Cross-border laws make it tough to manage your British pension while you live in the EU. We have a solution.
British citizens in the EU, and other citizens with UK products, are finding it harder and harder to get good cross-border advice about their investments and pensions – more so, since the end of Financial Passporting from the UK.
Up until then, Aisa International s.r.o. was a branch of Aisa Financial Planning, a Chartered Financial Planning firm regulated in the UK with the FCA.
Financial Passporting - What is it?
A regulated investment/pension/insurance adviser in one EU state can apply to their local regulator to extend their licence to allow the provision of cross-border advice to residents of other EU countries. This is something we at Aisa International s.r.o. applied for as soon as we were regulated here.
Up until Brexit, of course, the UK was in the EU and so UK advice firms had no problem applying for passporting into the EU. Under the terms of the Brexit deal the UK, to date, does not have financial passporting into the EU.
What Does This Mean For Those in the EU with UK Investment/Pensions?
We would argue that those with British pensions are coming across a number of problems. And, we list some of them here:
- Nearly all UK pension providers will not deal with a regulated EU adviser. A clear problem for the EU resident.
- In many cases, the EU resident with a UK pension cannot have the same terms that were enjoyed while UK resident with the same provider. Examples include access to annuities and drawdown (the latter being termed ‘cross-border’ business after Brexit).
- Often the only choice given to the UK pension holder is to ‘cash in’ (and pay the tax) or transfer out to another provider (when the current provider may be what the investor prefers). This often results in a transfer at great hidden cost by a local adviser without sufficient pension qualifications and knowledge – with the inevitable results for the investor.
Those with UK investment platforms find that the platforms also will not deal with non-UK advisers. Again, this often results in cashing in (tax to pay?) and investing elsewhere when the original platform was ideal for the investor.
The Advice Black Hole
Given that UK advisers cannot promote their services in the EU and that most are reluctant (or unable) to deal with investors in the EU that contact them in the UK- this leaves a black hole for advice.
Aisa International – Our Solution
Those who know our firm will know we have a ‘sister company’ in the UK called Aisa Financial Planning that is FCA registered. The FCA registered firm is able to advise on all UK pensions and investments (it holds the specialist licence for final salary pensions advice and holds the prestigious Corporate Financial Planning status). Aisa International is able to advise here and in other EU countries under passporting rules.
Being regulated here and in the UK, we feel we are the only firm in this market that can provide proper cross-border advice for UK citizens in the EU and those EU citizens here with UK products (typically pensions that accrued while working in the UK). Further, for those returning ‘UK expats’ they would no longer need to change adviser on their return.
