UK Pensions Claimants living in Europe
There are approximately 400,000 pensioners living in Europe and all of them are wondering what a No Deal Brexit means for them and what it will mean with or without a Deal for GBP. SGM-FX have a growing number of pensioners who fall into this category and to whom we give certainty on what their pensions will buy in Europe.
Those 400,000 are mostly divided in order of size as follows; Ireland 140K, Spain 100K, France 70K, Germany 50K and Italy 40K. Each year while the UK is in Europe, pensions are uprated for those living in the 27 countries by the largest of Average Earnings, Inflation or 2.5%.
What happens after the UK exits? With the PM’s Deal the situation remains unchanged. With no deal, uprating will continue in 2019 and 2020. After that, it is unclear. What pensioners living in Europe must do however is achieve certainty about what their GBP pensions will buy in EUR in advance. SGM-FX can help with that.
GBP still buoyant but lower than the highs seen yesterday and so many of our clients are locking in the best rates for buying ZAR, USD and EUR in particular that have been available for nearly two years as identified in our Briefing previously.
The SGM-FX shopping enthusiasts are scratching their heads at the tills to understand why Marks and Spencer paid GBP750M for Ocado and how they justify it. It works out at £1041 for each and every one of the 720,000 Ocado customers acquired by M+S which is a lot of smoked salmon sandwiches before they turn a profit on that trade!
Elsewhere the Dow has dipped beneath 26,000 again, FTSE stands at 7,100and Dax is weaker at 11,475. Oil up with WTI strong at $57 and Gold weaker at $1321.
Retailers are being forced to address declining High Street sales and the remorseless progress of Amazon by making shopping more “experiential”.
SGM-FX “athlete” Richard claims that he was watching a cartoon version of himself leaping over planes and buildings while encountering dancing pandas on a screen while trying out some new Nikes.
We listened to this with a certain amount of scepticism and put it down to Rich overdoing it on some fine South African red Pinotage wine after work. Either way he has had his leg encased in a plastic boot and has been looking to his colleagues for sympathy.
No chance!
Discussion and Analysis by Humphrey Percy, Chairman and Founder
Click Here to Subscribe to the SGM-FX Newsletter
Related Insights
Morning Brief – UK Wages
Humphrey Percy
Fri 26 May 2023
UK Wages Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey yesterday warned of the pressure on wages that are threatening to lead to a wage price spiral as the effects of inflation on the cost of living together with the 12 consecutive interest rate rises that consumers have experienced. The market has not enjoyed the poor inflation […]
Morning Brief – UK inflation – June hike worthy?
Charles Porter
Thu 25 May 2023
UK inflation – June hike worthy? Yesterday’s inflation data surprised markets. The data was released slightly ahead of European core trading hours. The lighter liquidity available at this time could have resulted in the short-term spike towards 1.2450 on cable and around half a cent to the mid-1.15s within GBPEUR. However, you could, and perhaps […]
Morning Brief – International Monetary Fund
Humphrey Percy
Wed 24 May 2023
International Monetary Fund With no sign of insouciance despite its 180 degree turn in a two month timeframe, the IMF yesterday reversed its downbeat if not disastrous forecasts for the UK and stated the UK is no longer heading for a recession and nor is it the weakest member of the G7 when it comes […]
