UAE considers setting up expat retirement fund

According to recent surveys, expats in the UAE are almost totally unprepared for retirement.

Expats working in the region will be more than happy to hear the UAE is planning potential retirement fund especially for expat professionals, whether they want to stay in the emirates after their careers end or would prefer to move on. Nowadays, most expats nearing retirement simply hope their end-of-service golden handshake will last throughout their golden years.

One problem with that hope is that, due to better healthcare and diets, longevity is on the increase and may mean stretching available funds until they squeak. Another problem with retirement planning is the almost irresistible temptation to live the high life in a region where it’s expected, no matter what the salary. The soaring cost of living in the Gulf States as well as in the home country is another issue which prevents saving for a rainy day, with maintaining an acceptable lifestyle after retirement now becoming just a dream.

Of course, the longer one lives, the worse it gets as regards the rising cost of staying alive, and staying healthy can be almost impossible in countries without a healthcare safety net. It’s a no-brainer that monthly savings are a must, but doing so on a regular basis as an expat in the UAE demands the kind of self-discipline usually missing in long-term foreign lifestyles.

For decades, the UAE has been regarded as a favourite destination for top talent, but it’s all been a ‘live today for tomorrow we die’ experience for the majority. The setting up of a retirement fund with employee options to save a fixed, or even better, a floating sum on a regular monthly basis would hopefully ensure at least compliance, and also keep financially unsophisticated expatriates out of the clutches of rapacious IFAs looking to enrich their own retirements!