In Focus News & Insights

If you've recently become an expat, what's your favourite aspect of your new surroundings so far?

Britons in France may say the availability of work, expats in the Netherlands (or more specifically Amsterdam) may comment on the impressive safety and security, and many more expats around the globe are likely to appreciate the opportunity to learn a second language (and cherish the fact that they're in the optimum position to do so).

If you were to ask British expats in Germany what they value most about their chosen country, you're bound to get a whole host of varied answers, as stated in a recent poll carried out by The Local Germany.

At the moment it there is only the slimmest possibly of a sudden and dramatic Brexit u-turn, with the consequences of the June 23 2016 referendum set to be formalised on March 31 2019. That's why if you live in Marbella now is the time to ensure that your financial advisers in Marbella are fully attuned to all the issues that might affect you once Brexit becomes final.

Inevitably for many expats this will involve a discussion about their pension arrangements. Yes, expats already settled in the EU should continue to receive yearly inflation-accounting increases to their pensions, but as this is only guaranteed for three years, it is a quite significant caveat.

If you've moved overseas or have a second home in France, you may be used to calling several places home. After all, living in France won't always mean completely cutting ties with your country of origin as you may still have family living there or own other property.

But when you own property abroad, it's crucial to stay up to date with any tax legislation and law reforms in that country, or you could be in for a nasty shock. That’s why it’s so important to take charge of your wealth management to make the most of your second property in France.

If recent news about great Spanish property investment opportunities has convinced you to go full steam ahead with plans for a move to Spain, here are a few top tips to get the best deal.

The Office for National Statistics puts UK life expectancy at 79.4 years for men and 83.1 years for women. Today, a 65-year-old man can expect to live for 18.5 more years, while a woman would typically have 21 more years left in her. Of course, life expectancies are averages - so this won't hold true for everyone. Your lifestyle, diet, genetic make-up and wealth could all affect how long you will actually live for, with luck also playing a big role. Obviously, living a longer life is a good thing in theory, but from a retirement savings perspective, it can pose a real challenge. In fact, 60% of baby boomers admitted in a recent Allianz study that they're more fearful of outliving their savings than of dying. This sentiment is shared by 43% of workers surveyed by Transamerica, who say that outliving their savings is their greatest retirement-related fear.

2018 has brought good news for many expats tackling the idiosyncrasies of finance in Spain and, especially for those who want to manage their legacy planning successfully.

This is because British and other EU citizen expatriates in Spain have received a boost in relation to succession tax laws.

Under the Spanish regional system, expats in Spain (but not those from outside the EU or EEA) can avoid costly Spanish state succession rules on passing; instead they are able to take advantage of kinder regional laws, such as those just implemented by Murcia and Andalucía.

In these areas, if you have Spanish assets but have not quite yet become a fully-fledged expat or indeed if you have Spanish property but still reside full-time in the UK; your heirs, wherever they may live, are entitled to the full range of succession tax reliefs offered by the region in which your assets are invested. Sometimes this may be as much as 99% succession tax relief or, in some cases, total exemption.

If you are resident in Spain (if you live here more than 183 days in a calendar year, the Spanish tax authorities and in turn the UK HMRC will class you as Spanish resident) and held assets outside Spain as at 29 December 2017 worth over Euro 50,000, and you haven’t already declared them on a Modelo 720, you need to so by the end of March.

You may ask why should you bother, well unless you want a huge fine and possibly tax audit (they can legally go back to 2012) it is in your best interests to do it.

Some of you may still be under the impression that the reporting of assets is not a legal requirement; if this is the case then sadly I have to tell you, you are mistaken. On 15 February 2017, the European Commission accepted that Spain has the right to require residents to declare overseas assets. While the Commission disagrees with the severity of punishments for late or inaccurate submissions, the requirement to submit the Modelo 720 form is not under challenge. The EU and the UK say it is a legal requirement.

What should you do if you are an expat and are considering a retirement transfer? Mindful of Brexit's impending reality, do you make an expat retirement transfer as soon as possible or, fearful of restricting yourself and missing out on any possible opportunity, do you hang on to see what the future holds and wait until after March 31 2019.

There could be risk in waiting, of course, and it is considerable risk. By hesitating now you risk losing the opportunity to take advantage of all the EU expat retirement transfer benefits currently offered to those who choose Self-Invested Personal Pensions (SIPPs) or Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pensions (QROPS) right now.

This is not to say that these advantages will instantly disappear come spring 2019, but the reality is that Brexit is turning out to be drawn-out process with little current certainty and that it will take some time for any agreed changes to take effect.