I have started 2023 with a new mission – to get myself, my clients and my future clients even more financially organised. We have some cool tech, a new booking system, an online secure portal for financial modelling and a new communications plan.

My aim is to help you to become more financially confident throughout 2023 and beyond. I will endeavour to make everything as clear, concise and as interesting as possible – we are in this together!

What is Financial Planning?

Everyone will need some form of financial plan at some point in their lives – but WHY do you need it? And HOW do you do it?

WHY do you need a financial plan?

“people don’t plan to fail, but often fail to plan”

Budgeting for living costs, building up savings, planning for retirement or education, saving for future large expenses, buying property, protecting your family, leaving something for future generations… all of these are considered in a financial plan.

Then do all of this in a new country with a different language, different tax system and different rules and regulations and we can see that having a well thought-out plan in a language you fully understand could be worth its weight in gold!

In addition, for Brits living in Europe there are the added complexities of Brexit since you will now lose access to UK based advice and financial products.

Common ‘goals’ include:

• Can we retire early?
• How much do we need to have to retire?
• Can we pay for our kids private or university education?
• Can we buy that house we want?
• Can we take that trip?
• Can we leave money for the family?

Combining these considerations allows us to create a ‘road map’ for the coming months, years and decades and helps you understand what compromises you might need to make today to achieve the things you want for the future.

You can then feel more confident that you are on the right path to future happiness and security totally aligned to your own personal hopes and aspirations.

HOW do I help you create your financial plan?

Here is a summary of the Spectrum process and how I, as your professional adviser, can help you through the journey of establishing a plan.

I am a partner and senior adviser in Europe’s largest expatriate financial advisory group; Spectrum have more than 50 advisers across Western Europe and due to our size have terms of business with some of the largest and strongest insurance and investment providers in the world; though we are independent of them.

I have a strong background in investment management and as such sit on the Spectrum Investment Management Committee which provides resources to all of our advisers, and their clients, across Europe.

I have a healthy passion for ethical & sustainable investing as a vital area of focus for the future of investing, our planet and society.

How many of us dream about moving to a dryer warmer climate? Somewhere that has not only great weather but is packed with history, great architecture and a way of life that has a focus on community and family life.

Amanda Johnson made the move to live in the Loire Valley with her family back in 2006 and has never looked back!

Amanda helps many other expatriates either plan their finances before they move to France or assists clients living in the Loire Valley with their current and future tax and financial planning.

Amanda recently spoke to Kylie Lang from ‘Life in Rural France‘ about why she made the move and how wonderful life in France is.

You can read the full interview here: www.lifeinruralfrance.com/relocating-loire-valley/

The Taxe d’habitation has officially been scrapped for main residences in 2023. However in order to find out which properties may still be subject to taxe d’habitation (second homes, rentals etc) and the tax on vacant lodgings, the French tax authorities are requiring all those who own their own homes, second homes or rental properties to do a new declaration before 1st July 2023.

I’m so glad that February is here. After a long and cold January it’s so nice to see the bright sunshine and the mimosa flowers in my garden. That said January wasn’t too bad since I was able to get away for a lovely week in Gleneagles in Scotland for the Spectrum conference. It was a fun week of meeting with product providers, celebrating 20 years of Spectrum, highland games, walks in the Scottish countryside, and horse riding. If you thought the 2022 was a difficult year in the markets you were right. When I spoke to our product providers at our conference they told me that 2022 was one of the most difficult years they had ever experienced. Not only were equities down but the bond markets suffered too. No one can say what may happen in the future, but we can always hope, and already there are signs of improvement in 2023.

The Taxe d’habitation has officially been scrapped for main residences in 2023. However in order to find out which properties may still be subject to taxe d’habitation (second homes, rentals etc) and the tax on vacant lodgings, the French tax authorities are requiring all those who own their own homes, second homes or rental properties to do a new declaration before 1st July 2023. This includes properties held jointly, usufruitiers and properties within an SCI. This service is available on your online tax account from 1st January 2023 and the declaration has to be completed by 30th June 2023.

