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| Expats
in Tenerife |
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| How
to Stop the Value of your Pension
from Decreasing! |
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Many
Brits living overseas unknowingly lose
money through the process of receiving
their monthly pension payment. Often, a
pension is paid in sterling at a UK (or
off-shore) bank and then exchanged to
Euros or other currencies and sent to the
pension holders overseas bank account.
Alternatively, pensions are paid into a
Sterling account overseas and then
exchanged into Euros or other currencies
for use.
During the standard process of using the
banking system, money saving options are
overlooked, unnecessary charges are made
and poor currency conversion rates are
applied. In the end, the pension holder
loses around £50 - £100 unnecessarily on
every transfer. In some cases, the pension
holder can loose much more. The solution
is to use an international payment
specialist rather than a bank.
The money saving option – fix the
currency exchange rate.
Mr Benson retired to Tenerife at the end
of 2007. In January 2008, he called a
payment specialist, explained that his
monthly pension amounted to £1,134 and
wanted to know what options were
available. After a chat with a specialist,
he decided to set up a regular payment
with a fixed exchange rate for 1.33 for
the full year. In January, he received
€1,508.22 in Tenerife and continued to
do so every month for the full year. To
set up this facility, Mr Benson set a
standing order from his bank to the
payment specialist and paid a small
administration fee.
If Mr Benson decided against fixing a
currency exchange rate, his monthly amount
would have decreased with the weakening
sterling rate and by December his payment
would have amounted to €1190.70 - a 21%
drop in value. Banks often fail to offer
or even mention the option of fixing a
currency exchange rate for use in the
future.
Avoid Charges.
Banks in the UK and definitely in Tenerife
seem to charge for anything they can get
away with. When working with an
international payment specialist they’ll
help to reduce and often eliminate most
bank sending and receiving charges. Why
pay a fee if you don’t have to?
Get good exchange rates.
International payment specialists offer
exchange rates that are guaranteed to beat
the rates provided by the bank. Banks
often set their rates to buy and sell
currency in the morning – when you visit
a branch, you’ll see them hanging on the
wall. Specialists, however, don’t set
the rates but call into the market floor
to get you the best rate possible.
Watching the value of your pension
depreciate can be soul-destroying.
Receiving €900 rather than €950 can
also cause anxiety. Both situations can be
avoided when discussing matters with an
international payment specialist.
To move money overseas or repatriate back
to the UK, check out:
www.smartcurrencyexchange.com/250.htm |
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