July 20, 2022
Meeting Birgit and Arne
Birgit and Arne Nielsen are married under the separation of property regime and currently live in the city of Aarhus, where Birgit runs a school. Arne is an investment consultant for several family offices and private banks. He divides his time between the family home in Aarhus and the cities of Copenhagen and Stockholm, where he often travels for work.
Birgit and Arne have two children, Eva and Frederik. Eva is 17 years old, attends a secondary school in Aarhus and still lives with her parents. Frederik is 24 and has set himself up as a lawyer in Copenhagen.
Arne has assets distributed as follows:
- DKK 20 million in a portfolio of listed assets (tax-free savings)
- DKK 10 million in Danish pensions (7 million in Ratepension, 2 million in Aldersopsparing and 1 million in Kapitalpension)
- DKK 5 million in private equity funds
Their objectives
- Have a single platform to manage all Arne’s investments, of any type
- Manage the wealth and tax aspects of the couple’s future relocation to Spain
The OneLife solution
Birgit and Arne’s advisor knew that a tailor-made solution based on a Luxembourg life insurance policy would achieve both objectives. With the help of OneLife experts, he proposed the following international solution to the couple:
- Arne takes out a Luxembourg life insurance policy (§53A Wealth Denmark) while he is still resident in Denmark. He is the policyholder and the life insured. The policy complies in all respects with Danish legislation
- Arne’s listed assets and private equity funds are integrated in one policy (DKK 25 million)
- Arne’s three pension plans are transferred to OneLife (DKK 10 million) and posted to one single account, which is not possible in Denmark
- His wife Birgit and their two children are named as beneficiaries in the event of his death, so that they can dispose of his assets according to his wishes
- A reputable bank from among OneLife’s partners will serve as custodian for Arne’s assets, and one investment manager will manage all his investments
Meeting the objectives
From a wealth management point of view
- Arne’s succession in the event of his death is ensured by the provisions concerning the beneficiaries
- Arne’s estate benefits from the Luxembourg Triangle of Security, a unique policyholder protection regime in Europe that is specific to Luxembourg
- All assets are centralised with one single investment manager to simplify monitoring and reporting
From a tax point of view
During the lifetime of the policy
- Income generated by the underlying investments during the life of the policy will be taxed at a marginal rate of 42% in Denmark for the tax-free savings. For the three Danish pension plans, the PAL tax in Denmark is 15.3%.
- When relocating to Spain, Arne’s life insurance policy will be adapted to the civil law, tax and insurance provisions in force in Spain, and treated as an insurance policy under Spanish law
- No income tax will be due in Spain until partial or full surrender, which enables active portfolio management under the policy. If the policy is surrendered outside of Spain, for instance if the couple were to move back to Denmark, there is a fiscal “step-up” regime in Denmark, i.e. there is no taxation of gains accrued while they lived in Spain. Moreover, there is no exit tax when relocating from Spain if the wealth is held through a life insurance policy.
- No Danish PAL tax will apply to the pension plans while they are living in Spain.
- No double taxation treaty exists between Denmark and Spain, so by putting the assets in a Luxembourg life insurance policy, double taxation on dividends, interest and gains will be avoided thanks to bilateral tax treaties put in place by Luxembourg with these countries.
- Through the application of the Spanish “joint-limit” scheme, investing and managing assets and income under a life insurance policy could lead to tax benefits in terms of Wealth Tax should the policyholder not surrender the policy.
On settlement of the policy.
- The taxation applicable at the time of settlement of the policy and payment of the benefit will depend on the tax residence of the policyholder and beneficiaries.
- For Arne’s children residing in Denmark, there would be no Danish inheritance tax if the parents were Spanish residents at the time of death. This applies to the extent that the life insurance policy issued by a Luxembourg company is not deemed to be a property asset of Danish origin.
- In Spain, the Spanish inheritance tax applicable to Birgit and the children will be fully exempted as the region of Andalusia applies an exemption for successions between spouses and from parents to children.
Conclusion
Thanks to the support of OneLife, Arne was able to find a solution that was perfectly suited to his needs. He benefits from a comprehensive solution both for his private banking wealth and also for his Danish pension plans, which is compliant and can be adapted according to his country of residence. He also benefits from a centralisation of his assets and pension plans for better investment management.
Want to know more?
Discover in our whitepaper the benefits of Luxembourg life insurance and its application through some practical cases.
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1,000 lives, OneLife – Case study #4 – OneLife
