Dublin based Canada Life International Assurance (CLIA) has launched a new estate planning product – the Wealth Preservation Europe Account (WPEA).
The WPEA is based on Canada Life’s award winning Wealth Preservation Account (WPA), which was voted the Best Trust/Estate Planning Product in the International Adviser International Life Awards 2013.
The WPEA and WPA both allow individuals to gift money into a unique trust arrangement to reduce any potential inheritance tax liability. The trustees invest the money into an offshore bond which is set-up with a number of yearly maturing policies. The key unique selling point of both products is the ability for the trustees to decide when and how many policies will mature (or to select future anniversaries if they decide to defer the maturity dates). This flexibility allows the trustees to make sure that policies only mature when the individual needs the payment and don’t inadvertently increase the individual’s inheritance tax liability.
The WPEA and WPA can be created with up to 998 policies. Both are truly open architecture products and there is no maximum number of funds to invest into. As they are held offshore, funds grow almost free of tax, offering the potential for higher returns. The WPEA also has the added benefit of favourable tax treatment for discretionary investments through an Irish provider.
Both products allow for up to six lives to be assured. The minimum investment is ?50,000 with Canada Life facilitating the initial adviser charges before the products are set-up and ongoing adviser charges being paid quarterly, half yearly or yearly.
Mark Armstrong, Managing Director of CLIA comments:
“The Wealth Preservation Europe Account offers great flexibility for people who want to reduce their IHT liability and also want peace of mind that they can still receive some money to supplement their income if needed. Being able to protect one’s wealth while keeping the option to access some of the cash offers people the best of both worlds and holding it offshore offers obvious tax benefits. This is particularly important for people who may be about to retire and who want to see their money grow, especially those who want to use one or multiple discretionary investment managers.
“Advisers and their clients are looking for a wide range of offshore investment solutions including a choice of Isle of Man and European bonds from providers with strong financial backing and with a long pedigree in this market. We are delighted to be expanding the CLIA product range with the WPEA which is backed by published service standards. CLIA is a very strong proposition for UK clients because the company is prohibited from writing guaranteed and non-UK business, it has a 100% unit linked balance sheet and has also retained its 5 star AKG rating this year.”
