Cross-Border Wealth Planning for Lawyers Abroad (2026): The Mistakes That Show Up Years Later
Most cross-border wealth mistakes are slow-burn problems: the plan works until you move country, start drawdown, or something happens to you. In 2026, lawyers abroad should focus on residency timing, currency alignment, pension structure, beneficiary setup, and estate liquidity. The goal is a portable system that survives relocation and bad timing.
At a glance
- Plan for two outcomes, not one: staying abroad and returning to the UK.
- Treat the move year as a tax event, not a travel event.
- Put currency into writing: what you spend in for the next 24 months and the first five retirement years.
- Consolidate DC pensions for governance, but treat DB transfers as separate and modelled decisions.
- Fix execution: nominations, wills, and a first 90 days liquidity plan.
- Cap concentration in employer stock, firm equity, and property before it caps your options.
People Also Ask
- What are the biggest cross-border wealth planning mistakes for expats?
- Why do tax mistakes happen when expats return to the UK?
- How do currency mistakes affect retirement planning abroad?
- Should lawyers abroad consolidate UK pensions into a SIPP?
- Do pensions and insurance pay out according to a will?
- How do wealthy expat families run out of liquidity after a death?
Cross-Border Wealth Planning for Lawyers Abroad (2026): The Mistakes That Show Up Years Later
The most expensive mistakes in cross-border wealth planning are rarely dramatic.
They are quiet.
They compound.
They only show up years later.
A lawyer moves abroad, earns well, saves hard, invests steadily. The plan seems fine.
Then one of four things happens:
- a relocation back to the UK becomes real
- drawdown starts
- a health event hits earnings
- a death event turns “wealth” into a legal and administrative project
That is when the gaps appear.
What I see in practice is that cross-border planning fails at the seams:
- pensions built for one country, withdrawals taken in another
- assets held in one currency, liabilities in another
- tax decisions made without considering move-year timing
- a will drafted, but nominations left outdated
- plenty of wealth, but no liquidity for the first 90 days
I am Josh, a financial planner specialising in expats in the Middle East. I join the dots across pensions, investments, tax, currency, insurance and estate planning so clients stop guessing and start making confident decisions. I am authorised and able to advise clients across the Middle East, the UK and the USA, which matters for continuity when families move.
This guide is a practical map of the mistakes that show up years later, and the simple fixes that prevent them.
The real cross-border problem is interaction
Most lawyers think in disciplines.
Tax is tax.
Investing is investing.
Pensions are pensions.
Wills are wills.
Cross-border reality does not respect those boundaries.
A decision in one area often creates a second-order effect elsewhere.
In practice, what actually causes problems is not one bad choice. It is one unmodelled interaction.
Here are a few examples:
- You sell an investment to simplify things, then return to the UK and discover the timing mattered.
- You start drawdown abroad without preparing the first payment process, and it creates cash flow disruption and admin friction.
- You build wealth in USD because it feels global, then retire in GBP and your spending power shifts without any market movement.
- You “have a will”, but your pension nominations are outdated, so the biggest assets do not follow the plan.
This is why the value of a good cross-border plan is not higher return.
It is lower fragility.
The cross-border framework lawyers should use
Before we get into the mistakes, you need the structure that prevents them.
A resilient cross-border plan has four layers:
Layer 1: Income floor
This is stable income that reduces reliance on markets.
- DB pensions
- State Pension entitlement
- conservative rental income if genuinely reliable
- annuity income if chosen deliberately
Layer 2: Flexible capital
This funds lifestyle and optionality.
- DC pensions in drawdown
- taxable investments
- cash and bond buffers
- any offshore structures that are genuinely appropriate, not generic
Layer 3: Currency plan
Currency is not a prediction exercise.
It is a cash flow plan:
- what currency you will spend in for the next 24 months
- what currency you will spend in for the first five years of retirement
- how you will stage alignment without one-off conversions
Layer 4: Execution
This is the part most lawyers skip.
- pension nominations
- insurance beneficiaries
- wills and guardianship where relevant
- executor pack and asset map
- a first 90 days liquidity plan
If Layer 4 is weak, the plan fails even if Layers 1–3 are perfect.
Five worked examples with numbers
Worked example 1
Situation
A 41-year-old UK lawyer in Dubai has £650,000 in UK DC pensions across four providers, $400,000 in a US brokerage account, and AED 180,000 cash. They intend to return to the UK “at some point”, but have not decided when. They have two children and school fees.
