Navigating the world of savings and pensions while living overseas can be in equal parts unending and perplexing. If you’re a UK expat wrestling with this challenge then you’re not alone. 

Several potential pitfalls await, however, and it’s crucial to be informed of these in advance:

Firstly, upon relocating abroad you’ll become a non-UK resident. However, if your pension remains in the UK it will be taxed as income. In the absence of a double taxation agreement between your new residence and the UK, you may face additional taxation on that income. 

Further complicating matters, numerous pension providers restrict access to their schemes for non-UK residents, leaving you potentially locked out of income you depend on. Even if access is granted, fluctuating exchange rates can have an adverse impact on your hard-earned savings. 

Finally – you have the conundrum posed by the fact that UK advisers will not provide their services to anyone who, like you, is a non-UK resident – and local advisers don’t seem to have much interest. It’s a bit of a pickle.

So, what should I do?

The ISIPP or International SIPP offers our clients a stress-free and flexible approach to retirement planning. Here at Harrison Brook we can help clients to transfer and consolidate all their old UK schemes into this compact and easily-managed international solution. Not only can expats enjoy full flexi-access drawdown from abroad as they normally would back home, but there’s an abundance of other benefits to be enjoyed:

• FCA-compliant, regulated and protected
• Accessible from anywhere
• Low fees
• Convenient and easy-to-use platform
• Funds can be held in multiple currencies – so you no longer have to fret about exchange rates
• Your money can grow in a tax-free environment – you won’t pay any tax until you withdraw it as income
• Payments made gross of UK tax
• Fully portable – if you change your mind and want to go back to the UK you can easily transfer this back to another scheme 

Most importantly – you’ll have us to help and guide you along the way.

About Harrison Brook:

• Fully independent financial advisers
• Honest and impartial advice
• Fee-based instead of commission-based – we do not have any hidden costs and we are upfront with our clients about any fees we have
• Regulated to provide cross-border advice and solutions
• Qualified and experienced financial advisers and support team

You can read more about us and our team here. If you have any questions about any of the above then please get in touch.