Pension freedoms are being compromised

Living in Germany brings a few challenges for the expat. Not only do you have to negotiate the language and the culture you also have to get to grips with the German insurance system, which to anyone whose experience of insurance has largely been confined to the UK can seem incredibly complicated.

Yet, once you overcome your unfamiliarity, and get your head around the innumerable syllables of all the various “komposita” involved, you may be able to take advantage of the system so that it works in your best interests. Finding an expat wealth management specialist who has familiarity with the system and the products on offer is likely to be part of the solution to finding the cover that is best suited to your needs.

For example, finding risikolebensversicherung (term life insurance) is about securing cover for all of life’s eventualities so that your family and other dependents are properly looked after in the event you die before they do.

The days of the “job for life” with a single employer are, for most of us, long-gone and we are now far more likely to have multiple jobs paying into a number of different pension schemes. This means tracing old pensions when you retire – whether defined benefit, defined contribution or private stake holder. In order to get an accurate and full idea of your pension wealth it is essential that you begin finding lost pensions to factor every single one into a total valuation.

Pension transfers are a hot topic at the moment, especially if you’re an expat and want to transfer pension pots overseas. And if, like many, you have lost track of the various pension pots you have amassed throughout your career, it can be hard to gather together all the information you need to decide whether a pension transfer would be in your best interests.