The hidden risk
They build assets, but no system. The plan is fine until the move year arrives, and then they have to make currency and tax decisions under pressure.
The numbers
- Essential monthly spend: AED 35,000
- Annual essential spend: AED 420,000
- Current cash: AED 180,000, roughly 5 months essentials
- UK return scenario in 18 months could require:
- relocation and deposit costs equivalent to £40,000–£80,000
- a GBP buffer for the first year in the UK
- If GBP strengthens 15% versus USD in the final year before returning, the GBP value of the $400,000 could fall by roughly 13% in GBP terms, even if markets are flat
The planning logic
They cannot answer this by choosing better funds. They need two scenarios modelled: stay abroad and return to the UK, with a staged currency and liquidity plan for the next 24 months.
A clean solution approach
- Create a two-scenario plan with a timeline range, not a single date
- Separate cash into emergency liquidity and planned move liquidity
- Begin staged alignment to GBP only for near-term UK liabilities, not the whole portfolio
- Consolidate DC pensions where it improves governance and nominations, and confirm non-resident servicing
Takeaway
The expensive part is not investing. It is last-minute decisions in the move year.
Worked example 2
Situation
A 52-year-old partner abroad has a DB pension projected at £20,000 a year from 65 and a CETV of £600,000. They also have £1.1m in DC pensions and investments. They want “simplicity” and consider transferring the DB to a SIPP.
The hidden risk
They confuse simplicity with control and underestimate how the DB income reduces sequencing risk.
The numbers
- DB income: £20,000 a year
- DC capital: £1,100,000
- Planned spending: £90,000 a year
- If DB is retained, portfolio gap in later retirement reduces from £90,000 to £70,000
- At a 3.5% planning rate, the implied capital to fund £70,000 is £2.0m, versus £2.57m to fund £90,000
- The DB pension is a stability asset that reduces the required aggression of the drawdown portfolio
The planning logic
A DB transfer is a retirement model change. You cannot answer it without modelling two scenarios: keep DB and transfer DB, then stress-testing poor early markets.
A clean solution approach
- Treat the DB pension as the income floor unless modelling shows a compelling reason to move
- Consolidate DC pensions separately for governance and portability
- Build a drawdown runway so the early retirement years do not force sales
- Keep the decision income-led, not CETV-led
Takeaway
The trade-off is not return. It is stable income versus flexible capital under stress.
Worked example 3
Situation
A 45-year-old in-house lawyer abroad has $1.6m in employer stock due to RSUs vesting over time and $900,000 in diversified investments. They plan to retire in 10 years and spend in GBP.
The hidden risk
They have hidden correlation. If the company struggles, their job and wealth fall together, and their retirement number moves away from them at the same time.
The numbers
- Total investable wealth: $2.5m
- Employer stock: $1.6m
- Concentration: 64%
- If employer stock falls 30%: loss of $480,000
- If GBP strengthens 15% versus USD around retirement, GBP purchasing power drops materially without any market movement
- A single correlated shock could push the retirement timeline back by several years
The planning logic
This is not a rebalancing problem. It is a concentration and currency planning problem. The correct answer requires modelling a conservative scenario where employer stock underperforms.
A clean solution approach
- Set a written cap for employer equity, for example 25–30% of investable assets
- Implement a staged sell-down schedule for vested shares
- Build a staged GBP alignment plan for the first five retirement years
- Maintain a liquidity buffer so you are not forced into distressed selling
Takeaway
If your wealth is tied to your employer, your retirement plan is not diversified, even if the rest of your portfolio is.
Worked example 4
Situation
A 58-year-old lawyer plans to start drawdown at 60 with £1.8m in DC pensions and investments. They hold very little cash because they believe “cash is dead money”.
The hidden risk
Sequencing risk. A downturn in year one forces sales of growth assets and permanently increases the effective withdrawal rate.
The numbers
- Planned spending gap to be funded by portfolio: £80,000 a year
- Suggested runway target: 24 months of that gap = £160,000 outside equities
- Current accessible cash: £40,000
- Shortfall: £120,000
- If markets fall 25% just before retirement, portfolio falls to £1.35m
- £80,000 becomes a 5.9% withdrawal rate rather than 4.4%
The planning logic
You do not fix sequencing risk after it hits. You prevent it with a runway and a withdrawal rule.
