Fridae

Fridae is pleased to announce the launch of an LGBT Money Section as part of its commitment to provide news and information to the LGBT Community.

People who are LGBT face a number of unique issues, the Money Section is designed to provide information specific to the LGBT community that will not be readily available elsewhere.

Planning for the future is an important part of life and financial security is a key component of this. The money section will provide information on issues that a Gay, Lesbian or Transgender person may want to consider and as well as providing topical news. Important areas such as:

• How can I live my chosen lifestyle in retirement?
• How can I protect my partner without marriage protection?
• Issues to consider when buying a property?
• Buying a property with a partner.
• How to avoid being forced back in the closet when you retire.

As an introduction, this first article gives a flavor of some of these issues that will be covered in more detail in subsequent articles.

Generally people who are LGBT will have a different life cycle to heterosexual couples. Not having children and all the focus that gives, can provide specific challenges but also significant opportunity.

Generally with higher disposable income and without the 20 years + supporting children there is an opportunity to better plan for the future and even early retirement. In most cases not having to focus on the traditional life cycle, couples have more time to focus on financial planning. With this being said, research has shown that despite the higher disposable income, the LGBT community does not plan sufficiently for the future.

Partner protection is another significant issue for the LGBT individual that is very often overlooked. Without the traditional marriage structure (benefit of legally recognizing marriage rights), special attention needs to be given to partner protection. Even those who are married or formally partnered may not have all the same protections, especially if they are living in another country to where their marriage was recognized.

Retirement is becoming a very topical issue for the community. Whilst we may think we will never grow old, we will likely want to retire at some point! You may want, as a couple to retire in a big city for example, Hong Kong, Shanghai, or New York, but places like these are expensive to continuously maintain your lifestyle. It could be a dream house on a beach just close enough to the action but again, this is likely to be expensive. For the LGBT community, this will require careful planning and the good news is you can potentially start earlier!

Buying a house is a dream for most people. However there are many issues to be aware of when buying a home, especially with a partner. Many in the LGBT community are now also looking at potentially obtaining a second or holiday home or in some instances a special place for you and your partner to live in during your retirement years.

The issue of getting good financial and legal advice is also something to take into consideration. Many members of the LGBT community may not be comfortable talking openly about their sexuality to their Bank or Financial Adviser and key parts of the puzzle could be missed. Talking about our financial issues is a very private area and being in a safe environment where our issues are understood is considered very important as research shows. In more developed markets such as the US and UK specialist financial service companies have been developed and even some of the major Institutions have introduced 'LGBT desks' to provide a service to LGBT Individuals. In Asia, this is only just beginning and the recent introduction of LGBT Wealth in Hong Kong was the first development of its kind in Asia. LGBT Wealth is 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 advisors who not only understand their needs but have specialist knowledge in areas like partner protection, LGBT retirement and property purchase.

The importance of planning for the future and making sure that we can continue to live our chosen lifestyle whilst protecting our loved ones becomes more and more important as the LGBT community develops. We hope that the information in these articles will help in thinking about some of these important issues.

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.