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My Big Fat Greek Retirement: A Guide for UK Citizens Looking to Retire to Greece

Are you a UK citizen planning on retiring to Greece? If so, you’ve come to the right place! In this comprehensive guide, I will ensure that you have all the information you need to make informed decisions and smoothly transition into your Greek retirement.

Unlocking the Benefits of Dubai’s Retirement Visa For Expats – A Comprehensive Guide

Dubai has long been a popular destination for expat professionals. However, back in 2018, the authorities in Dubai decided that they wanted to encourage retirees to live there too. So they launched a Retirement Visa. From tax exemptions to healthcare benefits, the retirement visa is a comprehensive package that guarantees a comfortable retired life in Dubai. But with so much information available online, it can be overwhelming to navigate the ins and outs of the retirement visa.

How spending changes through the “Active,” “Less Active” and “Not Very Active” years of retirement

Depending on when you retire and how long you live, your retirement could potentially last for 3 decades or more. However, most retirements can be broken into three stages, each of which is typically 5-10 years in length. Furthermore, each stage has its own spending characteristics. Understanding these stages can help you feel more comfortable in knowing what your spending in retirement may look like.

The Removal of the UK Pension Lifetime Allowance: What Does It Mean for Expats?

In the Spring Budget of 2023, the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, announced that the pension Lifetime Allowance would be scrapped. This decision was totally unexpected and has significant implications both for pension savers in the UK and those of us who live overseas and retain UK pensions.

Expat State Pension guide (2023/2024 update)

If you’re a British expat it’s easy to let the State Pension fall off your radar. In fact, most expats simply accept that periods abroad will result in gaps in their contribution record and write their State Pension off.

I am a 50 something year old expat, how much should I be saving for retirement?

Retirement might seem like a distant dream or it may seem like an oncoming freight train. Whichever the case, it is never too early or too late to start planning for it. If you are age 50 or older, it is time to buckle up and get serious about saving for the future. But don’t worry, I’m here to guide you through this journey with a sprinkle of good humour and a dollop of practical advice.

Five ways to invest a bonus

When anticipating an annual bonus, it is natural to envision all the things you want to purchase or start planning a lavish vacation. However, it is worth taking the time to step back and contemplate how you intend to use such a windfall before it lands in your bank account. Consider how your bonus can best serve you and your objectives in both the short and long term, regardless of the amount you earned.

Retiring to Canada from the UK – 5 things you need to know

Are you looking to retire to Canada from the UK? I recently started working with a client who did so. Here are 5 things he told me that he wished he knew before doing so.

Expat retirement: Which countries are affected by Frozen State Pension?

There are more than 500,000 retired Britons overseas, who are losing out as a result of the UK’s “frozen” policy on State Pension payments. In the UK, pensioners benefit from something known as the “triple lock”. As a result of this, State Pension payments increase by the greater of two-and-a-half per cent, price inflation or average wage growth. This means that State Pension payments retain their worth as time goes on.

How to find a lost pension

It has been estimated that there could be about 2.8 million lost or forgotten pension pots in the UK, worth an average of £9,500 each. I.e. over £26.6 billion in total. This is hardly surprising. The days of working for one employer for 40 years and then retiring with a gold carriage clock are over. Research suggests that average workers will now have 11 different jobs during their life. As people move from job to job more and more frequently,…

How to use margin lending to maximize your retirement fund (+ 5 key benefits)

There has been much chatter in the media recently about Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter. One of the less-covered aspects of the story is the fact that he is funding a large part of the deal through margin loans. But, what are margin loans and how can we mere mortals use them to our benefit too? Margin loans (also known as lombard loans) are an effective way for individuals to borrow low cost, short term money.

Financial Advice in Poland: 4 things you need to understand about UK pensions

The idea of a pension is relatively straightforward. It is the trading of a lifetime of hard work in return for some degree of security in retirement. At the end of the day, whether in Poland or the UK, what most of us want is to enjoy our retirement years without counting the pennies or groszy. Unfortunately, the reality is that, thanks largely to decades of government meddling, pensions can be incredibly complicated.

Can I save into a UK pension plan if I live abroad?

Yes, you can live abroad and save into a UK pension scheme. However, there are limits to the tax relief you can claim on your contributions. If you move overseas, for the next 5 tax years you can still make pension contributions of up to £3,600 a year and get tax relief. This assumes you have no earnings taxed in the UK. If you continue to have earnings taxed in the UK, tax relievable contributions can be based on these…

How much money should I have saved for retirement?

Unfortunately, there is no reliable rule of thumb when it comes to the amount of money that should be saved for retirement. It all depends. Every situation is unique, so this number is different for every person, and it depends on your individual circumstances.

How do I apply for an NT Code for pension income?

An NT (No Tax) code is granted to individuals who receive UK-sourced income and reside in a country that has a double taxation agreement (DTA) with the UK. [Note, for expats in Europe these rules still apply after Brexit, as these tax treaties were made outside of EU legislation.] The code allows you to receive UK pension income, without having tax deducted at source.

Have you lost your job before you are ready to retire? Here is what to do

One of the biggest threats to a well thought out expat retirement plan is losing your job before you are ready to retire. You have it all planned out. You are hitting your peak earning years. The costs associated with raising children have started to decline. Now is the time to start socking away some serious funds to boost your retirement… and bosh!!!! Out of the blue, you are staring at a P45. Your employer may have imagined that they…

3 Different Ways to Access Your Pension

Pension flexibility, introduced in 2015, provides those wishing to access their “defined contribution” pension funds with a wide choice of options. Now, as well as buying an annuity, there are two other methods called Flexi-Access Drawdown (FAD) and Uncrystallised Funds Pension Lump Sum (UFPLS). But which option to select?

Can I transfer my UK pension to Poland?

For Brits living in Poland (or Poles who have returned home after living in the UK), one of the big questions involves what to do with any pension schemes that they have accumulated in Britain. This issue has become even more pertinent in the aftermath of Brexit and the additional uncertainty that it has brought to the table. Firstly, unfortunately, the answer to the question of whether you can transfer your UK pension to a scheme in Poland, is, no…

Should I take a lump sum from my pension? 4 reasons why you should think twice

It is common for those reaching age 55 to withdraw the maximum 25 per cent tax-free cash lump sum from their pension. Many do so in order to splurge on the holiday of a lifetime, make home improvements, pay off a mortgage or help out children or grandchildren. However, the question should be asked: would people be better off leaving that money invested and withdrawing their pension gradually over a longer period instead? Here are 4 instances where the answer…

A deeper look at inflation

With UK inflation at 5.5%*, quite simply, if you are saving for retirement your money is going to have to work harder to keep its value Let’s say you were planning to retire on savings of £500,000. If prices go up by 10% before you retire, you’ll need to save an additional £50,000 to have the same retirement you had planned for. This means that either you will have to save more or you will need to delay your retirement.