Offshore Banking, Savings and Investment News

US based publisher of business forecasts and personal finance advice Kiplinger.com has endeavoured to compile the ultimate list of best places to retire abroad.  To come up with their 8 main recommendations they consulted with 3 leading voices in all things ‘overseas retirement,’ and researched their suggestions carefully.

However, the list contains some surprising recommendations in our opinion, so we would welcome your feedback about whether the following 8 locations really do represent the best places to retire abroad.

Kiplinger.com is clearly a US facing online magazine, and those it sought opinion from when compiling its list are largely US facing expatriate resources too, so perhaps when it comes down to it, the difference in opinion is simply between where Americans would be best off retiring, and where British expats would prefer to retire overseas – but please let us know what you think!

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Any expat who has ever investigated their offshore banking options will know that the choice of account type is almost as varied as the choice of bank account provider, therefore it will come as no surprise that when it comes to choosing the best offshore bank account for expats, you have to define the account type before you can select the bank!

Fortunately Nexus magazine regularly publishes ‘best buy’ charts for an expat’s offshore banking options, and by utilising the information they publish it’s been possible to determine winners in a set number of categories. 

As a result, we hope the following article will help our readers find the best bank for their account requirements, depending on whether they want a plain vanilla account or something a little more flavoursome!

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In the past we’ve covered the subject of QROPS quite extensively, because we know that this is a very important area of financial planning for expats to explore.  Getting the right plan in place for your long-term retirement savings is critical, if you’re going to ensure you can retire comfortably.

For expats, the question about how and where to save for a pension income is a big one, because there are a lot more angles to consider as soon as you move abroad.  You need to take into account whether you plan to remain abroad for the long term, whether you want to retire overseas or if you have plans to return to Britain, and you need to factor in everything from currency conversion to tax when thinking about how to save and how you will ultimately draw your pension.

When HMRC introduced the concept of QROPS (qualifying recognised overseas pension schemes) into the mix, things became a lot more complex for expats!  Whilst QROPS can be fantastic for probably the vast majority of qualifying expatriates, they are not right for everyone, and determining whether you’re best advised to transfer your pension to a QROPS is critical when considering what’s suitable for your longer-term income requirements.  Last week we caught up with Andrew Williamson from Swiss Regent to learn how his company has come up with a unique way to help British expats get the right advice about QROPS.

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Almost 1,000 people a day have been leaving the UK in a bid to find a better life aboard over the past decade.  According to new figures from the Office of National Statistics, 986 Britons left the UK every single day between 2001 and 2011 – and the majority were all in the 25 – 44 age gap. 

This means that working age Brits, who have become the most tightly squeezed and negatively impacted group in the UK because of the devastating recession, are voting with their feet and going abroad to find work and build better lives.

If Britain wants to escape the hole it’s in it needs to reverse this trend immediately – however, if you’re as unsure as we are that this will ever happen, it’s time to book your flight out of Blighty!  If you want the chance of a good life, are you certain that you can have it in Britain?  The world is out there – and it’s a world of opportunity – as 986 Brits a day are discovering!

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Whether you’re already a seasoned expatriate or you’re just dipping your toes in expat waters and contemplating your relocation options, you’re likely to come across lots of adverts all over the internet for international bank accounts as soon as you start Googling for information about living abroad.

This may lead you to thinking that establishing an offshore bank account is essential if you’re moving overseas, or it may just add another concern to an already long list that you’re worrying about as you plan your move abroad.  However, fear not, when it comes to banking for expats things are relatively simple.

In this report into the truth about whether expats need international bank accounts and how they can (or cannot) benefit you as an individual, we will cut through the corporate speak and marketing pressures, and deliver you the plain facts about how expats can and should manage their money once they relocate abroad.

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The good news for 2013 is that there’s a great deal more sanity in the property investment market these days.  Gone is the hype filled huff and puff about every other nation representing an excellent opportunity for investors, (Albania?  Seriously?), and required caution has returned to all things real estate.

The bad news is that one serious flaw that’s affecting many otherwise genuinely appealing property investment destinations is failing to receive the headline warnings really required to protect potential buyers.

