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10 May 2013

Gay Retirement

Thinking about retirement? All the trips to the gym and eating salads have finally paid off! You can look forward and plan towards your retirement days with your special someone! Gay Retirement can be seen as living an "openly gay way of life". You may be wondering, how realistic is this, what can influence it and possibly for you, uncomfortably, into the closet? A simple phrase sums it up: A lack of Financial Planning!!
 
Same sex couples have additional challenges to typical straight married couples in retirement. In many cases, same sex couples aren't married, and for those who are, many countries don't provide the same level of protection or support in law that straight couples enjoy.
 
In the USA where same sex couples are recognised in some States, some of those same States have DOMA (Defence of the Marriage Act) that prevent same sex couples obtaining certain federally funded benefits e.g. tax-exemptions and healthcare. Straight married couples' ability to transfer wealth to their spouse free of Inheritance Tax is also not usually applicable to same sex couples, even, in some circumstances, when they are married.

Worse still is the kind of dangerous isolation / exclusion when your partner passes away, as most don't have children or spouses to help with care. Even with a partner, as their health declines, they are forced to cope with extra burdens straight counter-parts do not have. You have probably heard the stories where gay persons needing care in retirement are forced back into the closet, as their retirement home won't accept or acknowledge being gay. It may be significantly more complicated for a Transgender person, as it may not be as simple as going back into the closet. Documentary made about this issue: http://stumaddux.com/GEN_SILENT.html. Where you retire to / live can impact you considerably, many gay couples want to live in a LGBT retirement resort or friendly environment. The last thing you want is to find out, when it is too late when you are older, that you are living next door to a gay phobic man in the middle of Manchester or similar.

Most, if not all, of this can be avoided with sensible financial planning and the use of tools such as Wills and Trusts (especially for Inheritance Tax and Wealth transfer issues). A key issue is to ensure you have enough time to save for your retirement. Gay Retirement will usually cost a bit more than "straight retirement" due to preferred living locations such as LGBT resorts and a lack of government benefits; however, the average LGBT person has additional disposable income during their working life, as a result of not having to pay for the cost of raising children.

So the key is to plan for your Gay Retirement sooner than later (average person will need at least 25 years to build enough wealth), and avoid the mistake of "failing to plan" or putting it off until tomorrow.

Key issues for a gay retirement:

  1. What are my retirement goals? E.g. where do I want to retire, what level of income
  2. Will my balance sheet be enough to afford my chosen retirement lifestyle?
  3. What government or third party support can I expect in my old age?
  4. How do I ensure my assets are passed onto the charities or people I desire, considering the lack of legal security heterosexual couples enjoy?

 



LGBT Wealth
is proud to be Asia's first specialist financial advisory firm focused on the LGBT Community. LGBT Wealth is designed to provide a safe, confidential place for LGBT individuals to discuss their financial situation and aspirations with advisers who not only understand their needs but have specialist knowledge in areas like partner protection, LGBT retirement and property purchase.
info@lgbt-wealth.com

Disclaimer:
Nothing in this article or website constitutes an offer or solicitation of financial product advice and is not intended to constitute provision of investment, legal, tax, or other professional or financial advice. Such content therefore should not be relied upon for the making of any personal financial and investment decisions. Persons accessing this information are strongly encouraged to obtain appropriate professional advice before making any investment or financial decision.

Reader's Comments

1. 2013-05-14 15:14  
2. 2013-05-14 15:14  
3. 2013-05-17 03:08  
Do we pay Fridae Perks fees for badly written, and very soon out of date 'financial advice' by a for-profit company called 'LGBT-Wealth'?

This 'article'/advertisement focuses on soon, by the US-Supreme Court upcoming decison on DOMA and Prop-8, outdated 'advice'.. Also Fridae's core users are in the Asia-Pacific Region.. aren't they?

So how much money does Fridae.com get from this company and how much will that reduce Perks fees?

Fridae still hasn't been able to truly upgrade user experience, such as the long promised 'chat function' that never materialized, after years of saying it would come.. So now resources seem to focus on paid ads like this and useless 'gifts' that members have to pay for to send each other.. What's going on here?

4. 2013-05-26 19:19  
This could be a good advisory site. But as long as those providing the advice are not looking for self-benefits - which is what so many financial advisers do.

I know here in New Zealand what we get in retirement, and at a government guaranteed level, in hugely different to what people in Singapore, Malaysia, China etc etc get. So any advice given is going to have to specifically reflect the country concerned. Certainly what I'd advise a New Zealander to do would be vastly different to what I'd advise my friends in Malaysia to do, based on what I know of that country.
5. 2013-06-10 13:34  
Local financial professional and property agents would be the best advisor.
6. 2013-07-17 13:45  
I and an adviser for retirement policies can to my friends in this regard
just mail sonal649@gmail.com with contact number
7. 2013-07-21 19:04  
so young to consider retire......
8. 2013-09-18 20:27  
I am lending an a partment in shanghai Xinhua road near subway Line 10\11\2\3\4 , Huaihai road, Xujia hui

welcome to ask me about the picture of house
my Wechat is kevin695288,MSN is zkhk89@hotmail.com
9. 2013-10-04 22:36  
i think i better find someone of my taste soon and finally get on with my property.....itsnot that i am too poor but this made me realize to set my aims high
10. 2013-10-10 02:20  
Dear all,

I'm permanently based in SINGAPORE (SG).
We provide a one-stop service in terms of "Total Protection" for all our clients, be it personal wealth management, or corporate solutions.
Please drop me a private message with your name and SG mobile number, I shall get back to you as soon as possible.

