International Pension Plans for Teachers
It is becoming more common for teachers to seek employment overseas, both to gain new experiences and to become immersed in different cultures. Schools in places such as the Middle East and Asia are also looking for high quality graduates from places like the UK, Europe and the USA to come and teach locally. This sharing of cultures and new ideas is positive for both parties and can offer students and pupils a different take on the world, which is important in an increasingly global marketplace.
One of the major stumbling blocks that teachers who choose this path have to contend with is how they put money away into their pension pot and save for their retirement. If they stay in their home country, then the issue is generally solved for them because there is already a pension provision available that they can take advantage of. But travelling abroad means that there is not always an ideal local pension and standards and rules can vary from country to country, even from school to school in some cases. Experienced international teachers therefore need to source a retirement solution.
For schools this is an issue as well because if they don’t provide these value added extras then they may not be able to attract the right calibre of teaching staff from abroad. It makes business sense if you are hoping to utilise the skills of foreign teachers on a regular basis, something a lot of schools are now starting to do.
One answer to this question is to join an international pension plan or IPP scheme that is developed specifically for this employment situation. It’s something that many teachers who move overseas for employment are interested in joining but which most schools themselves rarely look to engage with and so don’t provide for their visiting academics.
There are plenty of benefits for schools across the world who want to attract overseas teachers in joining an International Pension Plan scheme.
It provides pension security for teachers, of course, where ever they live and work, and ensures that they can save for their future retirement. That’s important for many and making access as easy as possible is equally vital. Part of the problem for individual teachers is the hassle of having to source and then set up an IPP themselves and many may think twice about travelling abroad because of it, particularly for extended periods of time.
Schools that provide an IPP for visiting teachers from abroad set themselves apart from other institutions in their area who perhaps haven’t considered the importance of this aspect of employment. It means that top talent can be more easily attracted and retained to your location because you have in place a teacher International Pension Plan that can be easily accessed. It also gives teachers a scheme they can essentially ‘carry with them’ rather than having to worry about the rules and regulations in a particular country and how they access the money when they retire.
The good news is that many International Pension Plans are entirely suitable for schools who want to use it as a way of attracting high calibre teaching staff. They are simple to establish, to join and easy to use with little in the way of an administration burden. Because contributions are flexible and cater to various currencies these IPPs are portable for the teachers who join, they provide the perfect solution for everyone concerned.
