Many people who work in Spain still do not plan for their retirement. Planning for your pension when you work in Spain is just as important as planning for your pension when yo work in the UK. Spanish banks are keen to help you, but the problem is that you may be in a unique position. Just like me, you may have a private pension and state pension in the UK. You may have other investments in the UK as well. Asking a Spanish bank to help you to invest for the future may not be your best option as I have personally found out.
Take Your Entire Pensions Pot Into Consideration
The first thing you need to do is to establish your pensions pot. You may want to take into consideration private pensions as well state pension. If you are living in Spain, it is unlikely that you are still contributing to them, but there are people who still contribute to UK based pensions. For instance, you may even be topping up your state pension once a year.
Property Abroad As Part of Your Pensions Pot
Some of us still have UK property we may be renting out, and we consider that property part of our expat pension pot. Spanish pension providers would find that very hard to handle, and it certainly presents a challenge with Brexit coming up. It would be better to complete a full expat pensions review to make sure that all of what I like to call “pensionable” assets are taken into consideration when planning for your retirement.
A Flexible Expat Pension
Are you going to be staying in Spain when you retire? As people have become more and more “transitional” in recent years, it could mean that you will be spending your working life in Spain, but retiring in a different country. In that case, it means your pension needs to be as flexible as you are. Of course, if you have worked in Spain, paid tax and Social Security, you will be entitled to the Spanish National State Pension. At the moment it is easy to claim the Spanish State Pension for UK expats, and should hopefully continue to be so. Bear it in mind when you plan your pension as it may form part of your total pension income one day.
Still, you really do need to think ahead and find a flexible pension solution for you. It is best to speak to a company that specialise in dealing with expats pensions and understands expat pensions reviews. If you can the balance right, it may even be worth it for you to pay into a private pension here in Spain. After all, contributions towards a private pension here in Spain can be used to offset against tax, and as we all know, every little bit helps when it comes to retirement and pensions.
Also, don't forget about expat health insurance. At the moment you are probably covered by the national system, but what will happen when your retire. You may find that you are covered in Spain, but if you move to another country, what happens then. Expat health insurance is a very specialist subject, and it could be a good idea to start making some provisions now.