Pensioners living abroad 'losing out financially'

Pensioners living abroad are losing out financially, according to a new study from HIFX. The Foreign Exchange Broker said that pensioners abroad could collectively be losing up to £300 million a year in foreign exchange fees at bank accounts at home and abroad.



Over a million UK pensioners are now living abroad and retirees claiming their pension through their bank can be charged anything between £10 and £30 per claim, plus a further charge at their host bank abroad. In total this could mean that the average pensioner living abroad pays £300 a year to access their money.

The research marks HIFX's launch of a new payment service for Brits living abroad, which doesn't charge to make foreign payments, and protects against currency fluctuations by providing long term period fixed rates.

Mark Bodega, marketing director at HIFX, said: "With over a million retirees living abroad and claiming their state pensions from the UK, this equates to a lot of money being paid in fees and unnecessary bank charges and millions exposed to foreign currency fluctuations every month."

He added: "HIFX's regular payment service means retirees no longer have to pay expensive bank charges when making regular payments overseas." Currently Australia, Canada and the USA are the favourite three countries for British pensioners who live abroad.

Pension plans 'won't stretch to appliances'

Retired peoples' pension plans are being stretched, a new report indicates, with more than 800,000 retirees lacking basic household appliances such as fridges and washing machines.

The research, commissioned by lettings site Homewise, revealed that about 180,000 pensioners do not have a fridge, more than 630,000 do not have a washing machine and over a million don't have any double glazing.

Further evidence that pension annuities are being stretched came from findings that 900,000 do not have central heating.

Director of Homewise Mark Neal said that it was "staggering" that so many elderly people are living without amenities that the rest of us take for granted.

"This is further evidence of pensioner poverty, with many elderly people saddled by growing debts and inadequate pension provision. With such a low disposable income the prospect of spending hundreds, let alone thousands on household appliances just isn't an option," he commented.

Pensioners in the south are the least likely to have fridges, washing machines and central heating, the research found.

Figures from Friends Provident show that 68 per cent of retirees think that they would need more than the basic state pension in order to live comfortably.

Landlord Mortgages “Buy To Let is offering the ability for all ages to derive an income, we are expecting more money to be ploughed into Property as a Pension in the coming years to bridge the gap.”

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