A clean solution approach
- Build a 12–24 month runway outside equities before drawdown begins
- Write a rules-based withdrawal order: runway first in downturns, equities only when recovered
- Reduce equity exposure gradually if retirement is within five years and risk capacity is lower than current allocation
Takeaway
Early retirement stability is created by buffers and rules, not optimism.
Worked example 5
Situation
A cross-border family has £2.4m net worth, mostly in pensions and property, but only £20,000 accessible cash. They have wills, but pension nominations are outdated and no executor pack exists.
The hidden risk
Wealth exists, access does not. The first 90 days become a stress event, not a planning event.
The numbers
- Monthly essential spending: £9,000
- First 90-day need: £27,000
- Travel, legal, admin buffer: £20,000
- First 90-day target: £47,000
- Current accessible cash: £20,000
- Shortfall: £27,000
- If pension nominations create delays, the family may borrow or sell assets under pressure
The planning logic
Execution is part of wealth planning. If your family cannot act quickly, the plan fails when it matters.
A clean solution approach
- Build a dedicated 90-day liquidity buffer
- Audit pension nominations and insurance beneficiaries
- Create an asset map and executor pack so someone else can run the plan
- Align documents across jurisdictions if you are internationally mobile
Takeaway
The mistake is not lack of wealth. It is lack of an executable system.
Title-specific deep dive
Cross-border wealth planning mistakes that show up years later
How it works in practice
Most long-term mistakes come from one of three patterns:
- You optimise for today’s country and forget you might move.
- You optimise for accumulation and forget execution.
- You optimise for return and forget sequencing and currency.
A practical cross-border process is deliberately staged:
- Stage 1: Make the plan portable
- Stage 2: Make the plan executable
- Stage 3: Make the plan efficient
Most people do Stage 3 first. That is why the mistakes show up years later.
The key moving parts
Residency timing
The move year is where outcomes can change. This affects disposals, pension withdrawals, and the order of actions.
Pension structure
DC consolidation can be a governance win. DB transfers are high-stakes. Drawdown requires admin readiness.
Currency planning
Currency is usually the hidden variable. It affects the first five retirement years more than most people expect.
Concentration
Employer stock, partnership capital, and property can dominate net worth quietly.
Liquidity
Cash is not return drag when it prevents forced selling and enables good timing.
Execution
Nominations and access details often decide outcomes more than documents.
Trade-offs
- Portability often means choosing good enough everywhere rather than perfect somewhere
- Reducing concentration can feel like selling winners
- Holding liquidity can feel inefficient but improves outcomes by preventing bad timing
- Simplicity can reduce tax efficiency, but over-complexity increases execution risk
The correct approach depends on what you value more:
- peak efficiency in one jurisdiction
- or robust outcomes across several jurisdictions
Lawyers abroad usually need the second.
What can go wrong
- Your plan assumes you will never return to the UK, then you do
- You hold everything in USD and later spend in GBP
- You start drawdown without a runway and the first downturn damages sustainability
- You hold employer equity and partnership exposure and your wealth is correlated
- You have a will but nominations are outdated
- Your spouse cannot access accounts due to old phone numbers, old emails, missing references
- You consolidate for tidiness and accidentally increase fees or lose protected benefits
When it is not suitable
This guide is a framework. It needs adaptation when:
- you are US-connected and reporting or product rules constrain structures
- a DB transfer decision dominates your retirement plan
- you have a significant business sale or partnership exit event driving timing
- you have complex blended-family succession needs that require specialist drafting
Checklist: How to evaluate this properly
- Do I have two scenarios modelled: stay abroad and return to the UK?
- Do I have a written currency plan for the next 24 months and first five retirement years?
- Are all pensions mapped and classified as DB or DC?
- Have I checked for protected pension features before consolidating?
- Do I have a 12–24 month retirement runway if retirement is within five years?
- Is employer stock and firm equity exposure capped?
- Are nominations aligned with my current family reality?
- Could my spouse act without needing my inbox?
