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Pensions & Insurance

Why expats need a global pension plan

Pensions & Insurance

04/08/2003Why expats need a global pension plan

None of us is getting any younger, which is why many expats in Europe are anxious that there's no readily available pension product in which we can invest. Much of the blame lies with the governments and tax authorities of each European country. Treasury chiefs are reluctant to harmonise taxation rules and extend the kind of tax breaks to expats that residents at home receive because each country has its own agenda, serving its own interests rather than those of the EU as a whole. Nation states' failure to fulfil their duties as members of the European Union and abide by laws to which they have already agreed is leaving many expats without proper provision for their retirement. But do we need a pension plan? As we have already reported, expats are in the fortunate position of being able to take advantage of low-tax or tax-free offshore investments. There are many good products out there, some of which will help you save for your retirement in a tax-efficient way. But offshore investment isn’t simple. There are a multitude of products available, and there's the question of whether to tell the tax authorities about these investments (and if so, which tax authority to tell?). Without the help of a good financial adviser — which can be difficult to find in the middle of Bavaria or Normandy — it's difficult to know what to do. Europe doesn't need a bunch of perplexed expats who, when faced with such financial insecurity, end up in a taxation minefield or, worse still, decide it's better to go home. To increase in strength, the continent's economy needs to encourage these bright, culturally aware, multilingual workers — an estimated 10 to 12 million of them, according to Eurostat. After all, expats are some of the most important cogs in the European engine. The failure of governments to meet their obligations is not only putting the brakes on further European integration and potentially on greater economic success for the continent, but it is discriminating against some of the continent's most valuable workers. Discrimination against millions of citizens is something that has to stop. 15 January 2002