News & Insights

Maintaining your physical health and wellbeing as an expat is often one of the most pertinent aspects of financial planning abroad. Without the NHS to fall back on for care, making sure you've got adequate health insurance in place is an essential part of your preparation when moving overseas.

There is no doubt that ecommerce is one of the most exciting investment sectors that exists today. Every aspect of our lives is affected by ecommerce. It is fast, high profile, and the numbers are breathtaking:

Amazon processed nearly $89 billion in sales from 240 million customers; Visa and MasterCard have over 1,600 million credit cards in circulation; Apple and Google are now worth more than many entire countries.

Amazing as those number are, they pale into insignificance when you consider that the total ecommerce market was estimated to be $1.6 trillion in 2015. However, 20 years ago it didn’t exist, but it is forecast to grow to $3.5 trillion per annum by 2019.

"Non, je ne regrette rien".

Expats in France may be able to translate this famous song title to "No, I regret nothing," which is ideally what every saver wants to be able to say as they reach the end of their expat retirement planning period and look forward to moving abroad to their own personal paradise.

But not everyone has the initiative to stay on top of their pension pot, and it might be interesting for the younger generation to hear what older workers and retirees have to say about their pension saving experiences and what they would do differently if they could turn back the clock.

With this in mind, research recently released by Aegon, which asked pension savers about which decisions regarding their pensions they regretted the most, could prove very useful and serve as a firm reminder of why sufficient retirement planning isn't something to leave until the eleventh hour.

Recently released research from AXA Global Healthcare has given a better idea of how living and working abroad has been of value to professional men and women.

The study, which was exclusively focused on people who'd moved as a result of work assignments, aimed to discover how taking on international roles impacted upon life.

Focusing on men and women separately, the results showed that 43 per cent of male respondents believed their international assignments had increased their value to employers by enabling to become regional experts.

Overall, 51 per cent of men felt that shifting their job overseas accelerated their career development, making this is a top benefit for professionals. Of female respondents 39 per cent, said the same.

Because many UK expats will still have friends and family living back in the UK, it's common for them to make frequent trips back and forth between their previous home country and their chosen destination, especially during holidays such as Easter and Christmas.

This arrangement works nicely for many expats, allowing them to enjoy the best of both worlds as they set up a new life in an new location while still being able to retain a taste of home. But it's not without complication, and it is wise for all expats moving between countries to understand their rights regarding healthcare in every place they visit. Otherwise, they may be left to face the financial consequences if their health take an unexpected turn.

The importance of putting money into a pension cannot be understated, and the British government has a regulation in place – the pension tax relief scheme – to encourage people to save. But many experts are predicting significant changes to the scheme. If you're planning to retire overseas as an expat and take advantage of international pension transfers, you'll need to stay updated with these changes.

How does pension tax relief work?

The pension tax relief scheme is an incentive to entice people to put money into their pension pot. To reward people for thinking ahead to their retirement, the government currently tops up their pension contributions based on the rate at which they pay income tax. So, basic rate taxpayers will receive 20 per cent tax relief (meaning they only need to pay £80 into their pot to get £100), while higher rate taxpayers are entitled to 40 per cent relief.

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.