We look forward to working with you soon.
11. 2013-10-13 00:59  
"Financial Planners", at least here in the USA, have a very bad track record. Their goals are often to sell services, not to guarantee their clients' financial security. Just use your common sense. Have six months worth of cash, for the unexpected, and invest the bulk of your money in tangible assets that increase in value with inflation. Some money in stocks and bonds is okay (tho it has never worked out for me), but it is risky, so keep that in mind. In fact, there is no risk-free investment and that includes cash in the bank. Don't carry debt, other than mortgages, especially credit card debt. It'll kill you, financially.
12. 2013-10-13 00:59  
"Financial Planners", at least here in the USA, have a very bad track record. Their goals are often to sell services, not to guarantee their clients' financial security. Just use your common sense. Have six months worth of cash, for the unexpected, and invest the bulk of your money in tangible assets that increase in value with inflation. Some money in stocks and bonds is okay (tho it has never worked out for me), but it is risky, so keep that in mind. In fact, there is no risk-free investment and that includes cash in the bank. Don't carry debt, other than mortgages, especially credit card debt. It'll kill you, financially.
13. 2013-10-25 17:44  
As of retirement with real estate investment, the business requires you deep knowledge of related laws. So I do not recommend any investment to where you don't understand local languages. There are many traps waiting for wealthy gay men. 1) Rights of tenents are better not strong. It is always difficult to kick out bad tenants. 2) Educated tenants are law-abiding and keep properties rather clean. 3) Purchase court-related discounted properties for cost cut. 4) Real estate agencies do not tell truth. 5) Gay venue will never change location from expensive city centre. Those were some of my ideas. Financial advisors might be shortcut, but please start reading books to avoid big risks. Thank you for reading.
Comment #14 was deleted by its author on 2013-11-29 21:44
Comment #15 was deleted by its author on 2013-11-29 21:44
16. 2013-11-29 21:42  
I work for a migration services company, AUSA Migration Connections. If you are dreaming to have your retirement or golden years spent in USA, Canada, Australia or New Zealand, maybe we can help. www.ausamigration.info We are based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and focus in helping people in the Southeast Asia region. Thanks.
Comment edited on 2013-11-29 21:48:26
Comment #17 was deleted by its author on 2013-11-29 21:47
18. 2013-12-17 09:45  
This article was not what I had hoped to read. It reads like a badly written Press Release, playing on fears rather than giving even basic common sense advice.
19. 2013-12-22 14:10  
额。有没有讲中文的呀
20. 2014-01-24 00:23  
Local financial adviser at your service, contact me by dropping ur email and wadsapp no.
ciao~
21. 2014-01-24 21:25  
I know retirement-planning is way too big a topic to summarize in one article, but I feel that they could have done a little better than an article that, for all intents and purposes, pratically ends at the questions themselves.

Well, at least we know what questions we should be asking, but a little more clarity in what direction to head would have been nice.

(Not that there's necessarily a one-size-fits-all solution, but surely there are some general ground-rules or similar...)
22. 2014-01-29 08:00  
Unfortunately, this article,(i.e. marketing piece for LGBT Wealth) gives you little insight into how to retire successfully. It also seems to open up the flood gate for opportunists to come to this site and advertise how they are financial planners, scammers, opportunists which Fridae does little to control.

I'm retired now in Hawaii and the way to do it is through sound planning and getting an idea of when you want to retire and what needs and resources you will need to make that happen. I used hard work, real estate, and maxing out 401K savings with company matches since I entered the job market, all as a means to get to where I wanted to be at a young age. Have goals at a young age and stick to them, it will help enormously!
23. 2014-02-20 18:51  
I planned long ago for my retirement, I married a rich man now I have no worries.
24. 2014-06-14 21:52  
Gay people from Europe,US,Australia and New Zealand should consider retiring to SouthEast Asian countries(Philippines, Thailand etc.). The lifestyle is cheaper, The value of the money was more high(1 EURO-60 PESOS), (1 DOLLARS-45 PESOS), hospitable and helpful people. Lastly, many hot Asians everywhere. Hahahaha :-). The bottomline is that if you are not so so rich retiring in Asian countries is a very good choice.
25. 2014-10-21 13:09  
我在上海,我是一个专业做退休 养老规划和资产保全 财富传承的,需要了解的可以加我微信a39580106 我的邮箱是 624618541@qq.com
26. 2014-10-28 07:11  
I've read that Thailand and Philippines offer so-called retirement visas (so do other non-Asian countries). I'm debating which of the two would be most preferable in terms of cost-of-living (housing, medical care, transportation, food and clothing, etc.) and ease of applying for a visa. Any suggestions, comments or advise is appreciated.
27. 2014-11-18 19:45  
And for those of us retiring as singles and not in the US? Completely irrelevant and like others, I'd hoped for something more constructive when clicking on this to read.
28. 2014-12-29 13:20  
29. 2015-06-13 06:02  
Hi. Advice needed please. I am retired already from Europe to South Africa. Sadly the city and surrounding cities are terribly homophobic. I need to get out ! Any concrete advice and or contact addresses of places in South-East Asian countries where a lad like myself could apply to finally retire without any or little stigma ? Much appreciated ! Thank you. My email address is: mamgu2005@yahoo.com I would love to go to the Philippines, but I do know one cannot purchase property there if you are a non- Filipino !
30. 2015-11-06 20:41  
I need a partner.

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