Why it is essential to

Why it is essential to talk to your Financial Adviser I’ve been giving financial advice to English speaking clients who live outside of their home country now for the last 23 years (of which the last 13 years in France) and they certainly are a varied bunch of folks. Some have settled into their new country and new lifestyle very well, others not-sowell and a few of these not-so-well people have now returned back to their home country. Over the years I have looked in depth why this was the case, and there was a constant thread running through the settled ones. They planned their finances (and then sat back and enjoyed retirement). I’m talking about people who have now retired to another country (as opposed to moving abroad for work) and are relying on their pensions and investments to pay their bills, as 95% of my clients tend to fit into this category. Understandably so, retiring to another country is more often than not a decision made purely on emotions. After a long working life, there’s a desire for less work, for a new lifestyle and climate etc. But, to make a success of retiring abroad, then facts as well as emotions also have to enter into this retirement equation. Financial planning works best when planned in advance I equate financial planning to visiting the dentist, you tend to visit the dentist for two main reasons. Either you have a horrendous toothache now, or you don’t want a horrendous toothache in the future. Those who have planned in advance have visited their dentist regularly and the dentist has put a plan in place to look after their teeth and to avoid future toothache. Those that don't visit their dentist turn up at their dentist’s door with a swollen face and a horrendous toothache and end up leaving with less teeth. Good regulated Financial Planning is essential to avoid Financial toothache. So how do you make sure your bills and other expenses are paid for as tax-efficiently as possible when you have retired in France?