“The advice we’re giving is no different to the advice we give each day – investing is not about trying to predict the future. It’s about discipline, keeping costs low, and ignoring short-term market and product noise,” he said.
Pensions and healthcare
Iain McCluskey, tax partner at PwC, said the biggest tax implications for Brits in Europe is on social security payments such as state pensions and healthcare.
“For expats living in Europe, the big potential tax implication is on social security. Currently, the UK is part of an EU wide social security agreement that means those who are EU nationals living in the EU only pay social security in one country.
“This is especially important where the expat has complex working arrangements, such as duties in more than one EU country, or they are seconded to another EU country on a temporary basis.
“Those expats and their employers will be concerned that these types of working arrangements could trigger multiple social security liabilities once the UK leaves this EU wide agreement, so expats will be very keen that this point is addressed and dealt with during negotiations.
“In addition, the benefit side of social security – such as healthcare access and recognition of social security contributions in one EU state as qualifying contributions for a state pension in another – will also be a concern,” he told IA.
Spain backs expats
However, Andrea Speed, a financial adviser in Spain, home to Europe’s largest British expat community (310,000), is more upbeat and thinks it’s unlikely the Spanish government will kick out the Brits.
“Prime Minister May has been keen to secure a commitment from EU member states over the rights of UK nationals currently living on the continent post Brexit and has been adamant that she cannot offer a similar guarantee for EU nationals in the UK until those protections for British expats are also in place,” she said.
Indeed, Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy said in February he believes a deal can be done with Britain to preserve the rights of British expats in Spain after Brexit.
Spain has backed “in principle” a common agreement for EU and UK nationals living abroad.
As for reciprocal healthcare rights, which Speed flags as the most important issue for her clients, Spain’s EU secretary Jorge Toledo, who will lead Madrid’s negotiations over Brexit has previously said he is in “favour of retaining a reciprocal agreement on questions like healthcare and freedom of movement”.
“As regards the rights of EU citizens in the UK and the rights of UK citizens in the EU, Spain is in favour of the amplest respect of these rights in the future but the modalities and conditions will and should be a matter of negotiation,” he said.
