2026 UK Pension Health Check: 7 Simple Things Every British Expat in Asia Should Review

As the new year creeps in and everyone is Marie Kondo-ing their wardrobes, one important thing is gathering dust in the background. Your pensions. You know the ones scattered across old employers, different providers, possibly accumulating fees you've never questioned and invested in funds you've never actually looked at.

As of 2024, there's £31.1 billion sitting in lost UK pensions across 3.3 million forgotten pension pots that British expats have lost track of through job changes, house moves, and life getting in the way.

Over the last 12 months, I’ve spoken to expats in Malaysia, Thailand, and the Middle East, and the same themes come up again and again:

• “I’ve got a few pensions, but I’m not sure where they all are.”

• “I don’t know what I’m actually invested in.”

• “The fees look low, but are they?”

• “Is my pension aligned with my future goals and retirement plan?”

If you are an expat, chances are your pensions need more than just a glance; they need a proper health check!

The good news? It's easier than you think, and the new year is the perfect time to start.  

These are 7 critical reviews that can help you avoid unnecessary fees, optimise investments and protect your retirement income.

‍At A Glance

The Problem: £31.1 billion sits in lost UK pensions. If you're an expat, yours are probably gathering dust with outdated settings, hidden fees, and zero strategy.

7 Practical Checks

1. Find All Your Pensions – Use the UK Government Pension Tracing Service to track down forgotten pots

2. Check Your Fees – Small fees compound over time. Compare charges across all your pensions and cut the expensive ones

3. Review Your Investments – Default lifestyle strategies often de-risk too early. Update your retirement age and investment choices

4. Assess Currency Risk – If you earn and spend in MYR/THB but your pension is 100% GBP, exchange rates could wreck your retirement income

5. Update Your Beneficiaries – 15% of UK adults don't know who'll inherit their pension. 3% think it's still their ex-partner. Fix this in 5 minutes

6. Know Your Tax Position – New IHT rules from April 2027 mean unused pensions become part of your taxable estate. Understand double-tax treaties and reporting requirements

7. Build a Retirement Plan – Having pension pots isn't a plan. Use cash flow modelling to visualize what retirement actually looks like

Bottom Line:  

Spending a few minutes reviewing each area can help you identify questions to discuss with your provider and/or professional adviser.

How Do I Find My UK Pensions?

Use the new year as your clean starting point: trace and contact all your previous employers; they should be able to provide you with details of your pension schemes, which you should ideally have an updated valuation for.  

If reaching out to previous employers is not successful, your next best option is to use the free UK Government pension tracing service.

What information you'll need:

• Previous employer names and approximate employment dates

• National Insurance number

• Previous UK addresses

• Maiden names if applicable

What UK Pension Fees Should I Expect to Pay?

Many British expats assume UK pensions carry minimal fees by default. Some are. Many are not.  

The hidden cost of fees:

A 1% difference in annual fees on a £200,000 pension pot costs approximately £50,000 over 20 years when compounding is factored in. For British expats who may not be actively monitoring their UK pensions, these costs silently erode your retirement pot year after year.  

What you need to check:

1. Fund charges: The ongoing charge for the investment fund itself

2. Platform or policy charges: Annual administration fees charged by the pension provider  

3. Transaction costs: Trading costs within funds (often not clearly disclosed)  

4. Exit fees or transfer penalties: Some older pensions have substantial exit charges  

5. Hidden Admin costs

For more on the hidden costs of UK pensions, click here.

Key question:

Are you receiving ongoing financial advice for the fees you're paying? Most legacy pensions deduct ongoing adviser charges despite providing no current advice. This becomes increasingly problematic as you approach retirement and require guidance on decumulation strategies.

Melbourne Capital Group does not provide tax advice; we work in partnership with a qualified tax advisor for personal tax planning regarding pension withdrawals and cross-border taxation, as part of your wider holistic financial plan.

Are My UK Pension Investments Still Appropriate?

If you haven't reviewed your pension since you left the UK, your investments might not reflect:  

• your current risk tolerance

• your global lifestyle

• your actual retirement timeline  

• changing markets  

Many legacy schemes use default lifestyle strategies. The problem? If you haven't updated your retirement age or investment choices since leaving the UK, your pension could be de-risking far too early, potentially costing you years of growth, especially if you're planning to retire outside the UK or need flexibility.  

