Income tax rise for British expats

Education and school fees planning is a major concern for any person looking to provide the best opportunities in life for their children or grandchildren. It’s a serious enough burden whoever and wherever you are in the world, but if you are one of the several million British expats living abroad, the issue can seem particularly daunting.

Especial empathy should be reserved for those families who have chosen, whether it is for work, lifestyle, health or other concerns, to move abroad and to send their children to private boarding schools back in the UK.

For parents in this position just a small change in their financial circumstances can occasionally place their children’s private education at risk. Fees can be onerous and effective wealth management planning can mean the difference between comfortably affording them or finding the bill a distinct headache.

According to reports emanating from Bulgaria, expat pension choices may be about to become broader and more accessible with the likely introduction of the European Union PEPP.

PEPPs – Pan European Pension Products – are understood to be at the draft stage, with regulations set to be examined by European Parliament for possible approval.

The development of PEPPs has come about as a result of a perceived need to give people greater choice when it comes to planning their retirement pensions, particularly given that there is not equality of options for retirement savers across the continent. It may also help address the fact that, according to the EU, only 20% of workers between the ages of 25 and 59 make regular pension contributions.