Five trends shaping international retirement advice

The retirement landscape is changing. Clients are living longer, working differently and increasingly making decisions that cross borders. For advisers supporting internationally mobile clients, this creates both opportunities and challenges.

The role of the adviser continues to evolve beyond simply helping clients access pension benefits. Increasingly, advisers are being asked to provide advice around complex retirement decisions, changing lifestyles and long-term financial security.

Understanding the trends shaping international retirement advice will be key to supporting clients effectively over the years ahead.

Retirement is becoming more flexible

The traditional idea of retirement as a single point where someone stops working completely is becoming less common. Many clients are now considering phased retirement, part-time work, or maintaining some form of employment while accessing pension benefits. This can be driven by financial needs, lifestyle choices, or simply a desire to remain active. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has highlighted notable shifts in the economic activity and labour market participation rates of older adults, reflecting broader changes in how people approach later life. For advisers, this means retirement planning conversations need to become more flexible, focusing less on a fixed retirement date and more on how clients want their finances to support their changing lifestyle.

International retirement is becoming more common

Modern careers are increasingly global. Clients may have worked in multiple countries, built pension arrangements across different jurisdictions or plan to retire somewhere other than where they spent their working life.

This creates additional considerations around residency, taxation, currency and estate planning.

For advisers, understanding the wider circumstances surrounding a client’s retirement goals is becoming increasingly important. A pension strategy that works well in one country may need to be reviewed if a client relocates.

Clients expect greater transparency and engagement

Technology continues to change how people interact with financial services, wherever they are based. Clients increasingly expect information about their finances to be accessible, timely and easy to understand, particularly when they may be managing pension arrangements across different countries or jurisdictions.

This can make it easier for clients to engage with their retirement planning and maintain a clearer view of their arrangements. However, access to information is only one part of the picture. Advisers and their pension provider continue to play an important role in helping clients understand their options, consider their wider circumstances and make sense of how different elements of their financial plans fit together.

Retirement planning needs to account for the longer term

Retirement planning increasingly extends beyond the point at which an individual stops working, particularly for those who may live or retire in different countries.

For internationally mobile clients, changes in residency, taxation and pension regulations can introduce additional considerations when managing pension arrangements over the longer term.

Financial advisers play an important role in helping clients understand these considerations and reviewing their retirement plans as their circumstances and objectives evolve.

Specialist knowledge is becoming increasingly valuable

As pension arrangements become increasingly complex, access to reliable technical information and specialist knowledge remains important.

For internationally mobile clients, differences in pension regulations, taxation and cross-border requirements can introduce additional administrative and regulatory considerations.

Experienced pension providers can support financial advisers by providing technical information about their pension products, scheme requirements and administrative processes, enabling advisers to make informed recommendations within the scope of their own regulatory responsibilities.

Looking ahead

The future of international retirement advice will be shaped by flexibility, technology, longevity and increasingly global lifestyles.

For advisers, the opportunity is to embrace these changes and continue providing the guidance clients need as retirement becomes more personalised and complex.

At iPensions Group, we understand that advisers need pension partners who can support evolving client expectations. Through specialist SIPP expertise, robust administration and a focus on adviser relationships, we work alongside advisers to help deliver effective retirement solutions for internationally mobile clients.

Disclaimer

The content of this article is for general information purposes only and should not be construed as legal, financial or taxation advice. You should not rely on the information contained in this article as legal, financial or taxation advice. The content of this article is based on information currently available to us, and the current laws in force in the UK. The content does not take account of individual circumstances and may not reflect recent changes in the law since the date it was created. It is essential that detailed financial and tax advice should be sought (as well as legal advice where required) in both the UK and any jurisdiction where you are resident.

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