Archive for March, 2010

British Retirees Eye Up New Zealand as Moving Destination

Wednesday, March 24th, 2010

Over 215,000 British expats currently live in New Zealand, making the South Pacific country one of the most popular with UK retirees and expatriate employees. With the mid-March ruling effectively nulling inflation adjustments on British pensions, a number of those living in New Zealand are considering a new ‘retirement’ class visa to solve their financial woes and offer greater income security.

The new visa gives those aged over 65 an option for long-term residency in New Zealand. With many of Britain’s own pensioners struggling with living-related costs, the prospect of a relatively inexpensive New Zealand retirement is proving alluring.

However, the steep financial requirements of the visa have pushed many would-be expatriates away. In addition to limiting applicants to those aged over 65, the retirement visa requires that applicants own over £345,000 in assets and investments, £230,000 for maintenance expenses, and over £28,000 in annual income.

With over 9% of British pensions paid out internationally, overseas relocations and retirements are clearly a hit. Despite the poor exchange rate, many Britons are still eyeing up overseas destinations for their retirement.

With telecommuting business and inexpensive overseas removals available, the difficulty of moving possessions and careers overseas has decreased significantly. Poor weather and safety concerns are reportedly the most important factors for Brits planning to move overseas, giving countries live New Zealand, Singapore, and Australia some clearly visible advantages.

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Singapore Named Best Asian City for Expatriates

Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010

Singapore has edged out competition for the title of Asia’s Best City for Expats, a new report and survey from ECA International has shown. The Southeast Asian city has been a popular location for financial organizations and major multinational companies, largely due to its business-friendly tax policies and simple immigration processes.

Competitors for the title included Hong Kong, New Delhi, and Beijing, all of which were ruled out of the top spot due to poor air quality. While Hong Kong tends to rank highly amongst Asian expatriate locations due to its flexible tax code, the city’s air pollution and crowded infrastructure pushed it out of the top spot.

With a number of UK-based firms being affected by relatively high levels of taxation, office relocations to Asian business centres have become relatively common. Singapore’s tax code is accommodating and friendly to businesses, taxing corporate income progressively and capping personal income tax at 20%.

However, the potential costs of an international movers have put off many smaller companies. Large companies and multinational firms often have the budget to absorb establishing a foreign office, while many smaller businesses simply can’t justify the move. A variety of international removals firms operate in Southeast Asia, giving UK firms moderate expenses when making the cross-continent relocation.

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Major Credit Organizations Use Office Relocation to Minimize Costs

Monday, March 22nd, 2010

The poor economy has hit everyone hard, including some of the UK’s largest credit organizations. Barclaycard – one of the UK’s most well-known credit and debt operations – plans to relocate its Glasgow office to a more cost-effective premises, cutting jobs and minimizing costs in the process.

While many IT professionals are outraged at the loss of jobs from the Glasgow branch (Barclaycard predicts approximately 350 jobs will be axed or relocated) Barclaycard insist that the office relocation will result in just a small loss of employment. The company plans to create 300 new jobs across the UK, using infrastructure and operating expense savings to fuel new salaries.

The recession has resulted in unexpected changes for many businesses, from small family-owned stores to major credit organizations and banks. Barclaycard’s office removals is one story of many – over the last three years, hundreds of major firms and multinational businesses have moved part of their workforce throughout the country.

Most of the moves appear to be aimed at reducing costs and minimizing operating expenses. With recent studies naming London as one of the most expensive cities for office and business space in Europe, it’s quite clear why so many businesses are deciding to move their control centres. Despite the modest upfront expenses of an office relocation, the long-term savings continue to make it an attractive prospect for major companies and corporate offices.

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