In Focus News & Insights

Recent Brexit negotiations have not gone down well with many expats living in Europe. And this latest move may mean that receiving financial guidance, such as pension transfer advice for expats, is more crucial than ever to ensure a smooth transition into life as an expat in a post-Brexit world.

Theresa May has reached a phase one Brexit agreement with the EU that covers citizen's rights (as well as the divorce settlement and the UK's EU borders), which now means talks between Britain and Brussels can progress on to trade. But instead of giving Britons living in Europe the freedom they were hoping for, the agreement has instead caused anger across several different expat communities, including a very prominent group in Spain, the country with the largest number of British expats: 296,000 in 2016, according to the Institute of National Statistics.

As an expat, choosing a robust life insurance policy, as well as medical insurance, can provide help to reassurance that you and your loved ones will be cared for should the worst happen. And recent research has highlighted just how valued such policies are.

A new survey from Bupa Global has found that such policies are amongst the items expats expect most from their employer when they move to work overseas.

Bupa Global questioned 150 senior human resource directors and 1,851 globally mobile employees. The international health insurer's research showed that expats are putting an increasing demand on their employers to provide them with more health and wellbeing benefits.

It's a sad reality that almost every time a pension story breaks in the press, particularly when they're regarding UK pensions, it's rarely good news.

Unfortunately, at the beginning of December, British pensioners had to digest what was possibly the most disheartening news for a long while.

A new report from the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), which is the world's largest economic thinktank, has stated that the British state pension is the worst in the developed world, falling below Mexico and Chile.

It's never too early to start saving for a pension – you've no doubt heard that one before, perhaps while searching for pension advice online or in news reports on the financial future of pensioners in this country.

Hopefully, you took note of it and started saving as soon as you possibly could, thinking of your retirement planning long before other milestones such as getting married or having children. Maybe you left it a little later. Either way, solid financial planning, which may involve pension transfer advice from a professional financial adviser, should help you make secure financial decisions.

Young workers today don't need to have someone to remind them that they should be saving for retirement thanks to auto-enrolment, which is a scheme that makes sure, unless they choose to opt out, all workers pay part of their salary into a private pension scheme. As almost everyone could do with starting their retirement saving as early as possible, auto-enrolment is a great idea, and now it appears that it could be the main factor in the improvement of future pension incomes, settling fears that some young savers may have regarding the prosperity of their long-term future.

What would you look for when choosing a destination to move to abroad? A sea-side location with warm weather all year round, lots of culture and opportunity for adventure, perhaps? Or a place with a great economy and plenty of career prospects?

We guess there's one key issue for almost all expats, though, and particularly for those moving abroad with young families, and that would be safety. Large cities can sometimes be dangerous places, so it's good to know which have robust security and protection systems in place.

Luckily, The Economist Intelligence Unit has made it very easy to determine the risks by compiling a comprehensive study entitled the Safe Cities Index.

As a popular destination for British expats, France offers many opportunities and can provide a high quality of life, with lots of exciting opportunities. And now it appears that there are burgeoning employment opportunities as well.

Like so many other countries, France was hit hard by the financial crisis of 2008 and the country's economy was damaged, as was its job market. However, France has made a gradual recovery and new statistics suggest that recently its pace of recovery has rapidly accelerated.

Research from RegionsJob has shown that the number of jobs being created in France shot up to 200,000 in the third quarter of 2017, which is an increase of over 40% when compared with the same period in 2016. France has not seen as many vacancies created since the financial crisis.

We all need a little bit of extra help from time to time.

For instance, in one popular expat destination, the Netherlands, research was recently published to suggest that many expats could do with more financial help.

The survey, carried out by the International Community Advisory Panel (ICAP), an independent foundation hoping to strengthen the connection between the Netherlands' international community and the Dutch government, has shown that the majority of expats living in the Netherlands do not receive enough help from the Dutch government when it comes to several key matters, including finding affordable housing and integrating their children into the school system.

When relocating to a new country, it's good to know all your options so you can ensure you have the smoothest transition possible. For one thing, there's the financial side to worry about.

This includes deciding on the best expat life insurance policy to buy as well as receiving expert pension transfer advice so that your retirement savings aren't negatively affected by the move. 

Naturally, some nations offer a smoother residency transition, with Portuguese citizenship and Maltese citizenship among the best, according to research.

You will, of course, also need to be aware of the entry requirements for each country.

Several countries have systems in place with the goal of attracting expats who will be able to gain residency in return for an investment. In a post-Brexit world, these may be the best options for some overseas movers. Although not suitable for everyone, some of these systems are of a very high, reputable standard and hold a range of benefits for expats who are eligible. A recent survey has analysed which countries offer the best of these migration schemes, with people choosing to buy Malta citizenship and Portugal citizenship as a matter of priority.