Stop the Value of your Pension from Decreasing!

Many Brits abroad unknowingly lose money when receiving their monthly pension payment. Often a pension is paid in sterling at a UK (or off-shore) bank, exchanged to Euros and then sent to the pension holder’s overseas bank account. Alternatively, pensions are paid into a Sterling account in their overseas bank account and then exchanged into Euros for use.

By using the standard 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 lose 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 overseas in the middle of 2009. In July 2009, he contacted a payment specialist, explained that his monthly pension amounted to £1,134 and wanted to know what options were available. After a chat with the specialist, he decided to set up a regular payment with a fixed exchange rate of 1.16 for the full year. In July, he received €1,315.44 in his overseas bank account and will continue 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 had decided against fixing a currency exchange rate, his monthly amount would have decreased along with the weakening sterling rate and by October his payment would have fallen to €1179.36 - a 10% drop in value. Banks often fail to offer or even to mention the option of fixing a currency exchange rate for use in the future.

Avoid Charges
Banks in the UK and overseas seem to charge for anything they can get away with. When working with an international payment specialist they will 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 beat the rates provided by the bank. Banks often set their buying and selling rates for currency in the morning – when you visit a branch, you’ll see them hanging on the wall. Specialists, however, don’t set the rates in advance but call into the market floor to get you the best rate possible at the time of transaction.

Watching the value of your pension depreciate can be soul-destroying. Receiving €1,180 rather than €1,315 can cause great anxiety. Both situations can be avoided when discussing matters with an international payment specialist.

Smart Currency Exchange Limited – the only international payment specialists in the UK that work specifically to help people moving money for property purchases or for regular payments such as mortgage or pension payments.

To move money overseas or repatriate back to the UK go to www.SmartCurrencyExchange.com for further information.