The Good Life France Magazine Winter 2016 | Page 111

I met with John and Jane at their lovely house in the Dordogne, they had bought it outright with cash raised from the sale of their UK property and had a sum of money set aside for renovation and living costs.

At 53, Jane is unable to take her pension just yet. She has a pension pot worth £100,000 with a UK provider and she will need advice in 2 years’ time when she can access her pension early if she wishes to.

John will be 55 this year and therefore can access his pension. He too has a pension pot worth £100,000 with a UK provider.

John told me that he wants to take his pension now so that the couple have money to live on while they’re renovating their house and settling into their new life. Though they understood that the UK pension rules changed in 2015, they had struggled to find an advisor in the UK to explain what their options are now they’re living in France.

As a qualified adviser in both UK and French financial matters, I asked them questions about their financial needs and requirements and then took them through the options available to them.

1. Annuity

This is where, in exchange for your pension fund, an insurance company will provide a monthly income until death (some products additionally offer a pension to a surviving spouse). I explained that with this option, he could draw down 25% of the fund tax free, known as a Pension Commencement Lump Sum (PCLS) and a fixed amount of income for life. Annuity rates have been particularly poor of late as they are based on interest rates. If John took this option in the UK, the PCLS would be tax free. However as he is a French resident, he would have to pay tax.

John asked if he could take the whole fund as cash.

What to do with your UK Pension when you move to France

Financial expert Jennie Poate examines a real life case study...