News & Insights

British people are living longer than ever before – according to the Office of National Statistics, life expectancy is likely to rise to 85 by 2040. And this figure is an average; if you are physically healthy you can realistically expect to live one or more decades longer, particularly if you have a family history of longevity.

And what if you live abroad in a warm and agreeable climate? Well, chances are that your life expectancy could be even higher. This is good news of course, but it brings with it important expat wealth management and retirement planning implications.

Perhaps chief among these is the need to ensure that your retirement assets are sufficiently valuable to last you through a long and healthy old age, and this means making sure you factor in the likelihood of inflation eroding the purchasing power of your assets over time.

The collapse of foreign exchange company Premier FX in the Algarve has caused shockwaves throughout the expat investor community in Portugal, with many customers now confused as to where they go from this point.

The death of founder Peter Rextrew on June 16 appears to have precipitated financial meltdown for the firm and on the 13 August administrators were appointed.

Customers who have their expat regular savings in Portugal tied up with the forex company and anyone who has sent money to the firm, should now provide as much information as possible to the administrators.

British expats in Spain, France, and Italy are behind a legal challenge submitted to the High Court in London calling on the result of the 2016 referendum to be invalidated.

Those behind the legal action argue that the outcome should not stand as it has now been proven that the Leave campaign broke the Electoral Commission's rules on campaign spending.

The "UK in EU Challenge" group states its belief that two major campaign groups -- BeLeave and Vote Leave – conducted their campaigns unlawfully, preventing the possibility of a free and fair vote.

As it stands, EU citizens living in the UK are required to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme, which confirms that they are a settled resident of the UK. This has raised concern for many expats, and those living and working in the EU, about how they will be able to prove their identity and claim residency abroad if a no-deal Brexit goes ahead.

In the meantime, a useful resource for expats is the Gov.UK website where you can set up email alerts regarding Brexit updates and find out country-specific information about living and working abroad.

Now that the UK has left the European Union, healthcare for expats in Spain (or any other EU country for that matter) remains a question for many. We're taking a closer look at the situation, to help you understand what might change and how this could affect your expat finances, and your general wealth management in Spain.

Receiving expert financial advice in Spain should be a priority for anyone currently living as an expat in Spain, especially for anyone expecting to need healthcare in Spain, and also for those who plan to make the move now that Brexit has occured.

Interest rates finally rose above 0.5 per cent in August – almost a decade after the emergency cut to that level. The Bank of England's MPC voted to raise rates to 0.75 per cent on 2nd August, casting aside worries over a no-deal Brexit, as it said that low unemployment merited a hike to keep inflation on target.

The 9-0 vote to raise rates was accompanied by a quarterly Inflation Report, which showed that, despite August’s hike, the market outlook was for rates to go up more slowly over the next three years than previously expected and that no further move is expected until at least the middle of next year. The recent rate rise was widely expected as the Bank had not sent out any signals to dampen forecasts of a hike, unlike in the run-up to the May decision when a move up failed to happen. The question now is whether this is a one-off hike, or the start of a slow but steady rise in interest rates. A lot will depend on how the British economy fares over the rest of this year and into 2019, before the UK's exit from the EU. If there is a marked slowdown then it is likely that rates will stall again. Even worse, a recession would most likely see a further interest rate cut. 

A financial windfall can take many shapes: a lottery win, the sale of property and/or assets, a work-related bonus perhaps. However, for many, the word "windfall" typically means an inheritance when someone dies – something you don't ever wish for, but you more-or-less know will come your way.

Everybody's idea of a "life-changing sum of money is different, but if you feel your windfall is burning a hole in your pocket and you are unsure how best to use the money, our quick Guide to Expat Windfalls could offer some food for thought.

Following on from last week's blog on pension passporting, written by Rosemary Sheppard, Blacktower IFA in France, The Independent newspaper has now warned that British expats abroad could have their cash flow placed in peril by a no-deal Brexit.

While the talks around Brexit and expat pensions are certainly newsworthy, the reporting of pension payments becoming "illegal", as stated in The Independent's headline, is pretty implausible.

The story, published on July 25 2018, said the Association of British Insurers (ABI) had told parliament's Exiting the European Union select committee of the "plausible" risk that payments from British bank accounts could become unviable.