What gets overlooked
- The move year drives more tax outcomes than most people expect
- Currency planning is most important in the first five retirement years
- Provider servicing risk can force transfers at bad times for expats
- Pensions and insurance often pay via nominations, not wills
- Two-factor authentication and outdated contact details can lock families out
- Property and private investments are slow money in a crisis
- Concentration risk is often hidden inside “successful career” exposures
- Emergency tax on first drawdown payments can create avoidable friction
- A portfolio is not a liquidity plan without a buffer and withdrawal order
- A plan that only you can execute is not a plan
How to stress-test what you already have
- Model a return to the UK inside the next 3 years and identify the move year risk points
- Stress-test a 30% equity fall just before retirement and in year one
- Stress-test a 15% currency move against your intended spending currency
- Measure concentration in employer stock, partnership capital, and property as a percentage of net worth
- Confirm you have a 90-day liquidity plan and a 12-month stability buffer
- Confirm pensions are classified and safeguarded benefits are identified
- Confirm your drawdown plan has a runway and a rules-based withdrawal order
- Audit beneficiary nominations across every pension and policy
- Create or update an asset map with reference numbers and contacts
- Confirm provider servicing policy if you live abroad and might move again
- Review your plan after promotion, partnership, relocation, children, property purchases
- Document the plan in one page and store it where your spouse can find it
- Run a “no bonus year” scenario if your income is variable
- Confirm your State Pension forecast and NI record and decide on top-ups
- Set an annual review date and keep it boring
Common mistakes
- Planning for one country only
Why it matters: structures and timing choices can become wrong overnight when you move. - Treating currency as an afterthought
Why it matters: FX can change purchasing power without any market movement. - Consolidating pensions without checking protected features
Why it matters: you can lose valuable rights permanently. - Treating DB transfers as a tidy-up
Why it matters: it changes your retirement income model and increases sequencing risk. - Starting drawdown without a runway
Why it matters: you become a forced seller in downturns. - Overconcentrating in employer stock, property, or firm equity
Why it matters: income and wealth become correlated and fragile. - Relying on employer benefits as the plan
Why it matters: benefits are often non-portable and change with employment. - Ignoring nominations and beneficiaries
Why it matters: money can be delayed or go to the wrong person. - Holding wealth in illiquid assets without a liquidity plan
Why it matters: families borrow or sell under stress. - Not reviewing annually
Why it matters: cross-border life changes assumptions faster than you expect.
Common objections
Common objections
Objection
“I’m abroad, so UK rules don’t matter.”
Emotional logic
The local environment feels simple, so UK rules feel distant.
Practical risk
The moment UK residence returns, timing and asset structure matter immediately.
Next step
Model a return scenario and identify the move-year risk points.
Objection
“I’ll decide where to retire later.”
Emotional logic
Deferring feels like keeping options open.
Practical risk
Your structure and currency exposure can quietly lock you into one outcome.
Next step
Model three scenarios and build a plan that works across them.
Objection
“I have a will, so my estate is sorted.”
Emotional logic
A will feels like the master document.
Practical risk
Pensions and policies often pay via nominations and scheme rules, not the will.
Next step
Audit nominations and build a first 90 days liquidity plan.
Objection
“Currency is impossible to predict, so I ignore it.”
Emotional logic
Avoidance feels rational.
Practical risk
You don’t need prediction, you need staged alignment to liabilities and spending.
Next step
Write a currency plan for the next 24 months and first five retirement years.
Objection
“I don’t want to hold cash, it’s unproductive.”
Emotional logic
Cash feels like wasted potential.
Practical risk
Without liquidity you may sell productive assets at the worst time.
Next step
Hold cash for defined jobs: 90-day plan, 12-month buffer, retirement runway.
Objection
“I’m a lawyer, I can manage this.”
Emotional logic
Confidence in technical ability.
Practical risk
The hard part is interaction: tax timing, currency, pensions, and sequencing.
Next step
Stress-test two scenarios and the first five retirement years.
Objection
“My employer stock is doing well, why sell?”
Emotional logic
Familiarity and pride.
Practical risk
Your income and portfolio can fall together when the company struggles.
Next step
Set a concentration cap and a staged sell-down rule.
Objection
“I’ll sort it properly closer to retirement.”
Emotional logic
Deferral reduces mental load.
Practical risk
Late changes happen when options are worse and timing risk is higher.
Next step
Fix nominations, servicing, and liquidity now. Then keep it boring.
Decision framework
- Write two scenarios: stay abroad and return to the UK
- Build a currency plan for the next 24 months and the first five retirement years
- Map every pension and classify DB vs DC
- Consolidate DC only if it improves governance and portability
- Treat DB transfers as separate, modelled decisions
- Measure concentration in employer stock, firm equity, and property and set caps
- Build a 90-day plan and a 12-month liquidity buffer
- If retirement is within five years, build a 12–24 month runway outside equities
- Align nominations, beneficiaries, wills, and build an executor pack
- Review annually and after trigger events
If you only do 3 things this week
- Audit every pension and policy nomination and update anything outdated
- Calculate your 90-day and 12-month liquidity needs and fund the gap
- Write a one-page currency plan for the next 24 months and first five retirement years
Self-diagnostic
Points system
Yes = 1 point
No = 0 points
Total possible points: 12
- I have a stay-abroad scenario and a return-to-UK scenario mapped.
