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You might have heard about BOSS+, the five-year investment offered by the Central Bank of Barbados on behalf of Government, and are thinking of investing. The attractive 4.5 percent interest per year it pays – plus the fact that that interest is not subject to withholding tax, so you get the full amount – definitely makes it worth considering. The fact that you have the option to cash in, without penalty, after 24 months is all the more reason to look into the security.
Both the attractive return on investment and the flexibility make BOSS+ a worthwhile option whether you’re looking to supplement your income or are saving with a specific goal in mind.
If it’s the latter, and that goal is a shared one, such as planning to buy a house or saving for your child’s education, you do have the option to invest jointly with someone else. If that is something you might consider, here’s what you need to know.
Remi Holder, Banking Officer at the Central Bank reveals that up to three people can invest together, and that they don’t need to be related. She suggests, however, that “there’s a very good understanding between them.”
She offers this advice because when you and your co-investors receive your bi-annual interest payments, they will be made to a single account. “When you complete your application form stating the amount you wish to invest, you’re going to give us one set of lodgement details… I hope that everyone has access to the account or that there’s an understanding between them that the money is going to go here and what’s going to happen after six months.”
Although the interest payments will go to a single account, Holder makes it clear that the investment will be in all the investors’ names. “All three names will appear on the security, and on the statement, and on the customer payment advice.” This means that there will be a record of whom the bonds belong to.
When you complete the application form, you don’t need to have the other investor or investors with you. Their names and other information such as their date of birth and national registration number will appear on the application, but “all three investors need not sign; one signature is enough.”
As you would if you were applying solely, you will need to have the application form witnessed by an attorney-at-law, banker, doctor, or someone else. After you submit your application and make the payment, you’ll receive an allotment letter, which as Holder stated, will include the names of all the joint investors.
While it’s not something most of us like to think about, if you’re planning to invest in BOSS+ bonds jointly with someone else, it’s important to understand what happens if one of the bondholders dies.
“I know people don’t like to talk about death,” says Holder, “but in the event that that should happen, the other party on the security assumes sole ownership.” Likewise, if you invested with two other people, your co-investors would become the full owners of the bonds. This is the case even if your next of kin or beneficiary is someone else.
Who you can invest with, where the interest payments will go, and what would happen if one of the joint holders were to pass away are all key factors to bear in mind if you’re contemplating investing in BOSS+. Holder provides more information on this topic in the below podcast, so we encourage you to have a listen.