By Newsdesk

Friday, May 11, 2012.

Briton’s expats are “increasingly likely” to transfer their pensions out of the UK, say personal finance experts, following the alarming news that the country’s pension liabilities exceed £7 trillion – which is a staggering 263 per cent of GDP.

The Chief Executive of the world’s largest financial advisory firm, Nigel Green, says: “These latest Office for National Statistics figures are deeply disturbing, to say the least.  They highlight the extent to which the pension crisis is engulfing the UK.  The total cost of pensions is already at 263 per cent of the GDP and this is only expected to rise – it’s a ticking time bomb.

“This news will further strengthen the case for expatriates to move their funds out of Britain to safeguard their retirement income.”

The Office of National Statistics findings come a week after the deVere Group revealed that more and more expats are taking funds out of the UK to protect their pensions from the “damaging effects” of the Bank of England’s QE (quantitative easing) programme.

Mr Green adds: “Since the start of the pensions crisis, we have seen a dramatic rise in the number of people living outside theUK who are choosing to transfer their pension to an HMRC-recognised QROPS, and we fully expect that these shocking findings from the Office for National Statistics will jolt yet more expats into action.

“There’s a growing realisation amongst retirees abroad that company and Government schemes are underfunded and therefore increasingly less able to provide a sustainable income at retirement. And these people are wising up to the fact they they’re uniquely positioned to be able to benefit from a raft of options to protect their funds.”