RetireJapan

By this you mean, having 3 to six months of savings for expenses? And / Or also just having some (savings) money in the bank for life opportunities? Yes to the first. And if, for example, there is a possibility of buying a house in the next few years, yes to the second as well. In general it is ver...

I think the strategy you have outlined is good. He will benefit from tax savings now with the IDECO portion while putting the rest in the more flexible NISA. At his age, everything in All Country is also perfectly reasonable. One caveat is that you did mention in the OP that he may want to withdraw ...

Because hardly anyone in Japan does it he gets all kinds of offers. He swaps his ¥10,000,000 besso for homes that cost 5-30 times as much in Australia and Europe. Usual stay is a week, but often two. This is really positive as I was half thinking of doing this when we retire in a few years time. I ...

I hadn't though of house swapping. Could be a great way to slow travel to some other places. Because hardly anyone in Japan does it he gets all kinds of offers. He swaps his ¥10,000,000 besso for homes that cost 5-30 times as much in Australia and Europe. Usual stay is a week, but often two. This i...

It's not clear to me exactly how much pension income you are on course for, all things being equal, but as Beanhead says, your position does not seem dire when savings are added. One thing to consider, in fact something I have been considering lately, is how the pension income is split between you a...

Thanks for those last two follow up messages. Yeah, my immigration lawyer/scrivener said the same...that the time has increased to 16 months now. So, i guess i will just be patient and hope something positive happens in the next 3 months or so. And...an update to my own post, i just received word f...

Thanks. So it’s a locked-in account where you can’t access funds for the duration. Is that right? Either 3 months at higher rate or one year at lower rate. Can’t you just do the 3 months first then transfer into a 1 year one? After the year it reverts to a no(low) interest account? Yes, it's locked...

My wife is using it at my instigation, though not the three-month one. We opened a 12-month one in December, and the process was reasonably smooth.

Personally I wouldn't be keen at all on paying gift tax for this purpose. You, as a couple, may save on tax from gains sheltered in the NISA in the future, but what is guaranteed is a double digit hit at the outset.

The OP may intend to live in the UK property for however long it takes to have it classed as his primary residence. Otherwise the CGT differential between Japan and the UK may not be that large?