Lewis (pictured) is a chartered accountant and brings over 15 years of experience working in the financial services sector with a broad range of relevant leadership and financial services experience gained from her both her time in practice at Deloitte, and in industry as head of financial reporting at Manx Telecom.

Before her move to IFGL,  she enjoyed 10 years (over two spells) with Deloitte Isle of Man. Her early career saw her manage an audit portfolio of regulated entities including those in the life insurance sector.

Latterly, she was the lead advisory and assurance director for Deloitte Isle of Man, responsible for growing the advisory and assurance side of the business, with a focus on regulatory and controls assurance and financial crime advisory projects. Her clients have included public sector, highly regulated financial services entities and large and listed entities with complex control environments.

IFGL’s group chief risk officer Sue-Ann Ind said: “I’m so pleased to welcome Charlotte to our leadership team. Charlotte’s experience and expertise are key assets for our business because she brings a global perspective and an appreciation of strategic opportunities and challenges.

“She will be responsible for setting a clear strategy for IFGL in terms of compliance and conduct, bringing fresh perspectives to protecting our business, delivering excellent customer outcomes and continuing to embrace regulatory change.”

“The opportunity to join a growing and ambitious organisation based in the Isle of Man was very attractive to me,” said Lewis. “There is already a well-embedded compliance culture within the business, and I am looking forward to using both my strategic and technical skills to support the business growth whilst further strengthening the control environment we have in place to comply with an ever-evolving regulatory landscape.

“I have a huge amount to learn but I have a very strong team around me and I am excited about the challenge. I am committed to showing that, with the right support, women can excel in leadership roles whilst embracing the responsibilities and joys of parenthood”.

Lewis grew up in Derbyshire and moved to the Island in 2012, with her now husband, Jamie. She has two young sons aged 6 and 3. Outside of work, she enjoys playing the piano and spending time outdoors, whether she’s running or exploring the Island’s beautiful landscapes with her family.

“I’m also very passionate about sustainability,” she said. “The Isle of Man is a beautiful place to live, with our biosphere status, and it’s important we protect what makes the Island so special.”

Hughes (pictured) will be responsible for supporting and enhancing the extensive range of regular savings, single premium and protection products across IFGL’s life brands, RL360 and Friends Provident International, and for the Ardan International platform proposition.

He has stepped up to the role after 7 years within IFGL, most recently as product marketing manager – lump sum investments.

IFGL’s marketing director Simon Barwell said: “I’m delighted that Mike will bring his experience and expertise to this important role within the Marketing function. We are constantly seeking to improve and enhance our award-winning product range to ensure those products continue to meet the needs of international expat and local national clients and the financial advisers who advise them. Mike will play a key role in delivering our product marketing strategy.”

He has over 30 years’ experience in financial services in the Isle of Man. Before joining IFGL in May 2017, he worked for Zurich International, AIG and Isle of Man Assurance (IOMA).

Hughes said: “I’m very excited by the challenge of leading the Product Marketing team and building on the excellent product range we already have in place.

“IFGL is a progressive, innovative and growing business and I look forward to helping to deliver our ambitious growth plans.”

Originally from Scotland, Hughes moved to the Island in 1987, where he now lives with his partner and 2 children. Outside of work he enjoys playing football and going to the gym, as well as cooking his favourite Middle Eastern, Persian and Eastern Mediterranean cuisine.

Around half of the 1,000-plus respondents cited this as a top concern keeping them awake at night – more so than ‘paying rent’ (49%), the ‘cost of medical insurance’ (39%) and ‘retirement funding’ (32%).

By contrast, UAE residents are relatively unconcerned about financial obligations such as paying for events like their child’s wedding (9%), a summer holiday (16%) and the mortgage (19%).

The survey, conducted between October and December 2024, asked the same question to residents across various demographics – by gender, age, location, ethnicity, marital status and salary range. In general, the factors that keep respondents awake at night are the same for everyone.

“We can see some consistent themes in the UAE about how residents think about their financial situation, and what’s important or concerning for them,” said Stuart Shilcock, Senior Executive Officer Middle East of IFGL, the provider of investment, savings and protection solutions to expats and wealthy locals around the world.

