For those of you who receive your pensions, whether private or state you could find that the amount you receive each month differs. When you receive your pension directly from the UK to your Euro account the bank will use a spot rate. So if you are living to a budget this can leave you short from month to month and over the year this can add up. What the pension companies don’t offer you is the chance to fix the exchange rate, this can take out the uncertainty of the amount you receive each month.

An article by credit ratings agency Fitch Ratings concludes that Portugal is on track to hit its fiscal targets this year, following the constitutional court's approval of expenditure-related proposals, but warns about potential tax increases in future.

On 14th August 2014, the court said that temporary pay cuts for some public sector workers proposed for this year and next year are constitutionally acceptable, but that they should not be extended beyond 2015. It said a levy on some public sector pensions would be unacceptable.

When choosing to transfer a pension away from the UK into a QROPS one of the key things to consider is which jurisdiction to place your pension.

One the unique benefits of a QROPS is that it does not have to be situated in the place you happen to be living at the time. Rather, transferring your UK pension into a QROPS enables you to choose the jurisdiction that will benefit you most now, in the future and in retirement.

Under current rules, UK nationals are entitled to UK Personal Allowances wherever they are resident. The UK personal allowance is also granted to many non-residents who are not UK nationals, especially where the non-residents’ own country has a tax treaty with the UK.

Most other countries restrict entitlement to their own personal allowances. This means that the UK ends up collecting less tax on the income of non-residents than a comparable jurisdiction.

Following a comprehensive survey of Shelter Offshore readers, we discover the ways British expats like to manage their money, and why you are allowed to keep your British bank account open if you want to.

The majority of expatriates still prefer to repatriate their cash when they’re living abroad, according to our recent survey of Shelter Offshore readers.  No matter where Britons move to abroad, and no matter how sophisticated the banking opportunities are in their new nation or offshore, most Brits still prefer to send at least some of their money home.

Portugal's Minister of State and Finance, Maria Luis Albuquerque, has presented a number of proposals to overhaul the country's personal income tax regime.

One of the main proposals is an increase to the exempt income tax threshold for households from €4,104 to €8,145, a measure which would affect about 20% of the population. The threshold would be adjusted based on the number of family members in a household, to ensure that the system is progressive.

Peter Rexstrew, managing director of currency exchange specialists Premier FX, looks at how you can save money on your regular transactions.

"Even in improving times it is still good to look at ways of cutting down on living costs without it having too much of an effect on lifestyle. This applies especially to those who live on a fixed income, particularly one that is based on, say, a monthly pension, and involves them drawing euros out of a UK account to pay for their day-to-day living costs here in Portugal."

Affinity is pleased to present you with a simple guide on everything you need to know when considering moving your pension overseas. 

Our guide is free and easy to follow, it talks about the various benefits of a QROPS and the different jurisdictions that you can use. It offers a step by step guide on what you need to do and the questions you should ask your financial adviser.