In Focus News & Insights

What are your options as an expat in Europe with a UK pension? Do you leave it in place and hope for the best or do you investigate your options and see if there is a product that is perhaps a better fit for your goals and circumstances?

Before you make any decision you need to consider that your pension is likely to be the key to your long-term financial security and only by taking considered action informed by advice from an experienced wealth manager are you going to give yourself the opportunity to make a confident decision.

Monday 4 March saw the signing of an important deal between Spain and Britain which will seek to curb some of the Gibraltar wealth management issues that Spain currently sees as a problem.

The deal will see the creation of a joint co-ordination committee to oversee tax matters between Spain and Gibraltar and primarily seeks to create certainty over tax residency and to curb tax evasion and money laundering.

Since the UK government introduced pension reforms in 2015, there has been a huge increase in pension scams with unscrupulous firms targetting the over-55s with advice regarding what they can do with their retirement savings. Statistics issued by the Pensions Regulator in January, show that, on average, victims of scams lost £91,000 in 2017. 

If you are an expat in Sweden, wealth management that takes account of your cross-border financial interests is a must.

However, with Brexit looming there is currently an added layer of concern, with the UK's imminent separation from the EU undoubtedly relevant to certain components of any British expat's wealth management strategy.

Fortunately, and despite a constant deluge of disturbing headlines that could easily have you believing otherwise, there is little chance that British citizens living in Sweden will need to make any fundamental changes to their outlook.

If you are serious about receiving the best financial advice in Spain, chances are any adviser you choose will recommend that, in the absence of a committed property investment strategy, you do not invest too heavily in Spanish real estate.

However, for the enthusiastic expat who has recently fallen in love with the country and the idea of owning a small piece, or perhaps a larger chunk, of its picturesque and romantic charms, it can be hard to resist.

But the truth is that there is often a reason why a property might be going at a bargain basement rate. For example, investment in whole abandoned villages in isolated locations such as Aragón and Galicia has recently become something of a phenomenon, when the reality is that the outlay, which can be under €100,000, will buy you little more than a dilapidated shell without water, gas, electricity, telephone or internet services. So, making your bargain purchase habitable in these circumstances is likely to cost at least ten times as much the initial purchase price.

Last year the Association of British Insurers (ABI) provoked something of a panic among British expats in Europe. Those who in some way rely on insurance products, such as annuities and life insurance, for the payment of income and expat pensions were understandably alarmed when Huw Evans of the ABI said that a no-deal Brexit could leave insurance contracts in legal limbo because of a risk that payments could not be fulfilled for contracts written pre-brexit. (Read more in our blog.)

The number of British pensioners living as expats in the European Union (EU) fell from 468,790 in 2017 to 462,680 in 2018, according to figures based on data derived from the Department for Work and Pensions.

It is the first time in more than a decade that there has been a decline in the numbers of British pensioners abroad and it is thought that Brexit and the uncertain future of expat pensions are the major factors behind the decline.

Although the draft withdrawal agreement seems to have provided some security for Brits abroad concerned about their expat pension and legal residency rights, this is only assured until 2020,

2019 looks like it will be a testing time for investors, from trade wars to political uncertainty.

The European Union (EU) faces a number of challenges, including the ongoing Brexit saga, Germany just escaping recession (for the moment), further tensions with the Italian government, mass social unrest in France (with the potential for contagion) , the continued rise of populism, anti-immigration, anti-establishment and separatism movements and a weakening European economy (real GDP decelerated in 2018).

In the US, President Trump will do everything he can to keep the US economy strong because the success of his presidency relies on it. But at least the threat of a trade war with China has rescinded recently, with Trump delaying tariffs on Chinese goods as he feels substantial progress has been made in trade talks.