News and Resources International Financial News

WHY CORONAVIRUS COULD BE GOOD FOR YOUR PENSION

One thing I’m telling all my clients at the moment is to read beyond the headlines to fully understand the economic impact of the reaction to Coronavirus. I hope that if you’ve made it this far beyond headline of this article that you’ll read on to find out what I...

Coronavirus: A Measured View of its Impact on Investing

The biggest story of the decade so far is undoubtedly the outbreak of the Coronavirus which started in a small province in China and has now reached almost every corner of the globe.The outbreak confirms how closely connected the world is these days and how...

Is Italy the ‘new Portugal’ as a haven for Expat Pensioners looking to pay less tax?

By Adam Smith It has been an interesting few years both in Italy and Portugal in terms of tax legislation. In Italy, legislators have brought in a range of tax incentives to encourage people to move to Italy. One of these regimes, aimed at foreign pensioners, has...

The ‘Greta Thunberg Effect’ and The Rise of ESG Investing

By Adam Smith As you have probably heard Greta Thunberg had quite a 2019 which resulted in her being named the 2019 Time person of the year. The level of attention she has brought to the climate crisis is quite astonishing especially considering she was 16 years old...

US expats in Europe find themselves in ‘no mans land’ as providers turn their backs

US expats or US connected people in Europe are used to having a tough time when it comes to managing their finances. The requirements of the IRS, FATCA and restrictions on investments lead many non-US institutions to turn away US-connected clients. Things have just...

The Importance of Life Insurance for Expats

When it comes to financial planning, people normally put their priorities in a certain order. The common first objective is to clear debt, followed by keeping adequate cash and then thinking of saving money and investing for the long-term. However, any...

Aisa Financial Planning: 20 years of integrity, excellence and setting new standards

Aisa Financial Planning has been setting the standard for fair, transparent and truly independent financial advice for 20 years. We are proud to be members of the Aisa Group and bringing these standards to a global market. The Aisa story started in 1999 when...

Move to Italy and enjoy ‘La Dolce Vita’ on tax!

Why Italy should be your first choice escape route Whether you’re a middle-aged professional with an established career, an entrepreneur or just starting out in the world of work, Italy should be top of your list thanks to favourable new tax regimes. Italy offers a...

Understanding UK Pensions for British Expats living in South Africa

If you’ve worked in the UK and now live in South Africa – whether as a British expat or a South African who spent time in the UK – then you might be considering how to incorporate your UK pensions into your long-term retirement plans. This article examines how UK...

The Age of the Italian Tax Incentive

From a tax perspective there has probably never been a better time to move to Italy, in modern history at least. In recent years Italy has been following Portugal and Cyprus’s lead and attempting to attract new residents made up of retirees, high net worth individuals...

QROPS CASE STUDY #3 – Mrs White, British expat in Italy, STM Malta QROPS

Mrs White is a professional from the UK. She is in her mid-40s and has been living in Milan for several years. She was approached by a large offshore financial advisory group with offices in Milan. They convinced her that her UK pension would be better if it was...

QROPS CASE STUDY #2 – Mr Rossi, Italian back in Italy after working in UK, Malta QROPS

Background Mr Rossi is an Italian citizen who worked in London for several years before returning home. He was approached by a large international financial advisory based in Milan and strongly persuaded that he would be better off if he transferred his UK pension to...

QROPS CASE STUDY #1 – Mr Green: expat in Italy with a Guernsey QROPS

Background Mr Green approached us early this year concerned about the fact that in the 8 years since transferring four UK pensions to a Guernsey-based QROPS he has achieved zero growth and has concern over repaying a loan that was taken out. In 2011 four schemes worth...

Substitutive Tax Regime Attracts Wealthy Foreign Citizens to Italy

In 2017 Italy Finance Law introduced a flat rate of tax of €100,000 aimed at attracting high net worth foreigners to reside in Italy. The law states that new residents will pay only a flat lump sum tax of €100,000 in place of normal income tax. As with any new...

What Happens to my QROPS if I Move Back to the UK?

If you have left the UK and been advised to transfer your pension to a Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme (QROPS) but now intend to return to the UK then you need to consider how this pension will now be treated. While many expats and professionals who have...

QROPS MYTH #9 – Brexit will affect your pension

Let’s look at this realistically. If you’re an expat in Spain, for example, and the UK leaves the EU do you really think that your UK-based pension provider will be unable to make a payment to you now that the two countries are not joined by the EU? Is this not...