I had a go at doing this declaration on our own tax account and it is really quite easy to do. If you log into your account on the French tax website (impots.gouv.fr) , at the top there is a tab at the top with “Biens Immobilier”, you click on that and it will show all the properties you own, this will include any garages or out houses on your property. There should be a blue alert bubble saying how many declarations you have to do. You click on that and you will see exactly which declarations need to be done. Then you click on the option to declare your property. It will list the named occupants of the property, if nothing has changed then click on “aucun changement” (no changes) and then “valider” (approve) then it’s all done! The whole process took about 5 minutes, much less than the actual income tax return! In our case they listed our house and garage separately so I had two separate declarations to do for these. My husband is also a “nu proprietaire” of his mother’s house following the death of his father some 20 years ago. This house was listed but all we could do was consult the declaration, we didn’t need to do this declaration as his mother is the occupant of this property.

This declaration has to be done and there could be a fine of €150 per building for not declaring or for any mistakes or omissions on the declaration. If you have any questions you can contact the tax office via the messenger service by choosing the option “j’ai une question sur le service Biens Immobiliers” (I have a question on the property service).

The tax brackets have been officially increased by 5.4%. I wrote about the new tax brackets in my November Ezine but I will publish them again when we get closer to tax season. There is good news for parents with young children who go to a nanny or nursery, the amount of expenses allowed for the tax credit has finally been increased from €2300 to €3500 per child (making the total tax credit €1750 per child) and this will apply to your childcare expenses in 2022.

Further good news is that the savings accounts the Livret A and the LDDS, which did have a 2% interest rate have now been increased to 3%. The LEP now will have an interest rate of 6.1%. However bear in mind that the maximum deposit into the Livret A is €22950 and 3% of this is €689. The LDDS maximum balance is €12,000 at 3% this equals €360. Presuming you meet the income threshold, you can only put a maximum of €7700 which at a rate of €6.1% would earn you €470. So on €42650 of capital put into these savings account, you would earn €1519 fee from tax and social charges or 3.56%. Furthermore these amounts are paid yearly not monthly or quarterly so you will only receive these amounts on 1st January of next year.

Finally if you didn’t do any renovations or improvements to the energetic efficiency of your home in 2022 you can still do so in 2023, irrespective of your level of income. The renovation bonus or MaPrimeRenov’ has been extended until 31st December 2023 and the amount of financial assistance available has also been increased. To find out what you can do according to your income levels and what financial assistance you can receive, this document is useful: https://www.ecologie.gouv.fr/sites/default/files/19164_maPrimeRenov_DP_Janvier%202021.pdf It unfortunately dates from January 2021 so needs to be updated with the new amounts but it is still useful to give you a rough idea.

If you have any questions on any of the above or any other financial matters please do get in touch.

I like to read articles written by my Spectrum colleagues, especially those working in France, but also those by colleagues working in other European countries as I find it interesting to read what the hot topics are in their areas and how they compare to France. I came across a very interesting one recently entitled ‘THE Folder’, written by my colleague, Gareth Horsfall, who lives and works in Italy.

The article is of universal interest and although the subject matter could be viewed as having rather depressing undertones, it includes some really useful tips on keeping our affairs in good order, not only for ourselves but, more importantly, to help those close to us who may be tasked with taking over at a time when we may not be around to/or capable of doing it ourselves. Under ‘normal’ circumstances this would be a stressful and difficult time for family but potentially far more difficult for anyone trying to deal with the affairs of someone who lives/lived in a different county, with little or no knowledge of that country’s legal or financial system and unable to speak the language.

I like to think of myself as being fairly well organised when it comes to keeping my ‘filing’ in order. I say ‘my filing’ because my husband sees finance and admin as my department (not surprising given my occupation) and he is more than happy to leave everything to me. Like many of you, I am sure, I have a drawer with lots of itemised dividers separating out all our important documents, statements, bills, birth & marriage certificates, etc so that I can lay my hands on everything very quickly, and I have a spreadsheet of our various bank accounts, investments and pension arrangements, etc so that I can keep track of everything.

For a while now, I have been mindful of the need to provide relatives with details of our affairs, especially as we live in France, which only further complicates matters for them if left to take over. However, on reading Gareth’s article, I realised that there is so much more I should do to make things as easy as possible for them if the unthinkable were to happen. So, I have made a start on putting together ‘Our Folder’ based on the very comprehensive list in Gareth’s article, which I have used below to share with you in the hope that it will be a useful guide for those of you who may need it.

So what is ‘THE’ folder?
It is a single file (digital or physical – preferably both) where you keep all of your important personal and financial information together. It allows easy access to these documents in the event that you’re no longer around to help. It is really important to have it in place especially where one family member takes the lead with the family finances.

