Retirees living in Europe have seen the purchasing power of their pension decrease by 14 per cent over in the three years since Brexit, due to volatility in the currency market.

The technology service Equiniti, which manages over 60,000 payments to UK expat pensioners, found that the cost of living for UK expats in Europe with fixed GBP incomes has almost doubled the rate of inflation in the UK (7 per cent), and is the highest of expats living anywhere else in the world.

The firm, which supports roughly 6,000 pensioners living in Europe, said the increase is largely due to currency market volatility following the decision to leave the EU and the more recent trade war between the US and China.

Commenting on the findings, Equiniti director of payment services at EQGlobal, Andy Brown, said: “Expat pensioners are always at the mercy of the currency exchange rollercoaster, but after a period of considerable uncertainty they will be facing a significant increase in the cost of living."

Data from Equiniti found that it is not just expats living in Europe facing currency issues, with those in the US facing a similar 14 per cent loss in purchasing power, compared to -5 per cent in Canada and Switzerland and -3 per cent in Australia.

Expats living in South Africa were the only ones to see an increase in purchasing power, with an income rise of 3 per cent.

Brown added: “Our advice to anyone thinking about retiring abroad is to understand the implications of currency exchange rate movements and also look at the numerous ways in which to receive international payments as the ‘headline’ exchange rate is not necessarily an indication of the total cost of the transaction.”

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