too old to move?

[john newall]

iam 58 yrs old my wife is5 years younger.my son ,who is 27 is seriously considering moviing to sydney.he is single and actually stays with us.so we are delighted for him.my daughter and partner are also considering amove as well,they have 2 lovely daughters.of course being our grandchildren we would miss them terribly.
i work with royalmail(36years)and receive my final salary pension at 60,but can still work on till65.we would love to move with them and would probably have250.000 pounds after sale of our house plus my lump sum pension,but would love to work if we moved to oz;has anyone been in similar situation?

[andromeda9]

iam 58 yrs old my wife is5 years younger.my son ,who is 27 is seriously considering moviing to sydney.he is single and actually stays with us.so we are delighted for him.my daughter and partner are also considering amove as well,they have 2 lovely daughters.of course being our grandchildren we would miss them terribly.
i work with royalmail(36years)and receive my final salary pension at 60,but can still work on till65.we would love to move with them and would probably have250.000 pounds after sale of our house plus my lump sum pension,but would love to work if we moved to oz;has anyone been in similar situation?

hello John,if you think you are to old to move,then maybe you are haha only joking,we left the uk three years ago my husband was then 67 I were an Autumn hen lol of 62,we followed are son and grandaughter,,but the main reason was it was where we had spent lots of time over the years adding up to just over two years total and loved it,my other son only yesterday had his visa (115 last remaining relative) sent out to him from London,will be kissing it to day,
we will all be living in different parts of Australia,we have a car,recently bought a transit van my husband has fitted it into a camper(hes a joiner by trade)its brilliant just take of and go anywhere,the camp sites are so good,also the free roadside is not to bad lol we have a lovely house in the bush(country) used to think bush was the outback,
the house is our base the road is our home,now going on 21 and 26,come on down join us dare you

[john newall]

thanks for your reply andromeda9
i was mainly concerned regarding income i have
my monthly pension is only 800 pounds per month,and i read that oap would be frozen
although we would have some capital behind us,that wouldnt last too long.

[jumbo66]

Hi John

I wish you well on your journey, your'e never too old !!!!

[Guest31881]

thanks for your reply andromeda9
i was mainly concerned regarding income i have
my monthly pension is only 800 pounds per month,and i read that oap would be frozen
although we would have some capital behind us,that wouldnt last too long.

Hi,

The state pension you would get from the UK is frozen from the time you get it, so it will not increase, However there is a court case currently going through the European courts to overturn this and get the pension index linked a it is in the UK. A decision is due around March this year.

There is a site that is following the case if you want to take a look at it.

British Pensions in Australia

This site is for anyone who is interested in claiming a UK pension in Australia.

[john newall]

thanks for info folks ,you have a beautiful home,
i think its time we moved to oz

[Gollywobbler]

Hi John

Welcome to Poms in Oz.

Are your son and daughter the only children that you and your wife have between you? No children from earlier or later relationships anywhere?

The first thing to discover is whether you and your wife will qualify for Parent migration to Oz in due course, which depends in turn on the Balance of Family Test -which is central to Parent migration:

Family - Visas & Immigration

Parent Migration Booklet

If you are eligible for Parent migration then you are never "too old" to migrate. My mother was 85 when her Contributory Parent subclass 143 visa was granted in 2006 but she is not the oldest by any means. The Panel Doctor who did Mum's visa medicals said that his own oldest Contributory Parent had been a British gentleman aged 92. I know too of an old lady from Devon who was 97 when her CPV was granted in 2005.

i work with royalmail(36years)and receive my final salary pension at 60,but can still work on till65.

http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/members/austibeach.html

Austibeach above also works with the Royal Mail. He and his wife were able to apply for Contributory Parent 143 visas in November 2008. It will probably be at least another 6 months until they are finalised and I believe that Austibeach is in his 60s so he is older than you. He is a very nice man who has investigated getting a Royal Mail pension etc transferred. Hit "contact me" and send him a Private Message, I suggest.

Colin (Srp) has mentioned that we are all waiting to hear the outcome of the litigation about British State Pensions being paid to British Pensioners who live outside the EU and/or in countries which do not have reciprocal Social Security agreementa with Australia. The UK does not have such an Agreement but a large number of British Pensioners are believed to be living in Oz including my Mum.

In October 2008 the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the British Govt must index-link the Pensions paid to British Pensioners in the EU and in countries that have reciprocal Social Security agreements with the UK.

Tim Otty QC went to the Grand Chamber of the ECHR in September 2009. The written judgement is expected in March or April 2010 and will be headline news in the UK regardless of which way it goes. The Grand Chamber is the equivalent of the House of Lords in the ECHR. Tim Otty has argued that the ECHR misdirected itself in October 2008. Apparently the EU legislation does give the EU rights to rule over what happens in places like Australia as well.

