The Blacktower Group obtains Cyprus licence

The nose-diving post-Brexit pound is causing anxiety and practical financial problems both for British expats already in France and those who are planning to soon move there for their retirement, making it especially important that all concerned make positive and informed choices when seeking a QROPS transfer to France.

There can be no doubt that the pound’s fall has been dramatic; in the months since June it has dropped 15% against the value of the euro, greatly reducing the financial leverage of some expats with a QROPS in France.

The defined benefit scheme – whereby the employer promises the employee a specified payment upon retirement, the amount of which is calculated based on several factors including the years the contributor has been in the scheme, their age, and their salary at retirement – is no longer viable in today’s world.

Recently, the high-profile collapse of the construction firm Carillion has served as yet another example of why this is the case.

The collapse means that, just like in the heavily reported case of retail giant BHS, thousands of employees are likely to have their carefully laid out retirement plans affected. Now that the company has gone into liquidation, it cannot afford to pay employees their expected pension amount, leading to yet another sizeable pensions black hole with a deficit of around £580 million (although the BBC reports that the final figure could be as high as £900 million).