HerSphere Insights
Honest, practical perspectives on business, finances, and life as a woman building her future in the UAE.
The New UAE Banking Rule Every Freelancer and Sole Trader Should Know About This Week
When I first opened a business bank account here as a sole proprietor, it took weeks of back-and-forth, unclear fee schedules, and a fair amount of guessing about what I was and wasn't entitled to ask for. If you've set up a sole establishment or freelance permit in the UAE and gone through your own bank's onboarding process, you'll probably recognise that feeling—you're a real customer, but somehow the experience doesn't always feel like it.
That changes, formally, this week.
How Much Will You Really Need to Retire?
A 40-year-old professional assumes their pension will be enough but has never calculated their retirement income needs. With 25 working years remaining, the gap between assumption and reality has time to be closed—but only if it is identified now.
Retirement planning in the UAE sits in a particular category of financial conversations that people consistently postpone. There is always a reason — the children need something, the business needs investment, there is a move coming, a job change planned. And retirement feels distant enough that deferring feels safe.
It is not safe. And for expats in the UAE, it carries a specific risk that does not apply in countries with state pension systems: there is no fallback. No UAE government pension for expat residents. No universal credit. No NHS. When you stop earning, everything comes from what you have built.
That makes the calculation not just useful—it is essential.
Where Does Your Money Actually Go Each Month?
Retirement planning in the UAE sits in a particular category of
financial conversations that people consistently postpone. There is always a reason—the children need something; the business needs investment. There is a move coming, and a job change is planned. And retirement feels distant enough that deferring feels safe.
It is not safe. And for expats in the UAE, it carries a specific risk that does not apply in countries with state pension systems: there is no fallback. No UAE government pension for expat residents. No
universal credit. No NHS. When you stop earning, everything comes from what you have built.
That makes the calculation not just useful—it is essential.
University Costs Are Closer Thank You Think
A five-year-old child will be university age in thirteen years. If you have not started saving yet, that can feel like plenty of time. In financial planning terms, it is not—but it is still enough time to build something meaningful, if you start now.
What Happens to Your Family if You Are No Longer There?Financial Planning Series · Life Insurance · HerSphere UAE · hersphere.ae
It is one of those questions most of us avoid. Not because we do not care about the answer, but because asking it means sitting with the possibility of something we would rather not imagine.
What happens to my family if I am no longer here?