AWOL 2014 Issue 296 22nd August | Page 9

Advertise here from only 40 baht per week cashING in CHA-AM AND HUA HIN Retirement Planning - Education Fee Planning Regular Savings - Tax Saving Lump Sum Investments The Financial Benefits of Being an Expat. Every week in this article Helen Couldrey, a financial consultant with the deVere Group, and also a qualified English lawyer, will give you tips and ideas of how to take advantage financially of being an expat. Helen has clients in Bangkok, Hua Hin and ChaAm who she helps to maximise the financial benefits of living overseas. Helen Couldrey, BA (Hons), L.L.B, CISI Contact Helen for a finance review 086 088 2127 [email protected] passive income in retirement Upon retirement, many expats choose to retire in Thailand. It can be one of the most interesting and cost effective countries to live in, with the bonus of beautiful weather thrown in. During that time many retirees will already have an adequate retirement fund on which they can live. However, needing, or wanting, to supplement that retirement fund through passive income is not uncommon. So what is passive income? In brief, passive income is an income received on a regular basis with little effort required to maintain it… sounds good hey. With that in mind, here are a few types of income that are often described as passive: • OWN A BUSINESS. Whether it’s renting out transport, setting up a restaurant or selling artwork. If there’s something you feel passionate about then one option could be to set up your own business… and then let others run it on your behalf. This allows you to take a step back from the operations, allowing the income to roll in passively. However, owning a business can still involve a lot of work, regardless of how ‘hands off’ you intend to be. There’s also the legal hurdle of visa/work restrictions, so in reality this may be a less likely option. • RENTAL INCOME. Many people are able to supplement their retirement by renting out properties. Obviously the capital expenditure involved in such a plan is high as property doesn’t come cheap. If you have property in your home country then one obvious option is to rent that property out either yourself or through an agent. • forward. The good thing is that you don’t need substantial capital to go down this route. The dividends can be a useful source of cash in retirement and if you need access to the capital they can be sold with relative ease. • QUARTERLY INCOME NOTES. If you are of the opinion that markets may fall rather than rise, Quarterly Income Notes are a great option. They can pay an income every quarter and are linked to market indexes. Unless the chosen market indices go down by a pre-agreed percentage (normally around 20% or 30%) a fixed return is paid to you per quarter, normally providing returns of between 5 and 8% per annum. Regarding the above options, I have ranked them from 1 to 4 for a reason; number 1 being the least passive and number 4 being the most passive. As above, business ownership can still be time consuming whereas monitoring a Quarterly Income Note would be as simple as checking a few market indices every 3 months. Of course these are just a few options when it comes to passive income. You can think outside of the box as much as possible, however please keep in mind any legal and visa restrictions. For this reason many expats opt for passive income generation through instruments such as dividends or Quarterly Income Notes. Regardless of which options you pick though, passive Income can be a great way to supplement a retirement fund with very little work required, allowing you time to focus on your more important goal ... enjoying your retirement. DIVIDENDS. If you are interested in investments then buying stocks and shares could be the way Join the AWOL forum 9