Long-time financial columnist Martha Harris Myron is no stranger to the need to be frugal. Born in Bermuda, her father operated a sewing machine sales and repair business on Wesley Street during a time when many families struggled to make ends meet. Her upbringing instilled in her a lifelong sense of the importance of counting every penny and value of planning for your long-term health and financial future as early as possible. 

Moving to New England to live with her grandmother at the age of sixteen afforded Martha the opportunity to study medical technology and an internship at the Boston City Morgue. Her eclectic career path has also included working in garment design and the construction industry before finally obtaining a degree in accounting and a Master of Law degree once her own children had completed college. 

It was then that she embarked on a career as an international professional finance consultant to Bermuda residents, advising both their multinational families and businesses on cross-border financial planning; ultimately specializing in assisting with the unique financial challenges for international citizens living, working, and straddling what she refers to as “The North Atlantic pond” (the territory comprising the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Europe, and the island of Bermuda). 

It’s no wonder then that Martha’s no-nonsense approach to personal financial management makes her twenty-year financial column with the Royal Gazette an enduring success because she has lived through five major recessions and appreciates exactly what it takes to recover from setbacks in a complex financial jurisdiction. 

“Bermuda does not have an independent financial planning website like Yahoo Finance. There’s a huge need for a place for people to obtain trustable financial facts to help them make financial decisions without trying to sell product,” she says. 

Now in her seventies, Martha’s days are busier than ever. In addition to writing her weekly column, she has recently released her first digital format book entitled “The Bermuda Islander Fundamental Financial Planning Primer”. This book, which is the first in a series of seven that she has planned, focuses primarily on personal financial matters for island residents – and future titles will include information and topics ranging from risk and insurance, to investments. 

She is also in the midst of recording a series of “Fast Fact” audio tracks to accompany the various segments of her eBook on The Royal Gazette and is looking forward to participating as a regular panellist on a new video series entitled “Leaders in Action – Looking Ahead” which is being produced by Olderhood Productions International to air on social media around the world. 

When asked if she had any thoughts of slowing down, she laughed and confided that the secret to a fulfilling later life is to find something that you are interested in that promotes your own sense of purpose and identity and enables you to continue to contribute to society. 

In Martha’s mind, planning for your financial future requires taking a good hard look at a lot more than your bank balance. “Many people don’t have a sense of purpose when they leave work, and this frequently leads to unhappiness, marital discord, and spending money excessively or inappropriately.” In fact, given that older people still have so much to offer, she questions whether many people should really retire at all. 

“I really don’t think this later phase of life should be called retirement at all,” she said. “People really need to start planning what they are going to do next at least 3-4 years before they leave their current job. It’s essential to figure out what you can do either part-time or full time to maintain a sense of personal value.” 

Rather than think about retirement, Martha advises, “Just think of this as another change in your journey; and if you really are going to retire make sure you practice first – practice how you will live, what you will do, and experience how it will feel to either spend time with your spouse 24 hours a day, or how it will feel to be alone all the time depending on your circumstances.” 

Our later years can be lengthy, so having a purpose in life is essential, and while it can change over time, it is the bedrock of our later years. Every individual is different in many respects – we have our own individual standards and character. Moreover, the things we enjoyed when we were younger may not hold the same appeal as we age. What we planned to do in our later years can change – due to not enough money, not enough energy – or simply because our goals have changed. 

Finding purpose in life is something to plan ahead of time and continually review and revise, as necessary. “And above all, make sure you realize that later life is not just about money – the key to a long and prosperous retirement is to stay connected and stay involved.” 

The post Creating Value in Later Life: A Conversation with Martha Harris Myron appeared first on RG Magazines.

This time of pandemic has been a great challenge, and an amazing testament to our mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual strength to carry on toward a new normal. 

No matter our community outcome of this challenge, it is always helpful to assess where you are in your personal life. 

Being financially healthy means that you are in harmony with your relationships in work, retirement, family, relatives, community, and your money. 

In other words, you must take care of you first before you can take care for others! 

