Queen’s Speech is signal for expats to move money

Financial policies expected to be announced by The Queen in the opening of Parliament are simply political string pulling by the government in the run up to the next election.

The speech is expected to include details of the Financial Services Bill aimed to give the Financial Services Authority more power over organisations outside its remit - like hedge funds.

The Fiscal responsibility Bill is also on the Queen’s script - that is legislation designed to tackle the UK’s debt problems.

None of the proposed legislation appears to say anything new about QROPS or offshore pension schemes.

Critics point out that few of the bills listed in the speech are likely to become law as Parliament has about 70 days of business before the next election, which is nowhere near enough time to enact all the expected proposed legislation.

Since the start of the recession the FSA has accrued more and more powers and now might have the authority to stop “reckless” payments and to cancel salary packages that might reward undue risk-taking.

Reports have also suggested responsibility for “financial stability” in the UK economy will be transferred from the Bank of England to the FSA.

However, the bill will also include the FSA’s new regulations covering banks, which were unveiled in August.

Under the code - due to take effect from January - bonuses should not be guaranteed for more than a year.

The allegation against Gordon Brown is the government is using the Queens’s Speech to put forward an election manifesto, knowing that the Parliament will not have time to properly debate the issues.

But, the government is hoping this will draw the Conservatives on policy by forcing David Cameron in to making a stand now on financial policy.

So what should investors make of the speech? Good advice would be to take it with a pinch of salt but bear in mind that the recession aftershock is going to be with us for a good while yet - at least until the next government has had time to enact new policies.

This probably means the economy will tread water.

For expats, the answer is simple - if you have investments, savings or pension rights in the UK, talk to your financial advisor about moving them sooner rather than later.

That means reviewing your current retirement strategy and seeing if a QROPS is a more tax-effective and flexible retirement plan  - which it probably is.