QROPS MYTH #8 – If you leave your pensions in the UK you’ll have to pay income tax

We often hear the argument that Malta is a superior home for your pension as it has double taxation agreements (DTAs) with numerous countries meaning that regardless of where you retire you won’t pay tax at source but only in Malta. It is certainly true that pensions...

QROPS MYTH #7 – Structured notes are suitable investments

A consequence of transferring your pension away from the UK opens you to the risk that your funds will be placed into investments that would not be allowed if it was still under the watch of the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority. There have been many cases of clients...

QROPS MYTH #6 – You need to keep a large proportion in cash

Any investment portfolio should always contain a small proportion of cash but by small we mean around 2-3%. If your pension has a cash account of somewhere around 10% then you might want to question whether this money really exists. Consider it this way, pensions are...

QROPS MYTH #5 – QROPS are ‘approved by HMRC’

HMRC do not approve anything! It is not their function. Their purpose, as stated on the website https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-revenue-customs is: “We are the UK’s tax, payments and customs authority, and we have a vital purpose: we collect the money...

QROPS MYTH #4 – You’ll be able to access your pension sooner if you transfer it

This is not such a common myth nowadays but in the early days of QROPS there were many advisors going around the world ‘pension busting’ and either helping people to access their pension sooner by either transferring to a jurisdiction that allowed access from a...

QROPS MYTH #3 – Your UK scheme is going to go bust

It’s true that there have been many high profile defined benefit pensions that have gone bust in recent years. The fundamental principle of the way that defined benefit pensions are structured can indeed sound like a risk. A defined benefit pension will promise to pay...

QROPS MYTH #2 – You need an insurance bond

When it comes to QROPS there are a few ways of administering the investments – although most people are only ever presented with one option. As the QROPS trustees are not set up to provide this service (they merely provide the legal structure and fulfil normal trustee...

QROPS MYTH #1 – Your pension is at risk if you leave it in the UK

What risks? Brexit? Tax? Schemes going bust? What risks have you been told about? The only risk is believing someone who is giving you advice that is biased in their favour. If someone is going to profit from helping you to transfer your pension overseas then you need...

HAVE YOU LEFT, OR ARE YOU LEAVING, THE UK WITH £1,000,000 IN PENSIONS?

Many professionals – both British and other nationalities – leave the UK to continue their careers abroad with pension savings which could create an extra tax for them in retirement. As companies react to fears around Brexit, many professionals are being relocated to...

How Much Do I Need to Save for Retirement?

Have you given thought to what the sunset years of your life will look like? If your dream is have the freedom to travel and have fun then you might need to take a good hard look at your financial situation today. It all starts by asking yourself a few simple...

The Great Italian Tax Break – for new residents with foreign pensions (including Italians!)

The 2019 Italian Budget heralded good news in the form of a tax break for pensioners with foreign income who have not been resident in Italy during the last 5 years and become resident in a town with a population of less than 20,000 in the regions of Sicily, Sardinia,...

How to Teach your Children about Money

Unfortunately, schools do not really do enough to teach kids about money – at least they didn’t when I was growing up! Every parent has their own way dealing with the subject of money with their children and these are just a few tips that you could consider. Start by...

Do UN employees need a Supplementary Pension?

We think not, which is not to say that UN employees do not need to save for retirement but the question should be what is the most suitable way for a UN employee to save for retirement? This article expands on one of the points we made in our previous article titled...

Private Pensions in Italy – The Second Pillar

Pensions in Italy, as with many things, are dominated by the state. The state is the primary provider for people in their retirement and the pension system (known as The First Pillar) is funded by social security contributions made by workers and employers. When...

QUESTIONS TO ASK A FINANCIAL ADVISOR

This article delves into questions you should be asking your financial advisor. Whether you’re about to start speaking to an advisor or you are already working with one, it is absolutely imperative that they can provide satisfactory answers to these questions. We’ve...

New Year Financial Resolutions 2020

Make the commitment Like any resolution whether it is related to your health, career, family or financial goals you will not get anywhere if you do not commit. The reason we make resolutions is because we are dissatisfied with our current situation. As we are all the...

TIPS FOR GETTING THE BEST POSSIBLE MORTGAGE DEAL IN ITALY

TIME TO SWITCH TO A FIXED RATE MORTGAGE? If you have a variable mortgage which has more than a few years to run then you could benefit greatly over the long term by shopping around for a fixed rate mortgage now, if you haven’t done so already. Clearly you will have...