The general financial components of a financial health review are: 

Cash management 

o Do you have enough cash savings to draw on? 

Advisors recommend three-six months of current expenses, however, in this current environment, a year of savings is a more comfortable goal, particularly if your extended family needs assistance. 

Is it easily accessible? 

o Do you keep some cash at home in a safe place? 

We won’t quickly forget the Friday blackout where digital cash and credit was unavailable while old-fashioned ordinary cash worked. 

Debt management efficiency 

o Do you still carry debt? 

o What is your percentage of good debt and bad debt? 

Appreciating assets are low interest rate borrowings: home, education, vehicle, etc. 

Bad debt is using high interest rate credit cards to purchase ordinary household items, food, etc. 

o Can you reduce or eliminate bad debt payments? 

Risk / contingency planning 

o Life insurance – Do you own any? 

Struggling to pay premiums on a life policy? Rather than cancelling the policy, can you convert to a term policy to keep the protection with a lower cost? 

o Property insurance – Carry as much replacement value coverage as you can afford. 

Remember Hurricane Fabian – 50% island of our island roofs were covered in blue tarps! 

o Health insurance – A valuable benefit if employed. Challenging cost if unemployed. 

Do yourself a favour to protect yourself as best you can. Start now to work hard to maintain good physical health. It will place less demand on your valuable resources. 

Asset appreciation in investments, tangible property, and your human capital 

o Investments – are they diversified enough? 

Stressful personal financial times don’t support investing in highly volatile securities, e.g. penny stocks, bitcoin, or large amounts in one security. 

o Your pension should have same thought process – diversified. 

If still working, put away that voluntary one-two percent, you will never miss it – and it will be welcome extra cash at retirement. 

o Real estate may be your biggest life-time investment. Make it a premium goal to pay off your mortgage before retiring, before any other investing! 

o But your human capital is an even greater appreciating investment. It lasts forever – no matter how dire your circumstances. Keep up life-long learning and continuing education to further enhance your problem-solving skills. 

Your estate legacy 

o Check pension and life insurance beneficiaries, executing a will, and correct titling on all assets – make sure they reflect your wishes! 

Achieving equilibrium in your financial health can lead to powerful changes in confidence, better family and personal relationships, significant career successes, and a more comfortable retirement. 

The post Are you financially healthy? appeared first on RG Magazines.

As many readers will be aware, the Government of Ber­muda recently decided to make amendments to the National Pension Scheme (Occupational Pensions) Act 1998. These changes reflect the fact that both regulatory practice and pension provider practice has evolved since the Act was introduced 20 years ago.

The Act is administered by the Pension Commission, which is a quango (otherwise known as a private entity with a public purpose). The primary functions of the Pension Commission are to register pension plans, provide oversight for the ultimate protection and benefit of all pension plan members by serving as a market conduct regulator inter­facing between the pension providers and their individual pension plan members, and advising the government on any pension-related matter as required.

Essentially there are 3 pillars, (or layers of coverage), that combine to make a private pension scheme. The first pillar is government social insurance; the second is the nation­al pension scheme (which supplements social insurance), and the third pillar is discretionary income which individuals invest privately.

According to Peter Sousa, the Pension Commission­er, “employer pensions are becoming a primary source of retirement income and the changes are being made to the National Pension Scheme in keeping with changes being implemented in other jurisdictions such as the UK.”

These changes will provide the Commission with more re­sources through the collection of fees from pension provider companies that cannot be passed on to plan members. In turn, the Commission will initiate provisions to ensure pen­sion providers are giving good advice and require employers to keep comprehensive records in relation to pension plans. The Commission will also be empowered to assess new penalties on employers who fail to meet their obligations under the Act, and even require employers to pay interest on any delinquent contributions.

In keeping with policy in other jurisdictions, once these changes have been fully phased in, all employed persons over the age of 23 who have not reached retirement age will be required to have an employer pension regardless of their immigration status, and all individuals will now have greater access to their funds upon retirement.

