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Louise Sayers
October 01, 2026
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Retirement Planning • October 01, 2026
Retiring With Assets In India And Overseas: What Should You Consider?
Hoxton Blog • Retiring With Assets In India And Overseas: What Should You Consider?
For people who have built their wealth in India and overseas, retirement brings a new set of questions. Where will you live? Which currency will you spend in? How will you draw on pensions, savings and investments held in different places? And will your family know what you own if something happens to you?
Several Sources Of Income, One Retirement
By the time they approach retirement, many people with ties to India and overseas have built up a mix of assets. These might include savings and mutual funds in India, a workplace or personal pension from time spent working abroad, investment portfolios, company shares and property in one or more countries.
The advantage of this kind of portfolio is that it potentially includes several different streams of income which provides flexibility and a degree of security, as you are not reliant on a single pension, market or currency.
The challenge is that these sources rarely fit together neatly. Each may have its own rules on when and how it can be accessed, its own tax treatment and its own currency. Turning them into a steady, dependable income takes planning.
Retirement Planning: The Big Questions
Moving from building wealth to turning your savings into a secure, sustainable income stream takes some work. With so many unknowns - from market performance to life expectancy - it’s more important than ever to have a clear, flexible plan.
Below are three major considerations that non-resident Indians (NRIs) approaching retirement should be thinking about.
This is often the single most important decision, because so much else follows from it. Some people plan to return to India, some intend to stay where they have been working and others want to move somewhere new or divide their time between several countries.
Where you live in retirement will usually determine:
- where you are resident for tax purposes
- which currency most of your spending will be in
- how your pensions and investment income are taxed
- which succession and inheritance rules apply to you and your assets
If you have not yet decided, it is worth thinking about the options early. Changing your plans later is possible, but it is easier when your finances have been arranged with some flexibility in mind.
- where you are resident for tax purposes
Once you know roughly where you will live, you can think about the currency your retirement income needs to be in. If you plan to retire in India but most of your pension and investments are in pounds or US dollars, exchange rate movements will affect how much you actually have to spend each month. The reverse is also true if you retire abroad with most of your wealth in rupees.
Holding at least part of your retirement assets in the currency you expect to spend can reduce that uncertainty. The right balance will depend on your circumstances, including whether you expect to have significant costs in more than one country.
Having assets in several countries means making practical decisions about how you will draw on them. Some of the questions to consider include:
- which assets to draw on first and which to leave invested for later
- when each pension can be accessed and in what form
- whether income should be paid into an account in India, overseas or both
- how moving money between countries will work in practice
- how each source of income will be taxed where it arises and where you live
- which assets to draw on first and which to leave invested for later
Estate Planning Considerations For Non-Resident Indians
Retirement conversations frequently go hand in hand with estate planning, as families start to focus on the generational transfer of wealth. Again, there are some important factors to take into account.
Many people assume that having a will is enough to take care of their estate, but the reality is often more complicated. A single will might not be sufficient. Assets held outside India, such as overseas shares, pensions and property, may not be covered by a will made in India, and they may be subject to the succession rules of the country where they are held. Some pensions pass according to a nomination rather than a will.
Estate planning across more than one jurisdiction often needs input from legal specialists as well as a financial adviser, to make sure your wishes can be carried out in each country where you hold assets.
While India does not levy an inheritance tax, NRIs may still face significant estate taxes elsewhere, depending on where they live and where their assets are held.
The UK is a good example. Since April 2025, anyone who has been UK tax resident for at least 10 of the previous 20 tax years is treated as a ‘long-term resident’. They may then be liable for inheritance tax at 40% on their worldwide estate above the available allowances, including property and investments in India. This exposure does not end as soon as they leave the UK. It can continue for between three and ten years afterwards, depending on how long they lived there.
A long-standing estate duty treaty between the UK and India can, in some circumstances, protect assets held outside the UK for those who have kept their Indian domicile. Whether it applies depends on each person's circumstances, and it is not always straightforward to establish.
With rules this complex and sums this large, professional advice is essential. Hoxton Wealth has a dedicated tax team who can advise on cross-border estate tax exposure to help protect your wealth for you and your family.
Estate planning is not only about documents and structures. It also involves the people who will need to act if something happens to you.
Frequently just one person in a household manages the family's finances, while their spouse or partner has little idea of what assets exist or where they are held. In an uncertain world, this can leave families facing real difficulty at an already painful time.
Involving family members at the planning stage means that when an estate plan needs to be put into action, they already understand your wishes, know who to turn to for help and can make decisions with confidence rather than guesswork.
It’s a good idea to create a family estate folder to bring together the key information your loved ones would need in the event of a death, including:
- identity documents
- details of accounts and how to access them
- a comprehensive inventory of assets
- contact details for their financial adviser and lawyer
- a copy of your will or wills
- details of insurance policies
The information can be kept in a password-protected file, with at least one trusted family member knowing how to access it. The folder should be checked annually to make sure it is still up to date.
This is a simple step, but it can make an enormous difference to the people you leave behind.
- identity documents
Retirement Planning Tailored To You
With assets, family and future plans often spread across more than one country, NRIs face a retirement picture that no standard plan can cover. Hoxton Wealth has advisers around the world who work alongside our specialist tax and legal teams to bring everything together in a single, personalised strategy. Your adviser can help you:
- build a clear cashflow forecast that accounts for income and assets in India and overseas
- decide where to retire, and understand the tax consequences of that choice
- invest strategically to generate income while managing risk, including currency risk
- set a sustainable withdrawal rate aligned to your personal situation
- structure drawdowns tax-efficiently across different jurisdictions
- understand your exposure to estate and inheritance taxes in the countries where you live and hold assets
- plan for passing on wealth and for long-term care
- review your income, outgoings and investment performance regularly, so your plan keeps pace with your life
Our aim is to inform and empower you as you approach retirement, giving you the guidance and tools to make confident decisions and stay financially secure for the years ahead.
If you are approaching retirement with assets in India and overseas, talk to us about bringing your plans together.
How Can We Help You?
If you would like to speak to one of our advisers, please get in touch today.
Contact Hoxton Wealth
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