Free Resources | Ross Naylor

How to claim UK State Pension in Poland

If you have been making social security (ZUS) payments here in Poland, then you need to claim your UK state pension here too. If you have not made social security payments in Poland, then you will need to claim your pension through the International Pensions Centre in the UK.

Expat pensions after Brexit – What can we expect?

For better or worse, we now know that Brexit is definitely going to happen (or has already happened if you are reading this after 31st January 2020). As a result, I want to look at how expat pensions might be affected now that Brexit “is done”. In particular, I will review the potential implications for expats who have UK pensions and who have already retired or plan to retire in the EEA.

Expat retirement planning: Beware the silent assassin

Are you in danger of letting your expat retirement plans fall prey to a financial assassin? It is always prudent to have a reasonable amount of cash on deposit to cover emergencies and short term expenses. However, having too much of your portfolio in cash can lead to, at the least, a loss of purchasing power in retirement and at the worst, you running out of money in later life. Why? Due to inflation.

New UK tax year (2019/2020): Implications for expats

We ticked over into UK tax year 2019/2020 a few weeks ago and this brought a resetting of thresholds and allowances for the next 12 months. This post summarises the changes that specifically affect expats.

10 financial tips for expats to ensure a prosperous New Year

With another New Year only a few days away and people feverishly working on thee I decided to replace my regular monthly update of financial issues affecting expats with some of my top financial tips for ensuring a prosperous New Year.

What does good expat financial advice look like?

Have you ever wondered what proper financial planning for retirement looks like? Before answering that question, let’s start with another. Do you actually need a financial adviser? A strange question to see on a financial adviser’s blog, right? You could be forgiven for thinking that my answer may be ever-so-slightly conflicted.

If it is too good to be true… How to learn from past investment scams

There was a story on the BBC website last week about a couple who invested their pension fund in a firm producing truffle trees; not surprisingly, the story didn’t end happily. The story reminded me of a similar incident involving the equally exotic Quadris Environmental Forestry Fund. This fund, which was launched in 2001 and was managed by a company called Floresteca, invested into teak plantations in Brazil. In total, they invested more than GBP100 million from 1,200 people

Do you remember the first iPhone?

The first iPhone was released over a decade ago (June 2007). Do you remember it? Painfully slow web browsing, no video camera, no selfies. No selfies! How on earth did we live? Now compare it to the current iPhone 13. Quite a difference, right There is a neat comparison to be made between the evolution of the iPhone and that of investment products for expats.

Are you making the most of your employer pension?

If you are one of the more fortunate expats that retain membership of an employer pension scheme, it is possible that you are not taking full advantage of the benefits that are on offer. You see, the way a typical pension works is that staff pay a fixed percentage of their wage into the scheme and then the employer pays in as well.