- I have a written currency plan for the next 24 months.
- I have a written currency plan for the first five retirement years.
- Every pension is mapped and classified DB or DC.
- I have checked for safeguarded benefits and protected features.
- I have a 90-day liquidity plan funded.
- I have a 12-month stability buffer funded.
- Employer and firm concentration is measured and capped.
- If retirement is within five years, I have a runway outside equities.
- Beneficiaries and nominations are current and aligned.
- I have an executor pack and one-page asset map.
- I have an annual review date and trigger list.
Green 9–12
Amber 5–8
Red 0–4
What to do next based on score
Green
Keep it boring and maintain annual reviews.
Amber
Stress-test, adjust funding, and simplify.
Red
Redesign the plan before time increases cost.
FAQ
Quick definitions
Move year
The tax year in which you change country and residency can flip.
Statutory Residence Test
The UK framework used to determine UK tax residency.
Sequencing risk
The risk that early market falls plus withdrawals damage sustainability.
Income floor
Secure income that reduces reliance on portfolio withdrawals.
Liquidity runway
12–24 months of spending held outside equities to reduce forced selling.
Concentration risk
Too much wealth tied to one stock, firm, sector, or asset.
Beneficiary nomination
Instruction telling a pension or policy who receives benefits on death.
Executor pack
A practical file that lets someone administer your affairs quickly.
Defined contribution pension
An invested pension pot typically used for drawdown.
Defined benefit pension
A pension that pays a promised income for life.
Currency alignment
Structuring assets to match expected spending currency.
Portability
Ability to keep structures working when you relocate.
What are the biggest cross-border wealth planning mistakes?
They are usually timing, currency, and execution mistakes.
Most errors show up when you move country, start drawdown, or face a shock event. The key mistakes are move-year tax decisions made without modelling, holding assets in the wrong currency for future spending, pension actions taken without checking protected features, and having wills without aligned nominations and liquidity plans. The fix is a portable system and an annual review cadence.
Why do tax mistakes happen when expats return to the UK?
Because the move year changes what is taxable and when.
The same transaction can have different UK tax outcomes depending on whether you are UK resident in that tax year and whether split-year treatment applies. Many expats make disposals or large withdrawals during transition years without planning the timeline. The solution is to model the move 12–18 months ahead and coordinate big transactions with the residency timeline.
How do currency mistakes affect retirement planning abroad?
Currency can change your retirement number without any market movement.
If you save and invest in USD but retire and spend in GBP, a strengthening GBP reduces purchasing power. The risk is highest in the first five retirement years and around property purchases or repatriation. You do not need FX prediction. You need staged alignment and a buffer in the spending currency for near-term needs.
Should lawyers abroad consolidate UK pensions into a SIPP?
Often yes for DC pensions, but only after verification.
Consolidation can reduce admin, clarify investments, and improve beneficiary alignment. The risk is transferring away safeguarded benefits or choosing a provider with restrictive non-resident servicing rules. DB pensions are a separate decision and should not be bundled into a tidy-up. Consolidate selectively and document why.
Do pensions and insurance pay out according to a will?
Often not, because nominations and scheme rules matter.
Many pensions and insurance policies pay using beneficiary nominations or trustee discretion rather than following the will. This is why wills alone do not complete an estate plan for expats. The practical fix is an annual nomination audit, plus an executor pack and liquidity buffer to reduce delays and stress if something happens.
How do wealthy expat families run out of liquidity after a death?
Because net worth is not access.
Pensions, property, private investments, and partnership capital accounts can be slow to access, especially across borders. Families often need cash in the first 90 days for living costs, school fees, travel, and professional fees. Without a dedicated buffer and clean nominations, they borrow or sell assets under pressure. A 90-day plan plus a 12-month buffer prevents that.
What is the simplest cross-border framework for lawyers?
Income floor, flexible drawdown engine, currency plan, execution layer.
