I’ve spent the last 40 years working and saving – so what’s next? Should I remain in the UK or consider pastures new? Well someone once said, “The grass is not any greener on the other side” – but what if it was?

Expats may be able to benefit from generous tax legislation in some popular retirement destinations if they decide to make use of new flexible pension rules.

Changes from April 6 will allow those, remaining in the UK and over 55, to withdraw all the money from their scheme, with 25pc as a potentially tax-free lump sum. Alternatively, they can withdraw it in chunks with 25pc tax-free and the remainder taxed at their marginal rate. 

Recent news about the 30% tax ruling in the Netherlands could have substantial implications for British expats and their financial planning and wealth management strategies.

The 30% tax ruling for expats in the Netherlands enables employers to offer working expats 30% of their salary tax-free as long as they meet certain requirements. The intended aim is to encourage highly skilled workers from around the globe to bring their expertise to the Netherlands. After all, relocating to the Netherlands is not cheap, and the tax advantage is there to help offset all the expense that comes with relocating. There are approximately 60,000 expats who currently claim the tax break.

As we reported last year, the tax break came under fire in a report published by the Dutch research bureau Dialogic for being far too generous and, therefore, costing the Dutch government too much money for it to be sustainable. When published in June 2017, the report suggested several reforms to the system, including shortening the number of years that expats could claim the tax-relief from eight years to five. This was because research carried out by Dialogic found that the vast majority of expats making use of the benefit (80%) claimed it for fewer than five years; less than 10% actually claimed the benefit for the full eight years.