Meet David Rogers – the alternative pension planner

“The ability to diversify my investments attracts me a lot, I could never hope to achieve this if I were investing only through traditional buy-to-let.”

At 63, David Rogers is in the fortunate position of being retired – the promised paradise of all workers. But still two years shy of receiving a state pension, he wants an investment opportunity he can use to add to other sources of income.

“The income is welcome in the short term. And the longer-term capital growth will also boost my other pension arrangements should I need to access the money at a future point in time.”

David was not in an occupation where he could pay into a pension using traditional methods, so he has built a retirement income in his own way – something that more and more people have begun to do. Together with a stakeholder pension, he has built investments with various ISA’s, stocks, shares and savings accounts.

Having chosen an alternative approach to investment, David hasn’t taken advantage of the pension freedoms which came into effect in April 2015. Instead, he has a greater interest in property – which is why he was drawn to Property Partner. He already owns a buy to let property, but would rather avoid the hassle of having to buy and manage another, and is using us to build up his portfolio.

“I like to diversify; to spread my investments out – and this is something that attracted me to Property Partner. The opportunity to start small and build up regularly, and to put in larger amounts if I wish. I really like the flexibility you give me.”

David found out about Property Partner on Twitter, and was immediately intrigued by the idea. He now has several properties across the country with us, including investing in areas that he knows. Eastbourne and Hastings were both interesting to him, as he lives in East Sussex.

David sees property as an essential part of his pension portfolio, because it provides such a good balance of income and capital returns. Moreover, property has proven to be a steady, long-term investment – one of the lowest risk, and highest performing investments you can make. (You can read more about this, here). Knowing that Property Partner is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, he can also feel secure in his investments with us.

David isn’t alone in his opinions about property. In August 2016, The Times ‘Money’ asked the chief economist of the Bank of England what was best for retirement planning. He said:

“It ought to be pension but it’s almost certainly property. As long as we continue not to build anything like as many houses in this country as we need to . . . we will see what we’ve had for the better part of a generation, which is house prices relentlessly heading north.”

Perhaps it’s time to start building your pension in bricks and mortar. It’s never been easier…