In a survey conducted by Old Mutual International, 89% of UAE expats are planning to return to their home country when they retire. Of those surveyed, 52% of UK expats are planning to return back to their home country, while 17% are planning to retire outside of the UAE.
The value of sound financial planning advice cannot be overstated.
The concept of retirement is beginning to change. Whereas a few years ago you would be looking forward to putting your feet up, now you might be thinking about starting a business, work part-time, or starting a new hobby.
Whatever your retirement plans are, seeking out good financial planning advice will help you make the right investment decisions. If you are currently a UK expat and you’re considering your retirement options, you will want to read this post.
Retiring in the UK
The chances are your portfolio consists of portfolio bonds. If you are planning to retire in the UK then it is important that you assess if your portfolio bonds are deemed ‘highly personalised’ by HMRC. If it is, your portfolio is subject to a 15% tax charge.
One way to avoid this tax is to have your portfolio ‘endorsed.’ This prohibits investment in some types of bonds but avoids the ‘highly personalised’ tax. The downside here is that limiting what bonds can be used limits the yield of your portfolio.
Again, the value of sound financial planning advice cannot be overstated. A good financial professional will help you to select high performing portfolio bonds that are not deemed ‘highly personalised’ and thus avoiding the 15% tax charge and minimising any return on investment impacts.
Retiring in the UAE
The UAE has strict residency rules. Arguably, your best chance of achieving residency status is to become a property or business owner. It could well be part of your retirement plan to start a UAE based business in which case you are hopefully already established.
Once you have confirmed you can stay in the UAE the next step is to access your pension funds in the UK. Happily, thanks to a Double Tax Agreement (DTA) that came into force in April 2017 between Britain and the United Arab Emirates, it is possible to access your UK based pension funds tax efficiently. This includes Pension Freedoms introduced in 2015.
Where things may not go as smoothly is if UK temporary non-residency rules come into play. You should also be aware of inheritance tax implications of drawing down funds from your pension pot.
Get the Financial Planning Advice you need as a UK Expat
Clearly depending on your plans different rules and different aspects of your portfolio come into play. I can help you maximise your return on investment and help you choose the best portfolio options for your retirement ensuring they are flexible and can change as your retirement unfolds.
Click here and complete the Call Back Service form and we can help you have the best retirement possible.
Source: LinkedIn
For more information, please contact Michele Carby at Holborn Asset Management on +971 50 618 6463 and on e-mail at [email protected]
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