A GROWING number of islanders are taking their future seriously and getting a pension. Independent financial advisor Jeff Barnett, of Gower Financial Services, said the company was now administering £11m.-worth of local pensions.

‘A large proportion of our growth has been through retirement annuity trusts (rats) which are for Guernsey residents as well as through investment-planning structures,’ he said.

Mr Barnett has worked in financial services for 23 years and said people’s view of the pensions industry had changed in that time.

‘Traditionally it has had a perception of insurance salesmen working out of back offices but this has changed.

‘We have set out from the start to be a credible business with the infrastructure and resources necessary to provide a professional service to our clients.’

He added that Gower’s staff were appropriately qualified and well able to look after their clients’ affairs.

‘This is important when it is in everyone’s interest that Guernsey residents take their retirement planning seriously.

‘It is a complex area of financial planning and requires knowledge and experience to ensure that retirement wealth, which may have taken a lifetime of work to achieve, is properly looked after.’

Newly-appointed employee benefits manager Paul Fruin said it was essential workers had a good dialogue with their employers to ensure a good benefits package.

‘Most employee benefit schemes are dealt with on paper, with staff members only really receiving a brief explanation of what their package includes before they sign the paperwork,’ he said.

‘It is essential that employees know what their packages include.

‘In relation to the company pension scheme, many employees do not have any idea of how it operates or what they are likely to receive on retirement,’ he said.

Mr Fruin said Gower ensured it carried out group presentations and conducted one-to-one interviews with employees to try to reduce the number of complaints.

‘We sit down with individuals and discuss what quality of life they will expect on retirement and just how much they will need to pay to achieve that,’ he said.

‘This process helps to alleviate complaints about not receiving enough value from pension schemes and helps protect the employer against litigation.’