Why an Expat’s Wealth Health is MORE Important When They Move Abroad

You might think that the state of your bank account, the value of your investment portfolio, the interest you’re earning on your savings and whether you’re up to your eyeballs in credit card debt are always going to be facts that are at least of some significant importance to you.  However, there is evidence to support the fact that actually, if you’re an expat, these matters should matter even more to you.

In this report we’re going to uncover why an expat’s ‘wealth health’ is more important when they move abroad than it ever was when they lived back onshore in the UK.  You see, it has to do with the fact that once you expatriate and emigrate, you’re pioneering when it comes to really looking after yourself financially speaking – for today, tomorrow and all your tomorrows abroad.

Even those who retire abroad and are still dependent to a degree on their British government paid state pension need to take their financial position more seriously than they have perhaps ever done before, because when you move overseas, you’re quite often on your own even if you fall on tough times…

We Britons may bemoan the state of the under funded, over managed NHS, complain about the small minority of families that exist where apparently generation after generation live on state handouts with no desire to ever find work, and we may be determined to do all we can in life to never fall below the breadline and to work hard for our family’s prosperity…however…

In so doing all of the above we may find we take for granted the state support system that exists to help the more vulnerable in our society as well.  In the UK we have free education for all children up to the age of 18 and sometimes even beyond.  We have free healthcare for every single condition for all people, we have maternity benefit, a state pension, invalidity payments and yes, money for those who have fallen out of employment.  And all of this puts the Great back into Great Britain where perhaps the economic state of the nation has all but erased it.  However, this underlying level of fiscal support that exists for us when we live in UK is often completely lost when we move abroad.

Whilst you may not draw on the state in any way – perhaps you have private healthcare, educate your children privately, have a private pension and insurances in place in case you lose your job or fall long-term sick – it is there for you in an emergency.  This underlying truth gives us Britons a tiny amount of complacency that we lose immediately we leave the UK and become resident elsewhere.  Even in the most generous countries where there is also a great wealth of state assistance potentially available, expatriates don’t always qualify for everything – and where they do qualify, there is often a waiting period before eligibility kicks in, during which time you’re vulnerable because you’re not eligible for certain support in the UK, nor in your new country.  Now let’s face another reality, few nations offer as much as the UK does – which is possibly the only reason it is such a popular choice with vulnerable immigrants and refugees – they certainly don’t come for the weather and at the moment they’re unlikely to be coming looking for employment either as the job landscape in Britain is relatively bleak!

So, by understanding that as Britons in Britain we have a support system in place to catch us if we fall, you can see how your state of increased vulnerability when you move abroad can mean your ‘wealth’s health’ is suddenly of paramount importance.  The good news is that expatriates have an advantage over their peers onshore in the UK when it comes to the investment, diversification and management of their money.  For example, some expatriates can save tax by going offshore – entirely legitimately, even if that tax is simply deferred for the term of a given savings solution.  Other expatriates can have access to more aggressive funds that perhaps suit their risk profile, and whilst exposing some of their money to more potential risk, they have the potential to grow their wealth far more and far faster.

Expatriates have to think about their wealth from many different angles – it’s not simply a case of putting it away for a rainy day or retirement.  Money may be needed to provide essential medical care even if you have a private international health insurance policy in place.  For example, the expat couple who move abroad and fall pregnant within a year are often not covered by their health insurance policy which sets a minimum amount of time you have to have held the policy for before you’re covered for even basic maternity services.  Money may be required to fund your child’s education – either at every step of the way or at least at nursery and tertiary levels.  In many countries and for many expatriates, any local, free education may not suit – particularly if the expat child is above a certain age where adaption to a new school system can be disruptive and learning a new language can be difficult.  This is also the case for expats who may be moving or repatriating again before the child’s schooling is complete.  For such people an international school abroad or a private school back home may be the only options – and both cost significant sums of money.

For expatriates of working age abroad there will be an onus on you to have essential insurance in place to cover your life and your health as well as your employment status – particularly if you’re the main breadwinner and you have dependents and/or financial liabilities such as a mortgage.

Expatriates often realise the gravity of the situation when they have relocated and are faced with the realities of life on a day-to-day basis.  Speaking from personal experience, a series of minor mishaps made me wake up to the fact that I needed to take more responsibility.  My kitchen tap exploded and caused a geyser to gush under significant pressure for about 8 hours unnoticed before my downstairs neighbour came home to find his flat (and mine) flooded.  He sued me for the damage!  I needed a minor but important operation that my insurance company deemed cosmetic, (it truly wasn’t), and I had to pay the doctor and then one day my car slid on ice down a hill on a lane towards a fast moving main road…I managed to stop in time but all events happened so close together that there was no way they were anything other than ‘someone’ reminding me to take a bit more financial responsibility!

I don’t want anything of the like to happen to you – therefore I am seeking to inform you that when you move abroad you owe it to yourself, your family and even your neighbours (!) to reassess your financial position. 

You can take the expatriate advantage to help you clear down any debt you have more quickly, to access higher paying interest earning accounts, to benefit from any tax advantages open to you and to enhance your wealth status for today, tomorrow and your long-term future.

The first part of the journey may involve working with an adviser who can go through every element of your life and your financial position and map out where you need to do some work, what can be achieved and how you can build up long-tem benefits.  Don’t put off making that appointment, it will take a few hours of your time one evening and it will be work that lays the foundations for your future fiscal success – therefore, you can even see the time you invest as being of very high value.  If you would like us to put you in touch with a financial adviser who can inform, help and support you, please complete our expatriate financial advice form with an overview of how we can potentially assist.