News & Insights

France has long been a favourite destination for expats. But what is it that’s so alluring about the country? Two recent expat surveys have highlighted a number of reasons behind why some expats chose to move to France, looking at all the main perks that are most commonly experienced. One key positive mentioned is the overall improved quality of life, with almost half of the respondents mentioning it as their main motivation behind moving.

In the HSBC Expat Explorer report that, released earlier in 2016, France placed ninth out of 45 countries for the overall experience, and an impressive fourth place for quality of life – fairing far better than the UK.

Advice on buying overseas property from financial expert Simon Conn:

After the “shocks” of 2016, how will the overseas property market be affected in 2017 and will the most popular areas still be of interest? Although the Trump and Brexit decisions did have an initial effect on clients potentially purchasing an overseas property – where some people have deferred until the markets have settled down in the USA after the Presidential inauguration and Article 50 is finally implemented – others have seen this as a good time to look for opportunities and bargains available in the market.

Under new plans proposed by the Government, and included in Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond’s first Autumn Statement, British expatriates with offshore pensions will face a higher income tax rate.

The plans say that those with QROPS (qualifying registered overseas pension schemes) will be subject to the same tax treatment as those with UK pensions, meaning that they will pay 100 per cent instead of their current 90 per cent. There will also be further measures taken to make setting up a QROPS more complex in the future.

A lot of my discussions with clients when I first meet them is about their investment experience in the past.  Many express wariness of investing in funds, having been unfortunate with their previous decisions. This is the problem with choosing a fund based on its past performance. No fund can always be top of the table.

A judge at a UK court has ruled that limitations in the law mean divorcing partners cannot make claims for the QROPS pensions of their British expat ex-partners.

This ruling relating to overseas QROPS pensions was reached in the High Court as part of the protracted and embittered divorce settlement of Amit and Ankita Goyal.

The couple divorced during the summer of 2013 and an earlier court hearing in October 2015 ruled that the husband should pay a financial settlement to his wife. However, it was not until the High Court decision in October 2016 that clarity was offered in respect of the husband’s £87,000 India-based QROPS pension.