It seems like a lot of work – is it worth the effort?
Yes, absolutely!  A time of loss can be stressful enough without having to try and piece together the deceased’s financial affairs. Don’t underestimate the benefit this will provide to the executors of your estate if you have one place with all your financial and legal documents in an easy to understand format. I know from experience it will be very much appreciated – my dear Dad was a stickler for record keeping and had put together his version of his and Mum’s ‘Folder’ which made it much easier for my Mum, my sisters and I to sort things out after he passed.

However, preparing ‘THE’ folder is more than avoiding stress – if you leave behind an administrative nightmare you could delay the accessing of funds by inheritors and the potential for racking up sizeable legal fees.

So which is best…..physical or digital?
This comes down to personal preference, but I would recommend both, if possible.  Whether you choose to have a digital folder with all these documents in or not, you should at the very least have your documents scanned in case of fire or theft, and quite often companies will now accept scanned copies of documents instead of hard copies, if they can be certified or electronically signed.

A digital file can be password protected and you can give access to a trusted individual who can access it in the event of your death. (Remember they will also get access during your life, so ensure they are a ‘trusted’ individual). A Google file, for example, can be updated over time and to which you and a family member have shared access. This file can then be stored on your main computer, in the cloud or on an external hard drive.  You can use a physical folder to keep hard copies of all the same information together.

I will do both when building ours, as I still like to have paper copies, and I will share the digital folder with family members.

So what should go in ‘THE’ folder?

Essentials 

• Wills / Testaments + details of the Notaire or legal firm that helped create it, if relevant
• Instruction letter/bequests
• Trust documents
• Burial / Cremation wishes
• A copy of a living will, should you have ‘end of life’ instructions that you want medical professionals to be aware of should you be unable to communicate these due to severe illness or disability
• Copy passports and driving licences (in case originals go missing)

Birth, marriage and divorce

• Personal birth certificate(s)
• Deed Poll documents
• Marriage certificate
• Divorce papers
• Birth certificates / adoption papers for minor children
• Livre de Famille (if you have French nationality)

Life insurance and retirement

• Life insurance policy documents, including beneficiary nomination forms
• Details of any employer death in service benefits
• Personal pension documents (including any beneficiary nomination forms)
• Occupational / Final Salary pension details
• Annuity documents
• Details of any entitlements to state pensions

Bank accounts

• List of bank accounts with account numbers, contact details, login details and passwords
• Details of any credit cards
• Details of any safety deposit boxes

Assets

• Property, land and cemetery deeds
• Timeshare ownership
• Proof of loans made
• Vehicle ownership documents
• Stock certificates, brokerage accounts, investment platform details and online investment account details
• Details of holding of premium bonds, government bonds and investment bonds (including assurance vie policies)
• Partnership and corporate operating/ownership agreements ( including offshore companies)

Liabilities

• Mortgage details
• Proof of debts owned
• Details of gifts (whether notarised or not)
• Dates and amounts / values (potentially helpful when calculating inheritance tax liabilities)

Income sources, tax and social security

• Making a list of all your sources of income, especially the ones which your family may not know about
• Employer details
• Social security affiliation (CPAM, URSSAF)
• A copy of your most recent tax return or accounts

Monthly expenses (so they can be continued after death or accounts closed)

• Utilities
• Insurances – car, house, medical/Mutuelle, travel
• Rent / mortgage
• Loans
• Subscriptions / membership details / TV supplier

Email and social media account details

Contact details

• List of names and contacts numbers for: financial adviser, doctor, lawyer/solicitor/notaire, accountant, insurance broker etc
• A trusted Handholder or Professional Translator who could translate documents and would be willing to attend meetings with family members who do not speak French

How often should ‘THE’ folder be reviewed?

Firstly, it is sensible to note the date that it was last reviewed so that anyone using it has an idea of how up-to-date the details are. Going forward, reviewing the file on an annual basis should be sufficient.

And finally…
We’re coming into winter now – what better time to make a start? Ensuring that your papers are in order in the event of your sudden death is incredibly important when living in another country. It will provide you with peace of mind that your loved ones will not have too much difficulty in administering your estate and your family will be eternally thankful that you did it for them. Once it’s done be sure to tell someone about it. There is little point going to the effort of creating such a folder if no-one knows of its existence or where to find it!

If you need help with putting your folder together, are unsure where to start or would simply like a review of your financial situation please feel free to contact me below.