You see, there are reasons to invest in carefully selected properties abroad in 2013…but even more caution is required, because whilst prices may look low in some of the evergreen hotspots - luring would-be buyers in - rental yields are really suffering in so many tourist destinations around the world.  This means that any so-called ‘safe’ investment requires very close inspection to ensure it’s not actually going to cost you an awful lot more than you think.

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Now that everyone’s back at work and even the children are back at school, the reality of the daily grind is kicking in for most people.  It’s a fact that the general mood of the nation is blue at this time of the year, (did you know that yesterday, Monday 14th of Jan, is officially the most depressed day of the year!), and yet if you’re dead set on starting a new life abroad in 2013, perhaps you’re one of the few wandering around with a smile on your face!

After all, what better way to banish the winter blues than to banish winter altogether by starting a new life abroad in a country where the sun always shines!  Today, in the second part of our mini series about where to live abroad in 2013, we’re going to focus on Central America.

A region often overlooked by Britons, it’s greatly in favour with our American cousins, and it’s a region offering incredible diversity, fantastic weather, an affordable cost of living, and plenty of liveable countries to choose from.  You can even find tax-free living in Central America…

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If you’ve recovered sufficiently from the Christmas and New Year hangovers and you’re dreading getting back to the 9 – 5 grind and enduring your way through yet another year in a near-bankrupt nation, you hate the thought of taxes being hiked and everything else being slashed, and you want to know where to live abroad in 2013 to enjoy a better standard of living, we have the answers to your location dilemmas.

After all, it can be very hard to know where to look, and a lot of people fall into the trap of simply plumping for a country where they had a happy holiday.  Whilst this might mean you make the right choice for you and your family’s future, it may also mean you rock up in a resort, out of season, and discover that there is a lot more to making expatriate life work than simply buying a one-way ticket out of the UK.

In terms of where to choose, it will be a personally dictated choice driven by many critical factors from employment to education perhaps, but if you’re looking for a good combination of a decent climate and a nation where economically things are going from good to better, part one of our look at where to live abroad in 2013 is going to focus on a handful of our favourite nations in South America.

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Today we’re going to bring you a feature about the future of property abroad, thanks to the help of Property-abroad.com.  The site has been in business since its founder, Les Calvert, came up with the idea for the business in 2000.  He intended to use the site to bring his cool head to calm the hot flames of hype that surrounded the overseas property market back then. 

Fast forward twelve years and everything has changed… and yet stayed the same!  The site is still owned and operated by Les, who has remained its CEO for over a decade, and he has maintained his cool and clear thinking with regard to the international real estate landscape.  The site’s listings have grown by a factor of ten or more, its coverage has extended in depth and breadth to include a blog and news feed on worldwide property information…yet despite Les’s dedication to reporting the truth about real estate, there’s still a lot of misinformation out there in the general media about the international property market.

Back in 2000 there were whispers of easy money to be made by anyone in property abroad, and many people were stung by conmen talking up impossible deals and unlikely yields and returns.  In 2012 the pendulum has swung back the other way, and a much more crowded Internet is filled with dissenting opinions and doomsayers.  Once again, property-abroad.com’s business is to supply its users with a cool-headed appraisal of the real state of the market, and thanks to Les Calvert we can today bring you an up to date update on all things property abroad ready for whatever 2013 may bring.

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As the number of expats moving to Canada remains steady, and demand for residency and employment visas from Britons keen to escape the economic climate in the UK keeps rising, there’s something of a misconception in the media that starting a new life in Canada is really easy, particularly because it’s mainly an English speaking nation.  In fact, moving to any new nation is never totally simple or completely straightforward, and Canada is certainly no exception!

So, whilst Canada has a reputation as a potentially wonderful new home for immigrants from across the world, the truth is that adjusting to life as an expat in Canada can be a real challenge - even in spite of the lack of a language barrier for Brits.  If you search expat forums you’ll find many littered with stories of expats who moved to Canada and who really found integration and adjusting to life difficult.

Whilst many of these stories end happily eventually, the really negative ones are disturbing and many people would prefer it if we glossed over them!  But to do so would be to do you a disservice, because if you’re thinking of moving to Canada, it’s far better that you’re forewarned of any issues and therefore prepared to deal with them.  In this article we’re going to give you 5 top tips to help you adjust to expat life in Canada, as given to us by readers who’ve already made the transition and started a new life there.

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