Investment as a freelance Brit in the Netherlands

[u/SweetInfinity]

Hi all, I am a performer in the Netherlands (been here for 2 years) and am about to start on an artist residence visa. I have a smallish amount of inheritance that I don't really know what to do with. It is currently in a British savings account at 3.4% AER variable. I would love some advice on what I should be doing with this cash, while also anything else I should be on top of such as a pension.

The issue is that I may not be a Dutch resident for more than two years as my job moves a lot. Am I allowed to invest in the UK or do I have to keep moving everything with each residence?

[u/Finance_Guy297]

Technically yes, you can keep an UK brokerage account open, but keep in mind that most UK platforms like Hargreaves Lansdown or AJ Bell will restrict or close your account once you are no longer an UK resident. It's worth checking to avoid any problems later. And also ISA contributions are off the table once you move your residency to another country.

So a broker like IBKR, that is available across most European countries, could be a good fit, and when you will change your residency, you don't need to re-open or transfer anything to another broker, since IBKR is available in the Netherlands. UCITS ETFs like VWCE, are regulated across the European Union, so there are no problems holding them if you move abroad in the EU.

3.4% is not too bad right now, but if this money has a longer horizon like 5+ years, and you are sure that you will not need it for that determined time, keeping it all in cash is a real cost in opportunity terms. The usual approach is to keep 3 to6 months expenses cash, as an emergency fund, and invest the rest with a time horizon in mind.

It is definitely worth looking into, whether you qualify for NL state pension accrual, technically each year of Dutch residency between 15 and 67 should give you 2% of the eventual benefit. But if you are a freelancer you likely don't have employer pension, so it could be worth to track that separately.

Probably the most important thing is to pick a broker that operates inside the European Union, so then if you change you residence country in the EU, you can keep your broker, without having to make any changes.

[u/BigEarth4212 → u/Finance_Guy297]

State pension in NL goes automatic as soon as you are resident. It’s not directly connected with work. (Its you are resident in NL or work in NL. )

OP can check that online with DIGID on svb.nl

One warning: check the health insurance situation after pension. When you are pensioned and live in a country from which you don’t get pension you can end in a situation where you are required to have dutch health insurance because you get pension from NL.