The Guardian, 18 March 2006
By Rupert Jones
Retired Brits living abroad and claiming pension from the UK are typically wasting more than £300 a year each in unnecessary bank charges and fees, it was claimed this week. More than a million British pensioners are now living overseas, but many are coughing up between £10 and £30 a month in UK bank charges to get the money sent out to them. They also usually have to pay a small monthly charge to the overseas bank that receives their pension. Added to that, fluctuating exchange rates can play havoc with the amount of pension. The research was carried out by foreign exchange broker HiFX (hifx.co.uk), which offers a regular payment service enabling Brits who have emigrated or bought property abroad to manage things like pensions, salaries and mortgage transfers. (This same concept applies for anyone collecting a pension outside of their home country.)