Last Updated on 4th August 2025
Today’s media reports often focus on the fast-changing volatility within the global financial and economic markets, commenting on changing tariffs, currency valuations, interest rates, and speculation about what conflicts and politics might mean. If you are nearing retirement, a turbulent market environment can be deeply concerning, making retirement planning difficult.
If you are living abroad as an expat or plan to move overseas to enjoy your retirement, you need to understand how to plan for market fluctuations and what this might mean for your income streams, ensuring you make the right decisions to protect your retirement wealth.
While the global and domestic economies are not something you can control, you can take decisive action to protect your savings.
Our guide to turbulent market retirement planning shares advice from our expert wealth management team on mitigating the impact of market fluctuations and protecting your assets from the unknown.
Why Knowledge is Power: Consulting an Experienced Adviser to Navigate Uncertain Markets
Worrying about the market may be unnecessary. Knowing where you stand is the first step to being proactive about your retirement income.
When it comes to retirement savings, including pension funds and investment products, many of your assets may not be impacted much, if at all, by changes in the markets.
If you are planning to relocate or are an expat and need to keep firm control over your portfolio, appointing a wealth management professional ensures that you stay on top of market changes and are ready to make adjustments where necessary to avoid unnecessary costs and liabilities.
Reviewing Pension Schemes and Retirement Savings
Your pension scheme could be set up in various ways. If, for example, you hold a defined benefit plan, your future pension income is secured and simply adjusted for inflation. Step one is to identify which assets might be prone to fluctuations and which are not to decide which requires your focus.
Remember that the markets do not affect the UK State Pension or other state benefits plans, and your annuities may provide protection with defined payments that are also not impacted.
Setting aside some time to assess your anticipated income requirements and calculate how much of that is provided for by secured regular payments may go a long way toward providing reassurance.
If you are already living abroad as an expat, you will be familiar with the costs of living, but it might still be beneficial to review which retirement income streams provide the most tax-efficient options and assess whether your pension funds remain well structured.
Should you plan to relocate abroad, now is a great time to review your budget, analyse your plans for renting or purchasing a property, and consider whether market fluctuations mean you may need to make adjustments.
If you identify a gap between your projected retirement income and requirements, you can then determine whether your budgets include any non-essential outgoings and consider whether these can be adjusted or cut back to avoid a shortfall.
Alternatively, we’d recommend you access professional financial support. Our wealth management and advisory teams are experts in helping clients restructure their investment and retirement portfolios in the best possible ways.
We can ensure you take advantage of opportunities to redirect, reinvest, or restructure your capital so that your portfolio generates the income you require for your planned retirement lifestyle – in whichever country that might be.
Focusing on Long-term Retirement Planning Rather Than Short-Term Returns
Many market fluctuations are short-term and are likely to stabilise over time. It is easy to worry about reports about stock valuations, but in reality, these are usually temporary blips, and the impact on your income streams will likely be small and even out.
Our advisers can provide more tailored advice, but it’s always worth reviewing whether recent volatility is expected to last and whether the longer-term value of your investments remains consistent. There may, for example, be options to adjust the order in which you call on retirement assets and pension funds to maximise the value of your portfolio and avoid losing out in the long term.
For example, expatriate retirees who access dividend income from stocks and shares might be concerned about the typically higher risk factor associated with those investments. In this scenario, reinvesting in a less volatile asset could be the best way to secure future income streams without requiring any changes to your lifestyle.
Creating Detailed Retirement Budgets for Life Overseas
Taking stock of each of your sources of income and their expected future value and comparing this to your cost of living requirements is essential to ensuring that you can plan effectively and make any necessary adjustments.
This should include your UK State Pension entitlement, worth up to £230.25 per week or £11,973 per annum. Overseas UK citizens continue to receive the State Pension, and currently, those residing in the European Economic Area (EEA) countries receive the annual increase each year.
Minimising Risk and Exposure to Market Shocks
If you are approaching retirement age and are concerned about volatile markets, now is the best time to consider your stock-to-bond ratio and assess your risk exposure.
Lower risk provides a secure investment foundation for retirement and alleviates concerns about a turbulent marketplace. One way to avoid higher risks is to consider selling stocks or other portfolio assets with a higher risk level and replacing them with bonds or another comparable low-risk, fixed-income investment.
Our consultants can recommend the optimum blend of investments based on your income requirements and risk appetite. Still, as a rough example, the benchmark standard is to fix the proportion of your portfolio in bonds against your age in years.
For example, at age 60, 60% of your portfolio should be in bonds, and by age 70, that proportion should increase to 70%. This isn’t necessarily ideal for every person or family, but many choose to reduce their risk exposure as they get nearer to retirement, when there isn’t the likelihood of having enough time to recoup losses that impact risker stocks.
When you are looking to relocate to enjoy your retirement, you need to know that your asset portfolio is secure, robust, and invested in the best possible way to provide the ongoing assurance you need, rather than offering higher rates of return coupled with a higher risk of losses.
Cutting Back on Fees and Administrative Expenses
An often overlooked aspect of retirement finance is the impact of fees on savings and assets. These can drain resources and, in volatile market conditions, add to the frustration by chipping away at retirement finances.
Costs include drawing down fees, early payment penalties, bank transfer expenses, and administrative charges. These are sometimes difficult to find within your account documentation, so seek clarification on the fees and cost structures are linked to your retirement investments and pensions to keep a close eye on unnecessary fees and minimise them wherever possible.
Should you be in any doubt about the costs of accessing parts of your portfolio or how to reduce your outgoings to maximise your income and return on investments, get in touch, and we will walk you through it step by step.
How Prioritising Tax Efficiency Can Help Protect Retirement Savings From Unnecessary Liabilities
Taxes are there at every stage of our lives, whether you are retired or not. Keeping up to speed with your tax obligations will ensure you don’t encounter any surprises and have a firm grasp on your expected tax liability throughout retirement.
Different rules apply in different countries, and different rates may apply to different transactions. These can depend on your residency status and how much time you intend to spend overseas and back in the UK.
It’s always vital you understand how the taxes in your retirement destination work and can navigate the world of dual taxation and exemptions. We’d recommend you work with a wealth management consultant with local knowledge who can manage your tax exposure and provide up-to-date, actionable advice.
For instance, positioning the timing and order in which you tap into your retirement assets can help you to make the best use of personal tax allowances and is a great way to maximise the value of your assets by avoiding unnecessary tax charges.
Retirement Planning Assistance From Chase Buchanan Private Wealth Management
Turbulent markets do occur from time to time, and knowing how best to control your portfolio is key to making sure your relocation plans can move forward.
Taking a considered approach and utilising expert support ensures you avoid risk and maximise the value of your assets to ensure a peaceful and well-budgeted retirement ahead.
Chase Buchanan Private Wealth Management is a highly regulated wealth management company, specialising in providing global finance solutions for those with a global lifestyle. Our colleagues, advisers, and consultants across our offices are always available to discuss your retirement plans further.
All investments carry risk, including the potential loss of capital. You should carefully consider whether investing is suitable for you, taking into account your personal circumstances, financial situation, and risk tolerance.
*Information correct as at July 2025
