Property Articles | Real Estate Articles

Brits should be able to take full control of Self Invested Personal Pensions (SIPPs) to safeguard their retirement, says expert.

UK and Cyprus-based property specialist Morpheus Investments www.morpheusinvestments.com has joined calls for the government to reconsider its rules on Self Invested Personal Pensions (SIPPs), which currently only allow investment into non-residential property.

One recent proposal has suggested that the British government should make SIPPs available for UK residential property as a way of reinvigorating the domestic housing market, however, Morpheus Investments believes that this should be extended towards EU countries that fulfill a strict set of criteria.

"At the moment, literally millions of Brits are worried about their financial future when they retire as banks go under and pension plans have had billions wiped off their value around the world," said Cyprus property expert Dani Maxton, Director of Morpheus Investments.

"While the idea to allow SIPPs to be invested in residential property is a good one, the UK housing market is unstable and will continue to be so for some time. I think that for countries such as Cyprus which have shown steady price growth annually*, are inside the EU and share a legal culture with the UK, then it should be considered. Letting people take this into their own hands will truly help Brits secure their own retirement.

"I am calling on Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Chancellor Alistair Darling to help make this happen and secure the future of Britons approaching retirement."

UK property prices fell by over 17% in February alone, while many of the world's key residential tourism markets such as Spain, Portugal and Florida fell by between 5% - 14% in the last three months of 2008.*

Maxton added: "Fortunately, Cyprus is as close to the UK as can get, minus the rainy weather, expensive living and increasing crime rate. Cyprus has an English Common Law system, making it easy to buy your property, is part of the EU so relocating is straightforward, personal tax rates are one of the lowest in the UK and crime rates are also negligible."

Additionally, Morpheus Investments is now a member of the Association of International Property Professionals (AIPP). The body aims to improve the standards of professionalism in the international property market, helping the industry and the public.

AIPP Members voluntarily sign up to follow the AIPP Code of Conduct. This was established to help consumers know who the professional property companies are and illustrates a sign of commitment from each member.