Spanish Resident Services

I was recently with someone whom I have known for quite a while, having met him regularly at business events in and around where I live. I knew what he did for a living (chef) and he knew what I did for a living, or at least I thought he did!

Over dinner one evening, I was asked “Jeremy, I know you are a Financial Adviser, but what exactly do you do?”

It actually took me by surprise, thinking everyone would know what I did if I had told them my job title. The discussion continued; “ I would get it if you said you were a chef, you cook food; if you were a car mechanic, you repair cars; if you were a pilot, you fly planes; but what exactly do you do as a Financial Adviser?”

Wow! My answer actually took a little longer than I thought, explaining all of the different aspects I deal with. That got me thinking, I do need to explain a little more about what I do, but not bore people to death.

With that in mind, I put together a small ‘flyer’ showing the areas I deal with, which then pushed me to write this article with the objective of giving people a little more detail around all of the areas I can help with.

So this is what I do for people who live here in Spain:

Retirement Planning / Pension Management
If you haven’t got to that age yet, have you tucked enough away to get you through retirement? Is what you have saved so far suitably invested now things are changing? If you have got to that age, is what you have expensive and suitable for your current lifestyle? We can review your plans and help with managing your finances in retirement.

Pension Transfer Advice
QROPS is a complicated area. What does it even mean? Qualifying (it qualifies as a pension) Recognised (it is recognised by HMRC in the UK) Overseas (it is outside of the UK) Pension Scheme. It simply means it may make sense to move your pension away from the UK to gain more control, for example to choose Euros instead of Sterling. Quite often it makes no sense to move it. What is important is that we can provide you with all of the information you need to make an informed decision. Brexit may mean there is a limited time to do this.

Tax Efficient Investments
If you have ISA’s you will be taxed on these in Spain. Are you invested in policies you bought in the UK holding UK funds that are being taxed on the profit? We can take a look at what you have and see if there are better options out there for living in Spain from a cost, tax and administrative perspective.

General Financial Overviews
Savings in banks in the UK and here, ISA’s, personal pensions, state pensions, general investments, shares, and the list goes on. Are all of these suitable now things have changed and you have retired in Spain? Do you know where all your monies are? Have you forgotten a small pension you may have paid into when working for a company many years ago in the UK? Are you being charged too much for what you have? Is everything all kept together in one place? We can help manage all of this.

Cash Flow Planning / Long Term Plans
How long are you going to live? (I’m afraid we cannot answer that one). How long will what you have last? What effect is inflation having on everything. Can you reduce your outgoings? We can help you take some time to look at all of these things in detail and maybe tweak things to help your money go a little further.

Succession Planning
Who do you plan to leave your assets to when you pass away? (Please don’t say the Taxman!) Where are the likely beneficiaries living? Where are your assets based and is everything in place to make sure things go as smoothly as possible when the unthinkable happens? We can help you with all of this and give guidance on wills, taxes and everything associated with succession plans.

Mortgages
Are you looking to buy a property here in Spain but worried about the poor exchange rate when you have sterling to pay for it. Have you considered borrowing as much as you can in Euros so you can keep your pounds and maybe exchange in years to come if the rate has improved? Mortgages are at all time lows with regard to interest rates at the moment, so maybe now is the time to take advantage and lock those low rates in? Do you understand the mortgage offer you have from the bank? We can help expats with mortgages and all of these questions through our mortgage division.

So now you can understand why my friend needed a little more explanation about what I do. I hope this has given you an insight into all of the areas I can help people with and if all has gone to plan, next time someone asks me exactly what I do, my answer will certainly be a little more polished!