At retirement, any account balance below $50,000 can be taken as a lump sum cash settlement. Additionally, for ac­counts in excess of $50,000, a member will be able to make an application to take up to 25% of their account balance (or 25% of the commuted value of their benefits if they are en­rolled in a defined benefit plan) in a lump sum cash payment. This will enable individuals to use the money more effectively then would be the case if they were only able to access a small monthly payment over a prolonged period of time.

Non-Bermudians who have paid into a pension scheme will be able to transfer their pension balances to another plan overseas when they leave the island, or apply to receive a cash withdrawal if the Commission is satisfied that the individual has no existing connections to the island (such as a Bermudian spouse) and does not ever intend to return to Bermuda.

The Pension Commission plays an important role in ed­ucating the public. “A holistic retirement plan does not just provide money for expenses in retirement,” says Sousa, “it is the foundation of dignity and quality of life as you age”.

Equally, the public needs access to trustable information regarding the financial impact of these lump-sum withdraw­als on monthly retirement income, and good advice regard­ing how to invest retirement income so that it continues to grow throughout your retirement life.

To address financial hardship situations, Sousa says that individuals have always been able to make an application to receive up to 20% of their occupational pension con­tributions balance to offset uncovered medical expenses, mortgage arrears, rental arrears, or educational expenses for themselves or a dependent.

These hardship Applications are limited to once every 5 years and a maximum of twice in a lifetime and the total amount cannot exceed 20% other pension balance.

As a result of the recent amendments, both employed persons and retirees (regardless of age) are eligible to apply for financial hardship payments, and the funds are also available to meet the cost of on-island funeral expenses or to cover the cost of housing for University students studying abroad who live off-campus.

Retirement planning is about more than just your pension fund accumulation. The core issue according to Mr Sousa is to understand your pension plan as early as possible and ask questions with your pension provider on a regular basis. It’s your pension and you must be aware of how it works today, in the future, and especially in retirement.

The Bermuda Pension Commission is located at Wessex House, 45 Reid Street, Hamilton (441) 295-8672 info@pen­sioncommission.bm

The post Making Your Pension the Foundation of Your Holistic Retirement Plan appeared first on RG Magazines.

Founded: 2000

Employees: 35

Male/Female ratio: 54% – 46%

Bermudian/Non-Bermudian ratio: 29% – 71%

Staff turnover (2017): 14%

Frontier Financial Services made a perfect debut in the Top 10 Employers competition, taking top honours at the first attempt.

The professional-services company lends its expertise to employers all over the island in a wide range of areas from accounting and recruitment to immigration requirements and compliance. Its new-found status as Bermuda’s top employer will be a great advert for the business.

The 18-year-old company is based in offices on Reid Street and its staff apparently love working there. In their survey responses, employees remarked favourably on compensation, work-life balance and a listening management in the survey.

Personal wellbeing is of great importance. All employees receive full health coverage and all were given FitBit devices to encourage them to monitor their activity. The company also staged a health and wellness seminar with BF&M, its health insurer.

One trait of all great employers is that employees feel they have a voice, whether they are managers or not. One employee said in the survey: “Leadership has a clear plan. Employees are respected. Communication is a priority. All input is considered and appreciated.”

When economic conditions worsened, the company was able to continue to thrive by making the interests of employees paramount and preserving its all-important talent.

During the recession, the company said it increased marketing to improve demand for its services, while reducing prices to ensure staff were kept busy. It also reduced shareholder dividends to preserve cash in the interests of retaining all of its employees.

“Staff levels are currently higher than before the downturn with no redundancies or staff pay or benefits being reduced”, the company stated in the survey.

Frontier also does its bit for the community, donating financial support to youth sports and donating services to charities.

What employees said:

“Better management, structure, commitment, pay and opportunity. Almost everything is better here than in my previous employers in Bermuda”.

“Much better work-life balance. Better atmosphere within which to work. Happy staff”.

“Management takes the time to listen and act upon the wishes of employees to the best of their abilities”.​

The post 1. Frontier Financial Services appeared first on RG Magazines.