“The pound has experienced major volatility since the Brexit vote was announced. This turbulence is likely to continue as there are still no definitive answers to the important questions about Britain’s future relationship with Europe or the rest of the world,” he says.
Four months after the UK voted to leave the EU sterling has fallen 14.5% against the euro and 18% against the US dollar.
“The plummeting value of sterling has an important negative impact for the millions of Britons overseas who live off a fixed income from Britain, such as a UK pension. The cost of living becomes more expensive and a proportion of their disposable income is eroded away.”
Brits living in the US, for example, have taken “an 18% hit to their UK pension”, Green says.
Brexit-proof retirement income
deVere has experienced a 21% increase in global enquiries about moving British pensions out of the UK.
“Brexit is biting those abroad with a British pension. Therefore, they are, sensibly, considering their options about how to Brexit-proof their retirement incomes.
“This considerable surge potentially represents hundreds of millions of pounds of retirement funds leaving the UK as people seek to safeguard their retirement funds by transferring them into a secure, regulated, English-speaking jurisdiction outside Britain.”
One option Green recommends is transferring into a recognised overseas pension scheme Rops, describing it as “an established way to help mitigate these problems of currency fluctuations, which can seriously erode retirement income”.
“One of the main benefits of a [Rops] is that you can choose which currency you wish to receive payments in. This eliminates the risk of exchange rate fluctuations, which makes the individual’s financial situation more predictable, consistent and secure.”
“Given the ongoing and growing Brexit fallout, we expect the trend for people seeking advice on overseas pensions transfers to gain momentum over the next couple of years and beyond,” Green says.
