To contact Tom for a free, no-obligation discussion of your financial situation please use our expat IRA / 401k enquiry form.

If you have worked in the United States for any length of time (either as a US citizen or a foreign national) it is likely that you have paid into a US pension account such as an IRA (Individual Retirement Account) or a 401k (an occupational pension plan). The question arises as to what should be done with such an account once you give up US residency.

There are three alternatives: You can transfer it to another pension account, you can distribute the money, or you can leave it in the current account.   more ...

Tom Zachystal (CFA, CFP) is President of Individual Asset Management, a Registered Investment Advisor specializing in investment management and financial planning for expatriates. Click here to send Tom a no-obligation enquiry for financial advice.

For the better part of this year investment markets have been largely trendless. There have been many ups and downs but no clear breakout to either the downside or the upside. The current state of things, a slowing and fragile economy in Europe as well as issues with sovereign debt, better economic data in the US, and perhaps a more stable outlook in Asia with lower inflation and still good growth, support the view that we may be in for an extended period of up and down investment market performance. In such a market, and especially given the difficult investment market we recently suffered in 2008-2009, there is a tendency for investors to give up on mainstream investments such as stocks and bonds and to seek better investment returns in more exotic vehicles, or by employing more exotic investment strategies. These products and strategies are often poorly understood by the average investor and heavily sold by certain investment sales people because commissions to the advisor are usually quite high.   more ...

Tom Zachystal (CFA, CFP) is President of Individual Asset Management, a Registered Investment Advisor specializing in investment management and financial planning for expatriates. Click here to send Tom a no-obligation enquiry for financial advice.

In the current low interest rate environment prevalent in many developed market economies it makes little sense to park one’s investment money in conservative fixed income investments that offer poor yields; perhaps even yields lower than expected inflation rates. Given the fact that the first few years of Baby-Boomers are now retiring, and people in retirement tend to favor income-producing investments, it seems there should be considerable demand for alternatives to bonds.   more ...

by Expat Focus investment partner, Tom Zachystal

On August 9th Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the US Federal Reserve, made an unprecedented announcement (although I guess by now we should be used to unprecedented announcements from the Fed). He announced that the Fed would keep US target interest rates low for two years. Never before has the Fed committed to a time-span for its interest rate policy.

Many investors were disappointed that the Fed didn’t announce a further economic stimulus measure but in fact the actual announcement is much more useful because it helps bring certainty to what has become a very uncertain investment market.   more ...

by Tom Zachystal (CFA, CFP), Expat Focus partner and President of Individual Asset Management

You have worked hard to build a nest egg and would like to invest your money in order that it work for you to provide for the lifestyle you desire; but while searching for investments or investment advisors you find it difficult to know who to trust or which investments might be appropriate for you. Many people find themselves in this situation and some end up being taken advantage of by smooth-talking sales people masquerading as investment advisors.

In this article I discuss three scams we have seen over the years and point out warning signs to look for so that you are not caught unawares. This list is far from comprehensive so if you are uncertain about a prospective investment then I invite you to contact me directly and I will evaluate it for you, often at no charge.   more ...

A number of readers have asked how the process of transferring UK pensions overseas typically works. In this part one of a two-part column we will look at the people and agencies involved in the transfer process and the various associated costs. In part two, we will look at the paperwork that needs to be completed and steps that need to be taken in order to effectuate a UK pension transfer.

First let’s identify the parties that may be involved in the transfer process:

- At a minimum your UK pension provider and the QROPS administrator must be involved.
- In the case of an occupational scheme, your pension might be administered by a financial services firm on behalf of your company; so your corporate pension administrator as well as the pension company representative might be involved.   more ...

There are numerous issues that need to be addressed when moving to a new country and it often seems the more “developed” your new country of residence, the more important it is to understand and follow regulations.

Individual Asset Management provides financial planning services to non-US citizens living and preparing to live in the United States, and I have identified seven topics that anyone moving to the US should consider:

1. Visa / citizenship issues
2. Reporting and taxation of non-US financial accounts
3. Obtaining loans / credit history
4. Pension transfer
5. Investment management
6. Estate tax
7. Education and retirement savings plans   more ...

In the first three articles of this series we examined what QROPS is, how it could benefit some expats (and others) and briefly how the system works.

In the final analysis though, words can be confusing and there is no substitute for examples when it comes to showing how things work.

Disclaimer:

In all these articles we have made the point that you should not make decisions about what to do with your pension funds based upon advertisements and articles however well written and attractive they appear. You must get professional advice that is specific to your circumstances and only from a registered professional adviser. Please note that the examples below are illustrative and hypothetical – they may well not apply to your given circumstances.   more ...

In previous articles we examined the principles of QROPS, and why QROPS could be advantageous to expats in certain circumstances.

In this brief discussion, we’ll look at some of the ‘qualification’ and related issues that apply to those trying to move their pension savings out of the UK to a QROPS.

QROPS – A ‘not entirely clear’ situation

The general package of legislation and other changes now referred to as QROPS was introduced into the UK in 2006.

Some have described this as being driven by EU ‘fair play’ legislation though others attribute it to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) trying to close loopholes in pension laws that were being abused by expats.   more ...

In the first article in this series, we outlined a little of the background to the UK government's decision to permit pension fund transfers out of the UK to overseas arrangements in certain circumstances. We also had a brief look at what exactly a QROPS was.

In this article we will look briefly at why an expat may choose to move their funds out of the UK into a QROPS.


Protect your interests!

There is no apology here for stating again that if you're considering what to do with your pension funds then you MUST consult a qualified and registered expert. Any article of this nature must of necessity be summarised and non-specific. Your circumstances will be individual to you, so do not make decisions based exclusively upon this article or any of a similar nature.   more ...