Rob Horgan
BRITISH pensioners are cashing in and heading abroad to make the most of new pension reforms.
Buying a holiday home abroad – particularly in Spain – has been identified as ‘one of the main investments’ made by pensioners withdrawing large sums from their savings.
Reforms introduced earlier this month by UK chancellor George Osborne allow people unlimited withdrawals from their pensions after age 55.
And while most people are not seeking an immediate payout it seems those that do are spending it overseas.
“While it is far too early to draw any definite trends, it has been interesting to see the wide variety of reasons people have given [for withdrawals] – everything from paying off debt to purchasing a speedboat,” said Jamie Jenkins, head of pensions strategy at Standard Life.
“It serves to remind us how varied people’s lives are.”
Property investment was identified as the ‘number one’ reason for withdrawing money, whether that be paying off a mortgage, buying a holiday home or investing in the UK.
While a Bentley, a speedboat and ‘thai girls and booze’ were just some of the alternative reasons offered by pensioners withdrawing their cash.
Spain, this could give you the opportunity to flog off some of your housing stock and get some much needed inward investment. How about reforming your property/planning laws to really kick start the property market and give people the confidence to invest in Spain in large numbers? Just think about all that money that would pour in to your economy.
Well, someone is bound to blag their pension pot. Might as well be Spain, at least they’ll get a suntan to go with their burnt fingers.
Makes sense for many – but if the UK pulls out of the EU surely they’ll lose free health care in the EU?
The only way the UK will pull out of the EU is if enough barmpots vote Tory and then if even more barmpots vote for leaving in the referendum that the Tories have promised.
So folks, grit your British teeth and keep the Tories out, if the expat world AND British business is to hold on to the limited security that the EU affords.
You know it makes sense….
stefanjo,
you really are out of touch with what so many mainlanders think. It is’nt only Brits that want out of the EU. This corrupt gravy train has to be dismantled and recreated to represent the interests of ordinary Europeans not the interests of big business that was the reason for it’s creation, you seem totally unaware of this.
We abandoned all the commonwealth countries which we had been looting for so long. Well surprise,surprise it is countries like Australia/Canada and much of former Brit colonies in Africa which hold so much of the world’s resources and have the money to import what they don’t make. Most of these markets we lost decades ago with crap products.
Why you support the overrunning of your country with so many foreigners of completely different cultures and mentalities is beyond me.
I think that it would be a very good idea for you and those like you that support this unlimited immigration to state rationally what the advantages are both today and in the decades to come.
You seem to have no idea of economic reality, time to prep up I think. Do you imagine that the EU countries will stop trading with us if we leave or that they will stop buying from us?
If we leave we can then stop the plunder of British waters by greedy could’nt care less about tomorrow Spanish and Greek fishermen. We can operate quid quo pro with countries that ban certain products of ours eg. The Danes have banned a favourite UK product, Marmite – because it is too salty – OK so we ban all Danish bacon because it is too salty and injected with water, same as Dutch bacon. We can also ban Danish Blue cheese because that is loaded with salt – watch the Danes change their tune pretty damn sharp.
We can offload all the economic migrants back to their homelands, force employers to pay living wages instead of the tax payer subsidising their profits. The renting market will collapse, which will have a knock-on effect on house prices – all good for the economy but not for the greedy few.
What I can’t understand with your pie in the sky attitude is what you gain from the present set-up, unless of course you are one of those greedy employers/BTL crowd. If your not then your whole position is exposed as irrational.
Stuart is right about other EU members being unhappy with the status quo, it is not just the UK. The EU will not be able to continue in its current form and some sort of reform is inevitable particularly when Greece leaves the Euro.
No matter any opinion on the EU, it still requires the Tories to win the coming election for a referendum to take place. If that then leaves the UK outside, these foreign-investing pensioners will be left swinging in the wind.
Trouble is I still remember Ed Balls of Labour stating that we had to spend our way out of the recession. Time after time he stated this in the houses of Parliament. Then bubble head and fat pig want to spend even more, so if Labour and those two team up we will be in a mess. We are powerless with all these people joining isis. Personally, thanks for printing this OP if you do, but anyone that has been out to join isis should be put in front of a jury and hanged, don’t waste taxes in jail, then let them out to commit more crimes, no point. At the same time, Dave wants Turkey to join the EU, as if we are not overflowing already.
Double trouble admittedly Reap. But what alternative would you suggest? What exists politically is all the UK has. Grim, innit? Come the seventh of May, Britain will be run by Tweedledum or Tweedledee, leaving Alice as baffled as before.
Good point about Balls up’s predictions Reap, all wrong of course. I definitely don’t want Labour and the SNP in power with the Fat Controller as Deputy Prime Minister and nutty Helmet Head in Scotland pulling the strings, it would be a complete disaster.
In that case Jane, your chosen alternative is the Eton Mess backed up by the Mad Kipper. Grim innit?
I agree with you Jane we don’t England run by dangerous Sturgeon and Labour it would be a disaster. As for Farage, he’s the only person with the cojones to say what many Brits think, get out of the money pit EU disaster that many others in EU countries want to as well, oh, and control our borders at the same time whilst trading with who we want. As for Stefanjo labelling him Mad Kipper and other Barm Pots voters, I suggest Stefanjo you take a look in the mirror.
