Having the right protection in place is an aspect of financial planning that expats often overlook. While insurance could be more complex and costly when living abroad, it could protect you and your loved ones in the event of the unexpected occurring.

In general, it’s always important to ensure the cover you have is adequate for your circumstances and your family members know the details of what you have in place.

The type of protection available includes:

• Income protection insurance– this kind of protection can provide an ongoing income if you are no longer able to work.
• Private health insurance– depending on your circumstance e.g. your home and host country, you may be eligible to free or subsidised healthcare. The extent of this provision and the quality of local healthcare services are likely to be key factors in deciding whether to have private health cover or not.
• Critical illness insurance– this will provide cover, within set criteria, in the event of a permanent disability or diagnosis of a specified, serious illness.
• Life insurance– these policies are designed to pay a lump sum if you die. You can choose how much cover you need, how long you want it to last, and change the amount and policy duration at any time, subject to the terms and conditions within it. For expats, it is important to arrange insurance policies that have international coverage, very few UK companies offer this cover anymore if you are no longer resident there.

Adequate protection – or insurance cover – can provide peace of mind for you and your family. It means you can safeguard a desired quality of life for your loved ones and help avoid any financial hardship if long-term plans change through becoming unemployed, ill health or loss of life.

If you no longer live in the UK, are considering retireing abroad and have an old company or private pension scheme then it is vital that you fully understand the options open to you in order to best meet your personal retirement needs.

You have proably heard the two terms SIPP’s and QROPS discussed in the newspapers or online forums and these are 2 of the choices that could be of benefit to you.

SIPP Details:

• SIPPs is based in the UK, and regardless of where you live UK law regulates it.
• The are typically taxed at sourced in the UK.
• Up to 25% of your amassed funds can be withdrawn as a tax-free cash lump sum with the balance used to provide an income.
• SIPP members can transfer assets in from other pension schemes.
• The set up costs are lower compared to some QROPS.
• There is no IHT on death.
• You may transfer your funds on to a QROPS later on, in the event this becomes more suited to you and your retirement plans.

QROPS Details:

• Investors can access up to 30% of a fund’s value as a tax-free lump sum
• The fund is not subject to UK income tax
• QROPS is free from UK IHT or a Lump Sum Death Benefit Tax liability
• The fund is in the currency of your choice and therefore not subject to exchange rate fluctuations
• There is no need for an annuity
• It is easy to nominate your beneficiaries
• It is not subject to a Life Time Allowance Charge
• You can consolidate multiple UK schemes into a single QROPS

Your retirement years should be some of the happiest of your life. However, there are many obstacles and dangers which can hamper your retirement dreams and sadly many people make bad choices which can lead to their pension pots being reduced dramatically due to bad decisions based on the wrong advice.

The correct financial planning will makes it easier for you to understand what choices are available and most importantly, which options offer you the best levels of pension income.

You can contact us below for a free consultation.

As Benjamin Franklin said “the only two certain things in life are death and taxes” and these both come under UK Inheritance Tax (IHT). Inheritance tax , which is currently at 40% in the UK, can cost loved ones hundreds of thousands in the event of your death, yet it’s possible to legally avoid huge swathes of it, or possibly pay none at all.

Inheritance planning is about ensuring you leave the legacy you want to.

On death, IHT is charged on the value of a deceased’s worldwide estate if they are UK domiciled, or on their UK situs assets only if they are not deemed domiciled in the UK.

The taxable estate includes property, possessions, money and investments, less any debts the deceased may have owed, such as mortgages, household bills and funeral expenses.

Inheritance laws and probate vary from country to country and can present issues for expats unless the appropriate consideration is given and action taken. You may want to consider obtaining expert tax and legal advice from international experts for a holistic view. Although you may still need to use local firms to draw up any specific legal documents for that country.

You can read about a real life example here.

The first step to ensuring your assets are transferred according to your wishes is to draw up a will – although you may require more than one.

IHT can be complicated and no one likes to think about their own mortality, so it is a subject that is easy to avoid. But a little financial planning now can mean that you pass on everything you want to those who matter most to you.