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With
many expats now living in corfu we thought it
would be an idea to open a new "expat
section" giving advice to others who are
looking to make the move.
This
month we feature an interesting article "How
to Stop the Value of your Pension from
Decreasing!"
Many Brits living overseas unknowingly lose money
through the process of receiving their monthly
pension payment. Often, a pension is paid in
sterling at a UK (or off-shore) bank and then
exchanged to Euros or other currencies and sent to
the pension holders overseas bank account.
Alternatively, pensions are paid into a Sterling
account overseas and then exchanged into Euros or
other currencies for use.
During the standard process of using the banking
system, money saving options are overlooked,
unnecessary charges are made and poor currency
conversion rates are applied. In the end, the
pension holder loses around £50 - £100
unnecessarily on every transfer. In some cases,
the pension holder can loose much more. The
solution is to use an international payment
specialist rather than a bank.
The money saving option – fix the currency
exchange rate.
Mr Benson retired to corfu at the end of 2007. In
January 2008, he called a payment specialist,
explained that his monthly pension amounted to £1,134
and wanted to know what options were available.
After a chat with a specialist, he decided to set
up a regular payment with a fixed exchange rate
for 1.33 for the full year. In January, he
received €1,508.22 in corfu and continued to do
so every month for the full year. To set up this
facility, Mr Benson set a standing order from his
bank to the payment specialist and paid a small
administration fee.
If Mr Benson decided against fixing a currency
exchange rate, his monthly amount would have
decreased with the weakening sterling rate and by
December his payment would have amounted to
€1190.70 - a 21% drop in value. Banks often fail
to offer or even mention the option of fixing a
currency exchange rate for use in the future.
Avoid Charges.
Banks in the UK and definitely in corfu seem to
charge for anything they can get away with. When
working with an international payment specialist
they’ll help to reduce and often eliminate most
bank sending and receiving charges. Why pay a fee
if you don’t have to?
Get good exchange rates.
International payment specialists offer exchange
rates that are guaranteed to beat the rates
provided by the bank. Banks often set their rates
to buy and sell currency in the morning – when
you visit a branch, you’ll see them hanging on
the wall. Specialists, however, don’t set the
rates but call into the market floor to get you
the best rate possible.
Watching the value of your pension depreciate can
be soul-destroying. Receiving €900 rather than
€950 can also cause anxiety. Both situations can
be avoided when discussing matters with an
international payment specialist.
To move money overseas or repatriate back to the
UK, check out:
www.smartcurrencyexchange.com/250.htm
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here
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