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Tax and National Insurance
News Release from: Scottish Widows | Subject: Pensions
Edited by the Insidemoneytalk Editorial
Team on 04 February 2008
Silver flight gathers momentum
39% of Brits would consider moving abroad when they retire 63% of higher rate tax payers likely to leave UK on retirement
Over a third of Brits would consider moving abroad after retirement, according to research released today by Scottish Widows The life, pensions and investment provider has released findings which endorse the prediction that by 2050 more than three million British pensioners will have left the UK.* According to the study, the more people earn the more likely they are to want to leave the country at retirement, with 63% of higher rate tax payers - generally those with a yearly income of £39,825 or more - saying they are likely to pack up and move abroad when retirement time comes...almost ten per cent more than the national average
This article was originally published on Insidemoneytalk on 22 Mar 2007 at 8.00am (UK)
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Men and women are equally keen to escape the country: of those who would consider moving abroad, 56 per cent of men said they are likely or very likely to retire abroad, compared to 54 per cent of women.And it seems that living in the capital during retirement is losing its appeal: 60 per cent of Londoners admit they are 'likely or very likely' to retire abroad.
In contrast, people living in the rest of the South** are the happiest to stay where they are, although 38 per cent would still consider packing up and moving abroad.
The Scottish Widows study findings follows the general emigration trends, with recent figures showing that 5.5m Brits currently live abroad - and that a further one million could leave the UK by 2011.*** Mike Hoban, Customer and Brand Marketing Director at Scottish Widows, said: "If you're hoping to be part of the 'Silver Flight' you need to start planning now and seek financial advice.
Further reading
Scottish Widows confirmed as an official provider of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games
As part of the Lloyds TSB Group, Scottish Widows is delighted to be confirmed as the official pensions and investment provider of the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.
Scottish Widows: Money too tight to pension
Over 1.5 million of those aged 55 and over claim they can't afford to retire at state retirement age due to lack of pension savings. Half believe compulsion is the only way to make the nation save.
Whatever your age, the need to plan your retirement and to understand the options available to you regarding your personal and occupational pension schemes and investments, becomes increasingly important.
"And if you're a tax payer thinking of retiring abroad it is worth remembering that pensions are one of the most tax efficient savings schemes around and offer unrivalled incentives - if you take full advantage of tax benefits on your pension you can even get the tax man to contribute to that dream place in the sun****." Scottish Widows has developed an online calculator to help people work out how much tax relief they could be claiming back.
Visit www.scottishwidows.co.uk/taxcalculator for more details.
* Figures obtained from the Brits Abroad report, published by the Institute for Public Policy Research in 2006.
** Excluding London.
*** See above for source.
**** If you are a basic rate tax payer, the current tax relief percentage is 22%, which changes to 20% in April 2008.
If you are a higher rate tax payer, you could claim back an additional 18% in 2007/08 (20% in 2008/09) on your investment.
To find out how much tax relief you could be entitled to visit our online tax calculator at www.scottishwidows.co.uk/taxcalculator-lbom/index.html.
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