Most lawyers do not need complex products. They need a joined-up system that survives relocation and early retirement volatility. Secure income reduces pressure, a runway prevents forced selling, currency alignment protects spending power, and nominations plus an executor pack make the plan executable.
How often should I review a cross-border plan?
At least annually, plus trigger reviews.
Trigger events include relocation planning, partnership or job changes, marriage, children, property purchases, starting drawdown, and major equity vesting. Cross-border life changes assumptions faster than most people expect. Annual reviews keep it boring and prevent long-burn mistakes.
Is it better to simplify everything into one account?
Not automatically.
Consolidation can improve governance, but it can also increase platform concentration and servicing risk for expats. The goal is not one account. It is a controlled system with clear documentation, sensible fees, and portability. Simplify where it improves outcomes and document why.
What is the single best first step?
Inventory and classification.
List all assets and pensions, classify pensions as DB or DC, and check nominations. Most long-term mistakes start because people act without a complete inventory. Once you know what you have, you can model scenarios and choose the right fixes without unintended consequences.
What if I am not sure I will return to the UK?
You still need a return scenario.
A return-to-UK scenario is risk management, not commitment. It protects you against last-minute decisions in the move year. The practical approach is to build a plan that works both ways: portable structures, staged currency alignment, and a drawdown policy that survives volatility.
How do I stop these mistakes from showing up later?
Write the system down and review it.
A one-page plan with your scenarios, currency rules, pension structure, liquidity buffers, and nominations audit is often more valuable than another investment idea. The reason mistakes show up years later is because there is no governance. Annual reviews and trigger reviews are the prevention tool.
What happens next
Clarify objectives and liabilities
We define your likely relocation paths, retirement scenarios, and what currencies your family will spend in across the next phases.
Quantify gaps and constraints
We map pensions and assets, quantify income floor, concentration exposure, liquidity needs, and the move-year timing risks that could change tax outcomes.
Structure and documentation alignment
We consolidate where it improves governance, align nominations, build a 90-day and 12-month liquidity plan, and create an executor pack so the plan executes.
Underwriting or implementation review
Where protection or liquidity gaps exist, we structure cover to solve the specific gap and confirm portability and claims practicality across borders.
Ongoing review triggers and cadence
We set annual reviews plus trigger reviews for relocation, partnership changes, property, children, and drawdown start dates so slow-burn mistakes do not accumulate.
Conclusion
Cross-border wealth planning mistakes show up years later because the plan worked until it didn’t.
Then timing, currency, and execution mattered more than return.
The solution is not more complexity.
It is more structure.
A portable pension and investment setup.
A written currency plan.
Liquidity buffers.
Clean nominations and an executor pack.
Annual reviews with trigger reviews when life changes.
That is what prevents the slow-burn mistakes lawyers discover years too late.
Compliance note
This article is educational only and not personalised advice. Tax, pension and residency rules vary and can change. Investment values can fall as well as rise. Seek regulated advice before making pension transfers, large withdrawals, or cross-border estate changes, especially in relocation years.
You may also like
How much do lawyers need to retire? A practical retirement planning framework (2026)
(This guide explains how high-earning professionals calculate a retirement number using spending needs, withdrawal rates and pension income.)
Estate planning for expats: wills, guardianship and cross-border assets explained (2026)
UK pensions for lawyers living abroad: transfers, consolidation and retirement options (2026)
UK pension transfers for expats: SIPP vs QROPS and consolidation strategies (2026)
(Expats commonly consolidate defined-contribution pensions into a SIPP or similar structure to simplify cross-border retirement planning.)
UK pension drawdown for lawyers abroad: rules, tax and income strategy (2026)
How to apply for an NT tax code on a UK pension to avoid double taxation
Class 2 National Insurance changes explained for UK expats (2026)
Can you transfer a UK pension to Dubai? What UK expats need to know
(UK pensions cannot usually be transferred into a UAE pension because the UAE currently has no HMRC-recognised QROPS schemes.)
International SIPPs and offshore bonds: a retirement structure for globally mobile expats
NT tax code for UK expats: receiving pension income without UK withholding
References
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rdr3-statutory-residence-test-srt
https://www.gov.uk/check-national-insurance-record
https://www.gov.uk/check-state-pension
https://www.gov.uk/inheritance-tax
https://www.gov.uk/when-someone-dies
https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/pensions-and-retirement
https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/family-and-care/death-and-bereavement
https://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk
https://www.fca.org.uk/consumers/pensions-and-retirement-planning
