Retirement fund options for UK expat in China.

[partyvui]

Hello,

I am a UK expat living in Shenzhen and planning to settle in China for the long term as I have a Chinese spouse but probably not retire here.

I want to invest and set up a retirement fund but I’m still quite new to this so there’s a lot I don’t understand still.

I want to invest in an S&P 500 ETF to build savings for later in life, I’m thinking VOO or IVV. I don’t have social insurance in China and I don’t want it because I probably won’t retire here.

I also have not yet made enough contributions to my UK state pension, which I am planning to top up but not any time soon. I’m considering SIPPs like from Vanguard but I’m not sure how it works.

My questions are:
- Should I invest in ETFs directly or through an SIPP? Is it possible to choose your pension investments like that? Do you pay less tax on your gains with a pension?
- I will change my CNY to GBP to make contributions to pensions/investments. How do I not lose money from poor exchange rates and fees? Can I just use my CNY instead of converting?
- Can I do banking in Hong Kong? That way I avoid conversion fees by bringing cash over.

Many thanks.

 

[dxsn0]

@partyvui Not sure about your first and third questions but if you have paid taxes on your CN income I have used Wise to transfer from CNY to other currencies at fair market rates plus transparent fees. Have US investment accounts so not applicable for your situation.

 

[whitesunshinee]

@partyvui There is some good content on Investments For Expats blogs about this. Might be worth a look.

If you are wanting to set up a pension, you'll need the expat equivalent of a SIPP which is International SIPPs, Novia Global (platform) offer these but there are others out there. Just one I know of.

Alternatively, depending on your situation you could put it straight into savings, this gives you flexibility if you need the cash. Not fully understanding your situation and knowing what goes in and out, it's worth reading a few more bits to see which might be best for you.