MTut

If applying from the uk then you’re pretty limited to the big four. I used commonwealth just so I had something set up. If you’re already over then I think AMPs B3tter account is the winner if you can live without having a branch to go to. 3% savings interest, no ongoing charges and it manages your bills efficiently. B3tter is an awful name though. ING everyday Orange & Ubank offer next best interest.

Just an FYI for those of you making the move over soon or recently, we had Bupa cover in the UK and Bupa worked out most competitive here. It was 55 days from our old policy finishing until we started making enquiries over here and glad we did. Bupa stated that as long as we had no break of 60 or more days from the end of our previous cover, we didn't get hit with waiting periods as new enrollments to the Australian plan. I believe that would have applied even if we were with a different provider in the UK but worth checking when you apply. The instant messaging chats are actually quite good for quick questions. So, if you are thinking of getting it, don't put it on a backburner when you land as long as its financially viable. We're borderline as to whether its worth it from a financial point of view with offsetting the medicare levy but personally, PMI and life / illness cover are the two things I'm happy to pay each month. If I'm lucky and never use it, so be it.

So, I'm aware that the Aus taxation department would only be interested in gains made on my uk property, based on profit made between arrival in Australia and sell date. I have 3 properties in the Uk. Of these, I'm intending to keep my main residence as a long term rental (in case I come back) but will sell the two rental properties, one in the next tax year and one at mortgage renewal in 2 years time. To get a date of departure valuation for these, is an estate agent valuation sufficient proof for when I come to sell? Or does it have to be a specifically registered person? After all, house value is always a bit arbituary anyway. Has anyone ever had to prove this with the Australian taxation office?

Ratesetter might give you a bit more bang for your buck in returns but not sure if you'd be able to open that from Aus.

Presuming those are both Final Salary arrangements (pretty certain they both would be), you just need to leave them where they are and then they'll pay you an income when you reach the specified retirement age.

Cheers Andy, I guess it doesn't hurt to put in the application, even if we can't claim it for another 30 years and who knows what it'll be worth then!

I did a little bit more research on this yesterday. I should be able to pay Class 2 contributions as I'm leaving having been in a Class 1 paying job here. As Andrew says, £145 outlay is worth it - assuming you live to whatever pension age it'll be when I retire. More so when you factor in the triple lock for as long as it lasts. Looking at the options, it states: Class 2 - if you worked in the UK immediately before leaving, and you’ve previously lived in the UK for 3 years in a row or paid 3 years’ National Insurance @Andrew from Vista Financial - maybe you know, but as I read that, would my Wife (Australian National but resident and working in the UK for over 3 years) be able to continue to make NI contributions to build up a UK pension? I can't find anything on HMRC website that suggests she couldn't. We may or may not come back to the UK in the future but this appears to be a very cheap way to build up a good fixed income stream for retirement (albeit non-escalating in payment under current rules.) We'll also both be maxing our £3,600 allowance to UK pensions for the first five years while away. Seems a good use of the rental income from our UK home.

My research on it suggests it would be Class Two Voluntary NI which is only £2.85 per week. https://www.pensionsadvisoryservice.org.uk/about-pensions/the-state-pension/voluntary-ni-contributions I'm definitely planning on doing it, as it's good value especially at the lower rate, if we come back.

True, they'll obviously be making some money somewhere. However, I guess this won't be for me to make payments at that high a level but more a little and often. Say £500 a month-ish just to supplement here and there, especially in the short term. I've heard some Aus banks will charge you a fee for recieving foreign payments of $10-$12, when recieving money from a broker? If so, that would negate any real currency rate savings, when with HSBC I could go from my UK to AUS account without a transaction fee.

HSBC are currently running a nice little incentive for switching UK banking accoutnns to them - £150 now, £50 in a year. https://www.hsbc.co.uk/1/2/current-accounts/hsbc-advance Now, this has no fee and includes the ability to withdraw cash from overseas ATMs. It also has the global banking option where you can transfer from UK to an Aus HSBC without transfer fees. Has anyone had experience on this in terms of the rate you get compared to a broker? I was planning on retaining my Nationwide Flexplus account in the UK for the odd ATM withdrawal (these are free overseas.) but the monthly fee has gone up to £13 p/m. I'll still have around £10k per year in rental income in the uk, of which I'd imagine half I'll bring over as an when needed, so not huge amounts. Wondering whether this is a simpler solution or to stick with Nationwide, an Australian acocunt and broker transfers each month?

Hi, See what you think to this - hadn't considered shipping it but with the £/$ rate so poor, if I sold it here, I'd probably not be able to buy something as nice, and I probably won't add too many miles to it while in Sydney for a couple of years. Thanks - year of manufacture 2011 - make, model & variant Mercedes C250 CDi Bluefficiency AMG Auto 2Dr - body type (coupe, convertible, etc) Coupe - engine size & fuel type 2143 cc Diesel - transmission Automatic - drive type (4WD, front wheel drive, etc) Rear - mileage 65,000 miles - any special features, options or modification Sat Nav - does it have aircon Yes - realistic current UK market value £11-12k - Australian RedBook value (www.redbook.com.au - click through to the page with 'Private Price Guide', 'Trade In Price Guide' and 'Price When New' listed, then tell us the 'Private Price Guide' range) $25,000-$28,000 - Australian market value (http://www.carsales.com.au/all-cars/search.aspx - search for the closest matching vehicle) $29,000 - which Australian state/city Sydney

Halfway through my Australian Financial advisor licence and now have to almost entirely re-learn 25% of the course. Quite annoying! I'll watch this video on a loop for the next few weeks until it sinks in.

90% chance it'll be Sydney. Wife is from Canberra so it's close enough to them without having them under our feet. Canberra get's a bad image projected of it but it's pretty nice, however I don't think we're quite ready to move there yet. Without an AFL, Football team or Test Ground, I'd get bored. Outside chance of Melbourne if my Wife gets offered a dream role within her company, Bupa, who's biggest office is there. Hopefully November time for the move, can now look for some flight options.

Just got through my grant of a 309. Timeline roughly as follows: Jan 3rd 2017: Sent application forms with everything but Health checks + Police Records February 2017: did Health assessments and submitted. April 4th 2017: Recieved first communication from Case officer asking for Police checks and my Wife hadn't uploaded her sponser form. Given 28 days to do so. May 8th 2017: Granted. All pretty straightforward I think although the lack of interaction is frustrating, best course is just to relax and let go through the motions. Very pleased.

If its a final salary scheme from a previous job, then you don't have to claim it at nominated retirement date. It will escalate in line with scheme rules until you decide to take it. You'd have to pay Aus tax on it as outlined above. You can buy voluntary NI contributions whenenver you want and back date up to six years. Not sure that'd have any implication on the Aus tax. The UK state pension would not escalate from when you do qualify for it which may be a consideration and you should see how this affects your entitlement to an Aus State Pension. If you don't need the income you may wish to see if they'll offer you a transfer lumpsum value instead, which you could then just draw as you wished but you should get proper advice on that option.