UK Pension transfer

Hi Is there any Australian Super's available that I can transfer my 'private' pensions into?

Is the UK Tax man just so afraid he won't get his pound of flesh?

Johnny

There's a few recognised schemes you can but i'd seek professional advice whether it's suitable.

Personally, I'm planning on leaving my UK pensions where they are when I move over to Aus as I'm 20+ years until needing them and so much could change to pension taxation before then. Obviously the closer you are to drawing benefits, the easier it is to make the decision on which is the best country to have them.

Hi Is there any Australian Super's available that I can transfer my 'private' pensions into?

Is the UK Tax man just so afraid he won't get his pound of flesh?

 

Johnny

Hi Johnny

How old are you?

It's not the UK tax man stopping it as such, he is willing to let it be transferred so long as the accepting scheme meets similar rules to the UK scheme particularly around age of access. In this case it's the Australian Superannuation rules stopping it.

There are Australian over age 55 solutions available to the public and there are Australian under age 55 solutions available to certain government workers.

I am also in the midst of looking at an all age solution for Australian residents which could be the missing piece although I am going through the due diligence process and seeking tax advice on the solution to ensure we are fully aware of all implications.

I'll post as soon as I feel satisfied............watch this space.

Regards

Andy

Hi Andy I'm 49 (50 in April)

I don't understand why HMRC can dictate to people who are going to be in most cases citizens of another country were their pension goes.

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Hi Andy I'm 49 (50 in April)

I don't understand why HMRC can dictate to people who are going to be in most cases citizens of another country were their pension goes.

 

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

The reason behind it is that the monies in your UK pension have received UK tax relief from HMRC SO they want to ensure that you use the pension for the purposes of retirement which is why the tax relief has been given.

You could consider transferring to a non QROPS (theoretically it's possible how realistically your pension provider would not allow it to protect you) but in this case HMRC would tax you on the basis that they are taking back the tax relief they gave as the scheme you are transferring to may allow access before retirement (which in Australia's case is the issue and reason they essentially lost QROPS status).

They are more than happy to allow a transfer if it goes to a scheme that does not offer access before retirement and that scheme is a QROPS without taxing you.

P.S HMRC's reasoning not necessarily mine

Hi Andy,

i have a small UK pension fund that i accrued over the last 4 years and also an Australian Super Fund , i am over 55 and will be moving back to OZ soon. is it easy to transfer the UK fund to OZ?

If a transfer would not be possible i thought of cashing in the fund before leaving, but i think i am only allowed 25% tax free . if i would only take 25% and then draw the rest over time, will i need to tax the remaining amount in the UK or will i have to tax the amount in OZ.

Many Thanks

RandL

Sorry if this shows up as a double post , i could only see my previous message in my profile but not in the actual forum thread ??

Hi Andy,

i have a small UK pension fund that i accrued over the last 4 years and also an Australian Super Fund , i am over 55 and will be moving back to OZ soon. is it easy to transfer the UK fund to OZ?

If a transfer would not be possible i thought of cashing in the fund before leaving, but i think i am only allowed 25% tax free . if i would only take 25% and then draw the rest over time, will i need to tax the remaining amount in the UK or will i have to tax the amount in OZ.

Many Thanks

RandL

Sorry if this shows up as a double post , i could only see my previous message in my profile but not in the actual forum thread ??

 

Hi Andy,

i have a small UK pension fund that i accrued over the last 4 years and also an Australian Super Fund , i am over 55 and will be moving back to OZ soon. is it easy to transfer the UK fund to OZ?

 

If a transfer would not be possible i thought of cashing in the fund before leaving, but i think i am only allowed 25% tax free . if i would only take 25% and then draw the rest over time, will i need to tax the remaining amount in the UK or will i have to tax the amount in OZ.

 

Many Thanks

 

RandL

Hello

Sorry for the delay, I'll reply tomorrow, I've got family over from the UK at the moment so have not been in the office much lately

Hi Andy,

no rush, enjoy your time with your visitors.

Morning Andy,

I have a UK military pension that is below the UK tax threshold. It is not entering Australia in way, shape or form. Should I be paying tax on it here?

Morning Andy,

 

I have a UK military pension that is below the UK tax threshold. It is not entering Australia in way, shape or form. Should I be paying tax on it here?

If you are PR then yes. It is worldwide earnings you are taxed on whether or not you transfer them to your country of residence.

Sorry if this shows up as a double post , i could only see my previous message in my profile but not in the actual forum thread ??

 

Hi Andy,

i have a small UK pension fund that i accrued over the last 4 years and also an Australian Super Fund , i am over 55 and will be moving back to OZ soon. is it easy to transfer the UK fund to OZ?

