Last Updated on 12th March 2025
Planning a retirement abroad is a dream for many, working towards a relaxed lifestyle, a slower pace of life, buying a beautiful home close to the coast in a warm climate, and whiling away the days enjoying your favourite activities and pastimes.
As you’d expect, reaching this aspiration requires a considerable amount of planning, much of which should take place as far in advance of your intended retirement as possible – ensuring nothing has been left to chance.
This retirement checklist acts as a prompt to help you think about every element of your finances, housing, residency position, tax obligations, healthcare and succession plans, with pointers to demonstrate why each plays an important role in achieving the retirement you hope for.
Retiring Overseas: Checking Off the Practicalities
For most people planning a retirement in another country, the starting point is to go over the basics, understanding the routes to residency or the types of visas you might qualify for, where you will live, and what you will do with existing property you own.
Task One: Research Visa Categories and Eligibility Criteria
Looking into visas early can be helpful because most countries have multiple potential visas, residency permits, and retirement schemes you could apply for. Some offer beneficial tax treatments for expatriates who receive income from overseas, including pensions, and who are financially self-sufficient.
It’s also a great idea to review all of the criteria, checking that any visa you build into your plans enables you to relocate with your spouse or partner and any dependents who might wish to move with you.
Task 2: Consider Options in Terms of Purchasing or Renting Accommodation
While it’s common to leave a property search until closer to your planned retirement, you should research this a little sooner if you are hoping to apply for a visa linked to investment and where real estate acquisitions could streamline your application.
Although living costs are, of course, subject to change, it’s also wise to analyse average costs and expenses and compare these to your forecast budget to ensure you’ll have sufficient money to sustain your current standard of living in your chosen location.
Task 3: Think About Whether You Will Sell, Retain or Gift UK-Based Property
Some of the decisions around managing existing real estate may be linked to succession planning, which we’ll discuss later. That said, if you have a clear idea about what you’d like to do, you could review options like gifting property to your intended future beneficiaries, using property to generate a rental income, or timing your property sale to align with optimal market conditions.
Managing Your Finances as an Expatriate Retiree
Finances are as influential as any part of an overseas retirement, and as with the practical aspects we’ve explored thus far, it’s preferable to have ample time to consult with a professional adviser, evaluate the future value of your assets, and make informed decisions without pressure.
Task 4: Analyse Your Investment Portfolio and Income Sources
Investments could form a substantial amount of the wealth you depend on when you retire, alongside pension funds and incomes from ongoing professional activities.
If, for example, you recognise that current projected returns are falling below your expectations, you can make decisions about reinvesting or restructuring assets or boosting your contributions to improve projected returns.
Likewise, if there are steeper tax burdens against specific types of earnings or revenues or tax-efficient alternatives in your planned country of residence, we can factor this into your strategy, even if that doesn’t mean taking immediate action.
Task 5: Look Into Banking Options and Currency Exchange Rates
Many expatriates assume that accessing their finances is as simple as opening a bank account, but this can be more complex. Visa processing rules commonly mean you need to already have an active account with a minimum amount of funds or that you need to have a live account to be able to register for a taxpayer number or residency card.
There may be options to stagger cash transfers to coincide with periods when exchange rates are in your favour. It is advisable to research banking providers to see which are best suited for you, and to assess the benefit of retaining a UK account if you’re still likely to receive income, including the State Pension, from overseas.
Task 6: Seek Guidance on Taxation Liabilities in Retirement
Taxation is a big part of retirement financial planning, from checking how pension income and lump-sum drawdowns will be taxed to reviewing allowances and exemptions, identifying variances in things like wealth and property tax, and knowing how your tax residency position will affect your overall tax bill.
The more capacity you have to plan, the better you may be able to actively manage your tax burden and the more financial freedom you will have in later life.
Task 7: Evaluate the Right Ways to Manage Your Retirement Income
Many retirees have several pensions, perhaps including the State Pension, a workplace pension, private and personal pensions and other assets. Expatriates always need to analyse the options with care, which could include transferring pension wealth overseas, restructuring pension plans into a private self-managed fund, or retaining pension assets as-is and drawing payments from overseas.
Considerations revolve around tax exposure, limitations on access to your pension pot, currency exchange rates, and whether you would benefit from restructuring or transferring your pension now, especially with Overseas Transfer Tax added to the equation.
Securing Your Dream Expatriate Retirement Lifestyle
Our final list of tasks to add to your to-do list relates to general life overseas as an expatriate retiree. While some of these steps might need to be taken in a different order, putting thought into your planning can make a world of difference.
Task 8: Investigate Private and Public Healthcare Options
Most visa schemes expect expatriates to hold comprehensive private healthcare. You might also need to research the availability of medications, how to register and access a GP, or the hospitals, health centres, and clinics that will accept new clients.
In some cases, retirees are eligible for free or subsidised public health care services, usually after a minimum period of residence. Analysing all the options, insurance cover, or private care costs alongside services like dentists, opticians, and prescription medications is time well spent.
Task 9: Consider Your Current and Future Insurance Protection Requirements
Insurance is often overlooked, and you may need to review the suitability and value of your current coverage, decide which policies you’ll need to retain, cancel, or change following your relocation, and look into additional policies.
That will likely include life insurance, critical illness cover, income protection, property and contents insurance, and private health coverage, alongside standard products like pet and car insurance and protection for the items you’re likely to ship overseas.
Task 10: Revisit Succession and Estate Planning and Inheritance Tax Calculations
Finally, we recommend that you look into your estate plans now and discuss the right options with an experienced adviser.
Advice from a professional who understands the complexities of international inheritance taxation, how best to avoid unnecessarily high tax burdens for your heirs in the future, and how to manage asset sharing, cross-border wills, and succession planning in line with the rules, regulations, and tax frameworks in your chosen country of residence may be invaluable.
How to Get Started Planning an Overseas Retirement
You’ll find more useful information in our free Guide to Retirement Planning, a complimentary resource compiled by our expert wealth managers and financial advisers. It is available to download at your convenience from our website.
Alternatively, if you’d like to get the wheels in motion, run through your current circumstances, and discuss strategies to ensure your finances and portfolio are in a great position to support your relocation, you are welcome to contact your nearest Chase Buchanan team to schedule an initial chat with one of our experienced advisers.
*Information correct as at March 2025