The France Show by Kelly Roberts

Recently released research from AXA Global Healthcare has given a better idea of how living and working abroad has been of value to professional men and women.

The study, which was exclusively focused on people who’d moved as a result of work assignments, aimed to discover how taking on international roles impacted upon life.

Focusing on men and women separately, the results showed that 43 per cent of male respondents believed their international assignments had increased their value to employers by enabling to become regional experts.

Overall, 51 per cent of men felt that shifting their job overseas accelerated their career development, making this is a top benefit for professionals. Of female respondents 39 per cent, said the same.

Recent pension transfers I have been involved with include British Airways and BT, amongst others, and these have prompted me to consider their perceived “gold-plated” image and whether clients may be better off transferring out to a Self-Invested Pension Plan (SIPP), perhaps, or a Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme (QROPS).

If you are contemplating your pension planning, ask your pension trustees to send you a Cash Equivalent Transfer Value (CETV) and you may be shocked by the size of the sum involved. The British Airways Scheme recently offered over £500,000 transfer value to a member whose pension entitlement would be £20833 at retirement. That’s 24 times the income.