 

If a transfer would not be possible i thought of cashing in the fund before leaving, but i think i am only allowed 25% tax free . if i would only take 25% and then draw the rest over time, will i need to tax the remaining amount in the UK or will i have to tax the amount in OZ.

 

Many Thanks

 

RandL

Hello

Again apologies for the delay.

Regards your second question if someone is a permanent resident then typically pension income from the UK should be taxed in Australia with the UK paying it gross, however note that lump sums are treated differently to income from an Australian perspective.

However you asked about a transfer to Australia and if it was easy....a transfer to Australia can be done for over 55s now but a fair bit of analysis will be required to see if it is right for you.....if it is only a small pot it could be just as beneficial leaving it in the UK depending on what you wish to do with it/when you wish to withdraw it and how.

Also if transferring to an Australian QROPS new rules may or may not (again depending on your plans for taking benefits and amounts withdrawn) have an impact on you: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/qualifying-recognised-overseas-pension-schemes-charge-on-transfers/qualifying-recognised-overseas-pension-schemes-charge-on-transfers

Particularly:

• Payments out of funds transferred to a QROPS on or after 6 April 2017 will be subject to UK tax rules for five tax years after the date of transfer, regardless of where the individual is resident

   

These announcement are still very fresh and there are areas that seem to be unclear in relation to the workings and finer points.

Regards

Andy

Morning Andy,

 

I have a UK military pension that is below the UK tax threshold. It is not entering Australia in way, shape or form. Should I be paying tax on it here?

What is your visa status in Australia please?

Best regards.

Hi Alan,

Currently i have permanent residency

Hi Alan,

 

 

Currently i have permanent residency

Thanks.

Answer #11 applies then - taxable in Australia.

No tax should be withheld in the UK, under the provisions of the UK-Australia Tax Treaty.

There is a form to be completed and sent to the ATO for stamping and forwarding onto HM Revenue; once processed a NT (No Tax) PAYE Coding should be issued to the administrators of the UK pension.

Best regards.

Hi Andy,

Just wondering if you know of specific super funds in Oz which are QROPS compliant?

Many thanks,

Cressy

Hello Cressy

I know which funds are on the ROPS list https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/list-of-qualifying-recognised-overseas-pension-schemes-qrops/list-of-recognised-overseas-pension-schemes-notifications#australia however this is not as simple as it seems as most of these are Self-Managed Super Funds with a few government schemes and one public offer scheme.

The all important question Cressy is probably how old you are in the first instance as if you are under age 55 it is very unlikely you will be able to transfer a UK pension to Australia anyway.

Regards Andy

Hi sorry for jumping on this thread somewhat,

I have recently found out that whilst serving in the military in the UK the National Insurance contributions were category D not A and s such state pension contributions are lower then expected under the presumption the military pension will fill the gap. Now my issue is regarding the freezing of pensions when we migrate. It states the reduced entitlement I have due to these reduced contributions will also be frozen from when we migrate. How do HMRC know to freeze the pension and is this the same for private pensions etc. There appears no point in making top up contributions if the pension pot will not grow over the next 33 years until i can draw on it in 2050.

Any advice or help on understanding this would be appreciated.

13 minutes ago, stevej said:

Hi sorry for jumping on this thread somewhat,

I have recently found out that whilst serving in the military in the UK the National Insurance contributions were category D not A and s such state pension contributions are lower then expected under the presumption the military pension will fill the gap. Now my issue is regarding the freezing of pensions when we migrate. It states the reduced entitlement I have due to these reduced contributions will also be frozen from when we migrate. How do HMRC know to freeze the pension and is this the same for private pensions etc. There appears no point in making top up contributions if the pension pot will not grow over the next 33 years until i can draw on it in 2050.

Any advice or help on understanding this would be appreciated.

As things stand your state pension will be frozen - as is mine (I am Cat D also as a former civil servant).  HMRC know because you tell them you are resident in Australia.  Your employer pension which I assume is index-linked like mine is not frozen, only your state pension.

You can top up NI contributions at any time so I would not recommend doing it now anyway.  It will be hard to predict where you might be living in 2050 anyway - a lot can happen in 33 years.

Isn't it only state pensions in payment that are frozen?

So if you've got 20 years till state retirement age you'll still be able to take out the state pension at 2037 values rather than 2017. It just won't escalate from there on.

I'm planning on making voluntary NI contributions after I make the move to continue to build up my years of entitlement.
Hedging my bets a little really but it's pretty cheap (about £15 per month) and then if I were to return to the UK in the future I'm in a better position to be close to full pension from 35 years of working.

Not fully looked into it just yet though.