Pensions - Articles - Falling pound hammers purchasing power of expat pensioners

 The analysis found that pensioners in the Eurozone would have seen the purchasing power of their pension fall by 17%. Following significant gains posted by the USD in 2022, pensioners being paid in US dollars would now be 27% worse off and that’s before you add in inflation which is currently around 8% in the US, 9% in the Eurozone and 10% in the UK (as of August 2022).

 Other currencies have also posted significant gains against the pound including the Australian Dollar (-22%) and the Canadian Dollar (-26%). Pensioners in these countries are also squeezed by frozen State Pension rates which do not benefit from the triple lock or any incremental increase.

 Owain Walters, Managing Director of Ebury Mass Payments, commented: “Expat pensioners have long been vulnerable to movements in currency markets. Unfortunately, for those moving away from the UK for their dream retirement abroad, the drop in the value of the pound on the back of the recent political and economic turmoil will significantly decrease their living standards.”