Savings & Investments

On the surface, investment and savings issues are broadly the same for military and civilians. However, dig a little deeper and using a SIIAP Member with investment expertise makes a great deal of sense.

Let’s look at saving for a start. By that I mean building up capital for the future. The first area to look at is the reason for saving - is it for the next two or three years for a new car or house deposit, when you leave the forces or when you stop work. For the short-term, there may be the issue of ISA eligibility for non-resident spouses. For the medium term and long term, it is important to appreciate the benefits you can get from the Armed Forces Pension Scheme.

A Financial Plan will take all this into account, so it is important to work with an adviser who understands how it all comes together.

For investments it’s really more of the same, and an Independent Financial Adviser will obtain products to suit your risk profile and financial objectives, sourced from the whole of the market. An IFA who is a SIIAP Member will help you put together a financial plan that takes your military lifestyle and benefits into account.

Pensions

The AFPS 75 and AFPS 05 pension schemes are an intrinsic part of your financial planning, and you need to work with advisers who understand how they work. You also have the ability to invest in top-up pensions and pensions for spouses who are not members of a pension scheme. However, if you do not understand how the AFPS works, you can end up with an imperfect solution to the problem you need to solve.

Again any IFA should have the knowledge and expertise to provide professional advice in this area, but how much better that advice is worth, if your adviser has a working knowledge of your pension scheme, and this expertise is unlikely to cost you more than an IFA dealing primarily with civilians.