Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1448619
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 6 FEBRUARY 2022 12 COMMERCIAL MAPFRE MSV Life reports strong demand for personal pension plans during 2021 MAPFRE MSV Life p.l.c. has seen sustained demand for Per- sonal Pension Plans during 2021 as it has consolidated its posi- tion as the leading provider of retirement savings solutions in the Maltese market during last year, significantly increasing its book of Personal Pension plans. "We have written more than 2,800 new Personal Pension Plans during 2021," said Mi- chael Galea, Chief Business Development Officer at MAP- FRE MSV life. "As a result, MAPFRE MSV Life today has nearly 11,000 Personal Pension Plan customers with aggregate Pensions Savings amounting to over €37 million. It is clear that more and more people are being receptive to the message that underlines the importance of saving towards retirement as can be seen from the take up that we have regis- tered during last year, " added Mr. Galea. The MAPFRE MSV Life Per- sonal Pension Plans are quali- fying schemes which, therefore, enable customers to benefit, subject to eligibility, from the tax credits made available by government. The tax credit for 2021 was of 25% applicable to a maximum contribution of €3,000 (resulting in a maximum tax credit of €750 per person). Government is continuing to incentivize voluntary pensions savings with the same level of fiscal incentives being made available for 2022. The MAPFRE MSV Life Per- sonal Pension Plans offer a compelling value proposition that includes some unique fea- tures. Amongst others, MAP- FRE MSV Life offers the pos- sibility to pensions savers to link their savings to Lifestyle Funds. Lifestyle funds are often utilized by investors seeking a savings vehicle for a specified utilization date and, therefore, are often used to support re- tirement savings. Lifestyle funds are also some- times referred to as Target Funds since their purpose is of serving as a vehicle for in- vesting funds toward a specific goal. Lifestyle Funds combine con- servative, moderate or aggres- sive risk allocations for savers at all different stages of their lives. As the retirement age (Target Date) nears, a Lifestyle Fund will roll down into a more conservative mix of assets. This will happen automatically un- der the guidance of the fund manager without the need of any intervention by the inves- tors in the fund. "Future pension adequacy de- pends not only on how much people save and for how long. Investing in a diversified range of assets can be as important as saving enough and has a very important role in delivering adequate retirement income. It is vital that pension savers have the option to invest in a well-diversified mix of the ma- jor asset classes. That is why we advocate the importance of saving enough and of saving well. In this regard, we believe that the MAPFRE MSV Life Personal Pension Plans are ide- al to help people to save well towards their retirement whilst benefiting from the tax incen- tives that government makes available," said Mr. Galea. More information about the MAPFRE MSV Life Personal Pension Plans is available from the MAPFRE MSV Life offices in Floriana, Luqa and B'Kara or from any MAPFRE MSV Life intermediary. Train with two of the world's best OCR athletes WORLD Champion Obstacle Course Race (OCR) Athlete Ida Mathilde Steensgaard, together with the Guinness World Re- cord Breaker and OCR Athlete Thomas van Tonder are coming to Malta for the upcoming The Grid Events. The OCR Red Bull athletes, who will be visiting Malta in April and June will be able to train a total of 8 females for the Grid Arena event in July and another 8 males for the Grid Main Event in May. Red Bull and The Grid are an- noucning an open call for those interested to join the athletes' teams, with a maximum of 50 athletes being accepted for each team selection. The male team selected by Thomas will take part in the Elite Wave of the Main Event in May and the female team se- lected by Ida will take part in the Female Elite Wave of the new Grid Arena in July. In OCR, Ida Mathilde Steens- gaard is one of the most distin- guished athletes around. She has already won the national championships in her home nation of Denmark and scored a gold medal in the European Championships while setting her sights on conquering some of the sports biggest events. South African Thomas van Tonder is also one of the big stars of obstacle course rac- ing. The South African athlete started OCR in 2013 and fin- ished second in his first race. Within three years he'd turned pro. Fast forward to 2019 and among many other wins, Thomas has won 17 Warrior Black Ops Elite races, won the National Championship and Series Championships in 2016 and 2018 (he was runner up in 2017). He has also competed in four OCR World Championships and placed in the Top 10 three times. On November 17, 2020 Thomas entered the Guinness World Record books when he achieved the fastest-ever 50m rope climb. The selected 16 will then con- tinue to be trained and moni- tored by both Thomas and Ida themselves. Participation is free and you can apply on https://thegrid- malta.com/ida-thomas/.