliant. An edition for U.S. nationals is available at 9

11 GONTHIER GROUP SA Avenue du Casino 13, Case Postale 1245 CH-1820 Montreux Switzerland Tél Fax Swiss Federal Insurance License Number 24970