If Mr Otty is right then the Grand Chamber must rule in favour of all the British Pensioners, not just some of them. There were 17 Judges in the GC so I assume that they accept a majority ruling by their number but I don't know how it works for sure. Apparently Tim Otty QC is the bees knees for Human Rights Law in the EU so I'm keeping everything crossed that he will win.

my son ,who is 27 is seriously considering moviing to sydney

On what basis does your son intend to move to Sydney? Will he be a Permanent Resident in Australia on the day when he gets there? I ask the same question about your daughter as well, please? Also, whereabouts in Oz is your daughter thinking of moving to?

http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/members/lanky-lad.html

Lanky Lad and his wife moved to NSW in 2008 on the basis that they are Parents. LL's child lives in downtown Sydney. Not only is that very expensive, LL and his wife wanted more space. They have settled just up the coast somewhere, about 90 minutes drive from central Sydney I think.

It is a good arrangement because they can doss down in their daughter's apartment if they need to go to Sydney for anything. She now has a weekend pad in the country to stay in at weekends etc as well. PM him as well, I suggest, to learn more.

but would love to work if we moved to oz;

Parents have unrestricted work rights in Oz once their Parent visas are granted. That is not a problem at all and I know lots of British Parents who are now doing lots of different things out in Oz.

At the moment the issues for you to focus on are:

1. Will you be OK on the Balance of Family Test?

2. If yes, what visas do your son and daughter intend to get for Oz and how long will those take to be granted?

I wouldn't worry too much about the money. Badger Brock had very little money so she opted for the old fashioned, slow but very cheap Parent 103 visa. I don't know whether the caravan park that she described was in or near Nepean Shores but I suspect that it was:

http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/new-so...nrith-nsw.html

Retirement Villages are a really good idea and are springing up all over the place. Because the climate is good in Australia the elderly can be outside far more than in the UK. BB was determined to take her dog to Oz with her and the dog made the journey OK. Since she is on the Parent 103 visa, the Assurance of Support falls away after two years. By around now she should be able to go to Centrelink:

Centrelink - Giving you options

The Aussie Age Pension does not kick in til 10 years after migration but if BB is short of money she can probably claim Special Benefit in the meantime. She will also be able to get a Commonwealth Seniors Health Card which is useful for several things besides the cost of drugs:

Commonwealth Seniors Health Card

Mum is on a Contributory Parent visa. The Assurance of Support lasts for 10 years with those. She now has a CSH Card, which has reduced her otherwise large drugs bill enormously. She was also able to get a Seniors Card as soon as she arrived in Perth, WA, as a Permanent Resident in 2006.

Welcome to Seniors Card

I also know some other British Parents who are now in their 70s. Both of their childen live in Adelaide. They did not get as much as you expect for their house and they had shares in Northern Rock, which are practically worthless now I should think. Nonetheless, they sold up in the UK in October 2009 and they have now applied for Aged Parent visas:

Cheap Parent Visas Part I - Poms In Adelaide

To get a home of their own in Adelaide, the plan is that the Parents will put up the deposit only. The daughters will actually buy the house because there is some sort of tax wheeze in Oz which makes it intelligent for the children to buy the property as a second, rental home for the children. I don't know how the tax wheeze works but I know a CPV couple in Perth who now rent a house that belongs to their daughter. From the children's point of view, their Parents are the ideal tenants. From the Parents point of view it is unlikely that their children will chuck them out etc.

If the Balance of Family Test is met, people with a reason to be clever are clever, in my experience.

Cheers

Gill

[andromeda9]

many thanks Gill,we didn't Know we could have a senior card,now downloaded the forms to sent off,all that info you have provided is unreal
cheer Lynda

[john newall]

dear gollywobler,love that name.my son and daughter,ands her wee ones are all the family we have,as well as our daughters partner,my son is in the print trade,my daughters is a swimming development officer,also teaches swimming.our daughters partneris in the building trade,and is aforeman.the way they are talking the move would be permanent,but they would be looking at seperate accomodation,as my wife and i would .you need your own space. my wifes relation has just moved to brisbane so we will be picking her brain for ideas,

[Gollywobbler]

many thanks Gill,we didn't Know we could have a senior card,now downloaded the forms to sent off,all that info you have provided is unreal
cheer Lynda

Hi Lynda

Seniors Card is worth getting and the people who run Seniors Card in QLD have the right idea! They say to brandish the cards on every occasion because even suppliers who do not normally participate in the Seniors Card scheme find it very hard to refuse a discount to someone waving a Seniors Card. I am sure that QLD are right about this.

we will all be living in different parts of Australia,we have a car,recently bought a transit van my husband has fitted it into a camper(hes a joiner by trade)its brilliant just take of and go anywhere,the camp sites are so good,also the free roadside is not to bad lol we have a lovely house in the bush(country) used to think bush was the outback,
the house is our base the road is our home,now going on 21 and 26,come on down join us dare you

Har! You have become Grey Nomads! That is the Strine technical term apparently!

Cheers

Gill