Mike, just joining in the same fun enjoyed by Reap and Jane. Right-wingers aren’t noted for their humour. Dour lot.
I like the idea of the EU and free health care when I retire across the EU but take Greece as an example, from rough memory they could retire at just over 50 years old, 4 x the amount of Government employees per head of population compared to a well run efficient Country and so on. With varying degrees there are many like this, then you have the plundering of EU funds, corruption etc, much of the billions we are sending are just supporting the on-going habits with no intention of changing their ways and in the meantime we are being told you have to retire later and later before drawing a pension, we will probably be dead before we get there. Meanwhile, the Tories tell us they have done so well but are not far off doubling the debt from when they took over. They send £1.5bn a year of £12bn to Countries that are wealthy enough to launch space rockets and satellites. Of course, Labour would have spent more on everything but for the first time I will not be voting Conservative along with my 77 year old step Father. Someone who is 77 who has always voted Conservatives not voting for them should tell you something. Best of a bad bunch does not do it for me anymore, but of course it will be a coalition in power, not sure who.
Good summary Reap. They are a pretty awful bunch of Politicians but ourselves and many others locally in a Tory stronghold are voting UKIP and surprised how many are. Whilst UKIP may be on the way down especially if Farage doesn’t get in as an MP the other idiots need to know how many Brits feel about the disaster EU money drain, the 300,000 immigrants a year going to creaking at the seams UK 100’s of 1000’s illegals whereabouts unknown, excessive overseas aid to non urgent matters and tin pot dictators’ pockets, Tory doubling of national debt etc
The whole EU experiment has been one huge con, UK pays £55 million a day and receives £37 million back per day, a daily deficit of £18 million paying for poorer countries’ infrastructure etc. We want UK PLC back and run by the UK and 2 fingers up to Brussels, Strasbourg and Merkel and their overpaid hangers on. Fed up with them telling us what to do, what we spend and fining us because we did well last year.
Let’s hope there is some tactical voting to keep the SNP nutters out of a deal.
stefanjo,
no response from you at all, why not.
So many English against the SNP – I wonder why! If Scotland had declared UDI around 1972 and then adopted the attitude of the Norwegians just across the water it would now be one of the richest countries in the world. Instead Thatcher used the oil in cahoots with the brain dead Regan to destroy the USSR deliberately pumping out as much oil as possible to keep the price at a crazy $10 p b. Some research of ‘the Seven Sisters’ will tell you all you need to know.
Instead of ordering all rigs and platforms to be built in British yards, using British labour and steel and ensuring the new deep sea technology was developed only by the Brits she squandered everything, not least on unemployment benefit.
You English have to remember that it was only a handful of scumbag lawyers in Edinburgh that signed Scotland over to the English with the Act of Union, the ordinary Scottish people wanted none of it. It’s you English that created the huge sovereign debt problem – it’s your debt you pay it.
I’m for total independence. If you try to use force to control Scotland you will find that many countries will arm us and when that happens your masters the Americans will go mental and give you a real slapping.
There is nothing about the SNP that is crazy, indeed it is the only rational democratic party in the NOT United Kingdom – oh and BTW you can keep your German queen and her expensive progeny – only serfs are in favour of kings and queens in the 21st century – Bagoas og ban.
Stuart, my old sparring partner, I really have said all there is to say on the subject at hand (remember that?) Can’t argue with you about Scotland because-gasp- I largely agree.
This whole thing has strayed into swivel-eyed right-wing rants. Completely without humour. Boring.
Well said Mike, I think that sums up how most people feel and it is worth remembering that other EU members are unhappy with the EU in its current form too.
I would take any combination except Labour and the SNP – it’s the worst case scenario and people will vote tactically to stop this from happening.
There is a meeting at the EU in Brussels today, one of the aims is to get the UK to accept more migrants arriving on the boats. They must be joking, most of them end up in the UK anyway via Calais. They don’t stay in Italy. The EU is a failed project but they spend hundreds of millions brainwashing the public.
Mike I agree with your comment.
As Bryan says Brussels is again deciding how many more migrants the UK and others can take, not the UK deciding, only Farage seems to acknowledge this amongst all Parties. If we could get out of the damned EU and retain our borders again then good. Jane is correct too, it’s other EU countries having a say now, we are being swamped, hence the rise of Syritsa, Podemos, Marie Le Pen’s party etc All of which will lead to riots and violence from national populations. Of course those in Government in EU countries probably don’t come across migrants near their homes, that’s for the masses.
What the EU fails to recognise that not all migrants are deserving and good people. TV last night showed the routes used from Libya and other N. African countries is a direct way into Europe by IS terrorists, who would know the difference when claiming political asylum? The programme went on to say how this terror group is aiming to get into Italy and Spain and then onwards. Bring back Enoch!
Wow, Stuart is taking up arms, made me laugh, SNP have just had a vote that they lost, time to move on. I think I will vote UKIP, don’t think they will win in my area but it will send small message that we are not happy. Dave’s answer to the med, send the Navy to collect them off the shores of Syria, phew, lost for words, that will only encourage more.
Reap, the bleeding heart brigade have attacked Dave saying it is not enough and the UK should offer to take more of the refugees. They have conveniently forgotten that we give more money in foreign aid than any other EU country and there is also the small matter of Calais.