Five other notable findings from the IFGL survey include:

1. Women are generally more concerned than men when it comes to saving enough and funding retirement.

2. Retirement funding is more of a worry for individuals in the highest income group (over AED 25,000) compared with respondents in the lowest group (under AED 10,000).

3. Western and Arab expats consider savings levels and funding retirement as much bigger factors keeping them awake at night than Emirati or Asian respondents – while Emiratis are much more concerned than other ethnic groups about paying for the future education of their children.

4. Not saving enough and funding retirement are significantly more worrying for single people than those who are married, especially if the latter already have children.

5. Younger respondents (18-24 years old) worry much more about their levels of savings than any other age group, although this means they have more time to start planning to make a difference.

“For many people in the UAE, financial preparation and professional advice appear to be essential, and could help them sleep better at night, whoever they are,” added Shilcock at IFGL, which has $25bn in assets under administration.

This reaction was obviously a response to chancellor Rachel Reeve’s announcement that from April 2027 pensions would fall within the scope of inheritance tax. Some already do of course, but most personal pensions (including SIPPs) can be paid to beneficiaries free from any inheritance tax, due to the discretionary nature of the death benefit award.

So will this move kill the SIPP industry and in particular smaller SIPP providers who have already been under the microscope of the FCA, thanks to a number of high profile due diligence decisions made by the Financial Ombudsman Service, which have forced several firms into administration?

In truth the answer is that the SIPP should not be written off for the very good reason that, IHT protection aside, the product is still very tax efficient. It is worth recalling that many “experts” believed the new Labour Government was going to reduce or entirely remove the tax relief which is available on contributions. In the event they did not. Neither did they touch the tax-free cash sum, despite many commentators suggesting it would be capped at £100,000 or removed entirely.

Aside from the tax-free cash sum, which remains capped at £268,375 for most, it must not be forgotten that the investments held within a SIPP remain free from capital gains tax and income tax.

All that has happened in reality is that the pension has taken on similar tax breaks to the ISA, but with two key additional advantages:
1. That up to £60,000 can be contributed to it each tax year, if you are a UK taxpayer, have sufficient earnings and are not yet accessing your pension by way of flexi-access drawdown income payments. This is much higher than ISA annual contribution limits.
2. That contributions into pensions benefit from tax relief of up to 45%– an offer that would look attractive on any supermarket shelf!

Moving back to inheritance tax, we have yet to see the details involved with this change. We do know that it is intended that pension administrators will be required to deduct the income tax from the pension fund before any distribution is made to beneficiaries, which will inevitably make the process of paying claims much more complicated.

However, we do not know whether withdrawals from pensions will be treated in line with the current lifetime gift rules which govern the tax treatment of any money an individual gives away.

For example, if someone takes their tax-free cash sum and gives it away to a relative, will it potentially by liable for inheritance tax if the donor dies within seven years of the gift?

Ultimately, the Government’s motive with this move is to prevent pensions from being used as an inheritance tax avoidance vehicle and instead what they were designed for, which is a vehicle to provide income and benefits to the policyholder in their old age.

It’s also worth noting that there is no inheritance tax between spouses, who are the most common beneficiaries of pension pots when members die. Perhaps not the most romantic of proposals, but a sparkly ring might be a very attractive (from a tax perspective) accessory.

In the international market, if anything demand for SIPPS will increase, thanks to the removal of one of the overseas transfer charge clauses in the same budget, which will make it unlikely that many residents in the EEA/Gibraltar will be looking to transfer UK pensions to QROPS’ in the future.

As the rules become clearer, the need for good estate planning will become even more important. Hopefully this will provide an opening for sound advice from professionals. But the role of the SIPP in retirement planning should not be diminished. It has a key role and sensible tax planning can ensure that hopefully the impact of the inheritance tax changes are not as devastating as some fear.

At the start of the year, IFGL announced the deal, subject to regulatory approval, and this has now been received, the Isle of Man-headquartered group said on 10 December.

“The book of business totals circa 2,000 policies and an AUM of over £400m, providing additional size and scale to IFGL.

“The deal solely covers IOMA’s wealth book of business and does not include the acquisition of the company or the transfer of any staff to IFGL.

“There are no material changes to any policy values, benefits or material changes to terms and conditions as a result of the transfer”, the statement said.