Capital and Credit Securities Limited (CCSL) has launched a new investment product on the market, which will provide persons as young as 18 years old, who are employed or self-employed, with the opportunity to save for retirement.

The product, called the Individual Retirement Account (IRA), was launched on Tuesday at the Terra Nova Hotel in St Andrew. It is being touted by the company as a product ensuring persons a means of investing adequately and preparing for a comfortable retirement.

Christopher Walker, general manager of CCSL, said at the launch that the rolling out of the product was timely in that it came on the heels of regulatory developments within the pensions sector.

"... The majority of contractual workers out there are not part of a pension fund. This is just one simple indication of the massive market there is awaiting such an investment opportunity as this, and we are confident that CCSL offers an extraordinary solution with our IRA," he pointed out.

tax break

Walker, however, pointed to the several benefits of the product which, he said, included investing the client with real long-term solutions and benefits, beyond the usual 10 to 15-year span, which many earmark as long-term investment.

The other real benefit which could be considered short term as well was that investments in the IRA would be tax exempt.

"Buying into CCSL's IRA means you are getting a break from the approximately 25 per cent of your income earned being taxed. So through the IRA, there are significant benefits on the dollars and cents side," he said.

Walker said with new legislation, there would be fewer institutional pension schemes.

"The majority of the pension business in Jamaica is institutional. But in another five years, we envision that the landscape will change, with more emphasis being on individual schemes," he said.

"We believe corporations will most likely follow options which give them a choice to contribute, as it is still costly for some to offer group pension funds or retirement Schemes," Walker added.

Michelle Wilson-Reynolds, Capital and Credit Financial Group senior vice-president of group marketing and corporate affairs, said the company would be launching other financial-solution products this year or next year. However, she said the company would be launching a technical-solutions product within the next couple of months.

"It will have additional customer access and servicing," she said refusing to say more on the product.

dionne.rose@gleanerjm.com