If you've been living abroad for a few years, there's a good chance your financial life looks something like this: a UK or Irish pension you haven't touched since you left, a Swiss salary and pillar contributions, an old ISA or two you can no longer add to, some investments picked up along the way, a will written before you ever moved, and a vague intention to "sort it all out properly one day." Nothing's on fire — but nothing's joined up either, and you know it.
This checklist is for that exact situation. It's not a to-do list to complete in an afternoon; it's a map of the things that, in my experience, expats most often leave undone — and that quietly cost them the most. Work through it honestly and you'll quickly see where your own gaps are. Treat anything with a specific figure or rule as "check the current position," because these change regularly.
Pensions: stop the drift
Pensions are where expats lose the most ground, simply through neglect.
Track down and list every pension you hold. UK workplace pensions from old jobs, personal pensions, Irish occupational schemes and PRSAs, your Swiss pillar 2 and pillar 3 — write them all down with their current values. You can't plan around pots you've lost sight of, and most people have at least one they've half-forgotten.
Check whether your providers will still deal with you abroad. Some UK and Irish providers restrict what non-residents can do — changing funds, drawing benefits, or paying to a foreign account. If yours is awkward, you may want to consolidate into a pension designed for international residents.
Understand your access ages. UK defined contribution pensions are currently accessible from 55, rising to 57 from 6 April 2028 — so factor in the later age if you're younger. Swiss and Irish rules differ again. Knowing the real dates is the foundation of any retirement plan.
Be wary of "transfer everything overseas" advice. Moving a UK pension to an overseas QROPS may now trigger the 25% Overseas Transfer Charge since the EEA exemption was removed on 30 October 2024. For many expats, keeping pensions in the UK system (for example in an international SIPP) is simpler and cheaper — but it depends on your circumstances.
Don't transfer a defined benefit pension lightly. If you have a final-salary pension, transferring means giving up a guaranteed lifelong income — usually unwise, occasionally justified, always worth proper analysis. Regulated advice is legally required above £30,000.
Check your State Pension entitlement. Review your UK National Insurance record for gaps; voluntary contributions can sometimes be excellent value. The good news: in Switzerland and the EU your UK State Pension is uprated annually rather than frozen.
Tax: get the cross-border picture straight
Confirm your tax residency — clearly, in the right country, and with the records to prove it. So much else, including treaty relief, flows from this.
Apply the relevant double-taxation treaty between the UK or Ireland and your country of residence, so the same income isn't taxed twice. Relief usually has to be claimed, not granted automatically — through residency certificates and the correct forms, ideally before income is taxed at source.
Know where each income type is taxed. As a rule of thumb under the UK–Switzerland treaty: regular pension income where you live, lump sums in the UK, State Pension where you live, government service pensions in the UK. Ireland and other countries follow similar but not identical patterns — check yours.
Mind your local tax rules. Swiss tax varies by canton; wealth tax, the taxation of foreign income, and reporting requirements all differ from what you knew at home. Make sure you're filing correctly everywhere you have an obligation.
Watch the legacy UK and Irish tax tails. UK rental income, certain UK pensions, and potentially UK inheritance tax (which can follow your domicile, not just your residence) may still reach you abroad. Domicile is a slippery concept and a common blind spot — worth checking.
Investments: tidy, align, and de-risk the avoidable
Gather everything into one view. Brokerage accounts, ISAs, funds, shares, and cash across countries — you can't judge whether your investments make sense until you can see them together.
Check your currency exposure. If your wealth is largely in sterling or euros but you'll retire spending francs, that mismatch is a real risk. It can be managed deliberately — but only once you've noticed it.
Audit your costs. Old, expensive funds and — especially — high-commission offshore insurance bonds sold to expats can quietly erode returns for decades. Ask for every layer of charges in writing, as a percentage and in cash. High hidden fees do more long-term damage than market falls.
Make sure the strategy fits your actual plan. Your investment risk and mix should reflect when you'll need the money and what for — not what some product provider preferred to sell. As retirement approaches, the balance usually shifts toward stability.
Check cross-border reporting quirks. Some investments that are perfectly normal in one country are tax-inefficient or penalised when held by a resident of another. Your domicile and residence can change what you should hold.
Estate planning: the part everyone postpones
This is the most neglected area of all, and the one where neglect causes the most distress for the people you leave behind.
Review your will — or make one. A will written before you moved may not work properly across borders. You may need a will valid in your country of residence, and to understand how local forced heirship rules (common in parts of Europe, including aspects of Swiss law) interact with your wishes. The EU succession rules can also affect which country's law applies to your estate.
Understand your inheritance tax exposure — in more than one country. UK inheritance tax can apply based on domicile even after years abroad, while your country of residence may levy its own succession or inheritance taxes. The two can overlap, and planning ahead can make a substantial difference.
Check beneficiary nominations on pensions and policies. These often pass outside your will, so out-of-date nominations can send money to the wrong person entirely. They take minutes to review and are frequently forgotten for years.
Plan for incapacity, not just death. Powers of attorney and their cross-border equivalents matter — and a UK lasting power of attorney may not be recognised where you live. Make sure someone can act for you if you can't.
Talk to your family. The kindest estate planning includes making sure the people who'll handle your affairs know what exists and where to find it.
How to use this checklist
Don't try to fix everything at once. Go through each section and simply mark items as sorted, needs attention, or no idea. The "no idea" items are where the value is — they're usually the things drifting quietly in the background. Prioritise anything irreversible or time-sensitive (a defined benefit transfer window, a tax filing deadline, an out-of-date beneficiary nomination), then work through the rest at a sensible pace. The goal isn't perfection; it's a financial life that's coordinated, where the pieces support each other instead of pulling in different directions.
FAQ
What's the most common financial mistake expats make? Drift. Pensions left untouched in the wrong currency, expensive products never reviewed, wills that no longer work across borders, and tax relief never claimed. Individually small, collectively very costly over time. The fix is usually coordination, not anything dramatic.
Do I need a new will because I live abroad? Very possibly. A will drafted before you moved may not function well across jurisdictions, and local forced-heirship and succession rules can override your intentions. Many expats benefit from a will valid in their country of residence alongside, or instead of, their original one. Take local legal advice.
Will I still pay UK inheritance tax if I live in Switzerland? You might. UK inheritance tax can follow your domicile, which is stickier than tax residence and can persist for years after you leave. Your country of residence may also levy succession taxes. This is a specialist area well worth reviewing early.
Can one adviser handle pensions, tax, investments, and estate together? A good cross-border wealth manager coordinates all of these into one plan, bringing in specialist tax or legal advice where needed. That coordination — making the pieces fit — is the whole point. The specifics always depend on your individual circumstances.
Turn the checklist into a plan
A checklist shows you the gaps; a plan closes them. If working through this has surfaced a few "no idea" items — and for most people it does — the simplest next step is a conversation with someone who can see the whole cross-border picture.
I offer a free, no-obligation discovery call where we can go through your situation together and I can give you an honest, jargon-free sense of what's worth prioritising. I'm a CISI Chartered adviser, I'll always be transparent about any fees, and there's no pressure to do anything at all. Book a call whenever you're ready.
This article is general information, not personal financial, tax, or legal advice. Your priorities depend entirely on your individual circumstances, and the rules, thresholds, and figures mentioned change — always check the current position and take regulated advice (and specialist tax or legal advice where appropriate) before acting. AM Wealth Management is a CISI Chartered firm.