What to review:

• Current asset allocation (equity/bond/cash split)

• Nominated retirement age in each pension scheme

• Fund performance versus benchmarks

• Geographic exposure (UK-only versus global diversification)

• Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) preferences if relevant

For more on investing your UK pensions, check out our previous webinar recording here.  

How Does Currency Risk Affect My Retirement Income?

This is one of the most common and costly blind spots for British expats.

You're earning in ringgit, planning to spend in ringgit during retirement, while your entire UK pension sits invested in GBP-denominated assets. Exchange rate fluctuations between sterling and the ringgit can dramatically affect how much retirement income your pension actually delivers.

For example:

A £200,000 UK pension converted at:

• GBP/MYR 5.50 = RM 1,100,000

• GBP/MYR 5.00 = RM 1,000,000

• Difference: RM 100,000 (approximately 9% variance based solely on exchange rates)

The same pension pot could fund a comfortable retirement or fall short entirely, depending on exchange rates between now and when you start drawing income.

Historical context:

GBP/MYR has ranged from 4.80 to 6.20 over the past decade, representing a 29% swing in purchasing power for British expats in Malaysia.

source: xe.com

Considerations:

• Multi-currency retirement income planning strategies

• Timing of pension access relative to exchange rates

• Geographic diversification within pension investments

• Currency hedging options where available

Melbourne Capital Group specialises in multi-currency retirement income planning for expatriates across Asia Pacific, helping clients navigate currency exposure within regulatory frameworks.

Who Will Receive My UK Pension When I Die?

A study done by Aviva in 2025 revealed that "as many as one in six (15%) UK adults with a partner, do not know who will receive their pensions savings if they pass away before them. This worryingly rises to almost one in five (18%) of the silent generation (aged 79+). A further 3% believe the person they have nominated as their beneficiary may still be their ex-partner"  

If you do not provide any beneficiary instructions, your pension trustees decide on your behalf with no input from you, meaning your funds may go to someone you don't wish to benefit, or they may get a greater share than intended.  

What happens with no nomination:

Most UK pension schemes default to spouse/civil partner, then children, then estate. However, trustees retain discretion, and probate delays can extend distribution timelines by 6-12 months.

Your beneficiaries can usually be updated in minutes, but:

• People forget after marriages

• Divorces

• Kids being born

• Moving abroad

• Or simply after years of not thinking about pensions at all

Update your beneficiaries now and enter 2026 with peace of mind, knowing the right people are protected. Review these every 2-3 years or after major life events.

What's My Tax Position on UK Pensions as an Expat?

Tax might not be the most exciting topic, but getting this wrong as an expat can be extremely costly.

Things like:

• UK Inheritance Tax exposure.  

• What happens if you return to the UK

• Double-tax treaties

• How you draw benefits overseas

Watch our 2025/26 tax year discussion with our partner tax advisor, Laurence Hodgens, Chief Tax Adviser at Hodgens Global  here.

You don't need to be an expert, but a quick check now can prevent a big headache and a big tax bill years down the line. This is one area where being proactive really pays off.

How Do I Build A Retirement Plan?

Most people think a pension is a plan. It's not  

According to the FCA's 2024 Financial Lives Survey in the UK, "22% of non-retirees said they were unprepared for retirement because they don’t understand their options (21% in 2022), while 31% had not thought about how they will manage financially in retirement (33% in 2022)." They have pension pots, but no actual strategy for turning those pots into the retirement they want.  

A pension is just a savings vehicle. A plan is something entirely different.  

A real retirement plan includes:

• Knowing what age you want to retire

• How much you'll need

• What lifestyle do you want

• Where you'll be living

• What income sources will you have

• Contingency planning for healthcare costs

• Whether your investments actually support that

• Legacy planning and estate distribution

This is where cash flow modelling comes into play, as it allows you to visualise and stress-test your retirement plan under various market conditions, helping you evaluate how resilient it would be under adverse conditions.  

Watch our webinar on retirement planning here

For more on cash flow modelling, click here.

Next steps

Sorting out your UK pensions doesn’t need to be complicated, and the start of a new year is the ideal time to get organised. I’m here to help. No pressure, no obligation. Just a clear, honest conversation to help you make informed decisions about your future.

Originally from the UK and now based in Penang, Tom Raynor is a Private Wealth Manager at Melbourne Capital Group, working closely with expats around Asia to help navigate their financial goals.  

Connect with him on LinkedIn or email him at tomraynor@melbournecapitalgroup.com to schedule a complimentary 45-minute session for expats who want clarity going into 2026.

Disclaimer

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