Geebs1963

Hi Marisa, Thanks for the advice and yes, info coming from a professional on getting the pension across into a SMDF is "tax efficient". Of course I could leave it in the UK and transfer monies "piecemeal" so to speak but you're at the vagaries of the money markets at that point which makes financial planning on a monthly basis tricky! We're looking to transfer everything in a few years from now when actually retired so we won't have any other income - the costs of SMSF are an issue along with shutting it down etc but they, surely, can't be higher than the tax if I bring the pension across as a lump sum and ATO have a field day at 40%?

That is my intention - my wife is closer to retirement so the question relates to her also. I prefer to have the money within Australia if I can do it somehow without getting taxed to pieces!

So, I was born in 1963, and intend retiring in 2028 and was informed the most tax efficient way of bringing the money/pension across was to put it into a SMSF (the $330k pay forward discussion elsewhere) but they seem “difficult”. You seem to be saying I could remove the monies from the SMSf “the next day” after setting it up without a tax penalty?

So, the obvious question, is what is the preservation age? My intention was to do this at age 65 and retired ie no other earnings?

If transferring a UK pension to a self managed fund in Oz how long before you could, theoretically, remove the full amount from the SMSF? SMSF scare me due to the admin so I'd prefer to "cash out" and buy an investment property and rely on the rent to supplement my existing Australian Super fund?

Hi All, My question is related to this topic so, hopefully, someone can help! I was awarded permanent residency (186 visa) on 18/12/13 but waited until December 2018 to apply for Citizenship. I renewed my residency visa for another 5 years as I frequently travel internationally for business (I sell catalysts to oil refineries all over the world) which is one of the reasons I waited so long to apply for citizenship (my wife and daughter became citizens in July 2016) as I needed, I thought, be present within Australia for a total of 4 years (which due to travel took me best part of 7 years to achieve) I have, finally, received an "request for more information" from the Citizenship Officer in Brisbane (where i live) but it doesn't look like good news as it is clear I spent 422 days overseas during the 4 year period up to applying for citizenship which appears to fail the residency rules! Now, CoVid19 dependent, that situation isn't going to change much in the future with, if anything, more travelling likely once international travel is allowed again! The email suggests I might be able to apply for a "variation to the residence requirement" but this only seems to cover sea/airline captains, Australian sports teams and some academics non of which I am?? I have committed myself to this country (own a home, have a super account, pay my taxes etc) and wanted to become a citizen like my family but it seems Australia doesn't want me because my job takes me in and out of the country frequently? Surely in this day and age the powers that be must appreciate there are people out there like me who travel overseas as part of their job? Any help appreciated! Cheers Gary

Thanks all - I'll give HMRC a call tonight and see what info I can gather!

That was sort of my question - what the letter says is "To get the new State Pension you will need at least 10 qualifying years on your NI contribution record when you reach State Pension age" This seems to suggest that if I pay the extra year I'll get the full pension (whatever that is) but I didn't want to throw money at HMRC if I'm not going to get anything in return???

I asked the nice people at HMRC about this and they kindly sent me a letter stating I have 29 years of NI contributions, however, as of 6th April 2016 I "only" need 10 years of contributions as I won't reach pensionable age until after 6th April 2016. They don't expand upon what level of pension I will receive or whether it is worth me paying the extra year to hit the 30 years prior to the 6th April deadline? Does anyone know whether paying the Class 2 contributions for a year is worth me doing??? Apologies if I've missed something on another thread!

Australian is food is wonderful but sometimes you miss a bit of what you've grown up with! Being from NE England, where it rains 364 days of the year, I was a habitual salad dodger but over in Brisbane once you've fired the barbie up nothings better with some steak than fresh salad. I've also discovered the joy that is "Beer Chicken" whereby you shove a half emptied beer can up a chickens posterior then BBQ it for about 30-40 minutes - absolute bliss!

Similar to other posts earlier I'm fortunate in that I get to travel in/out of Oz as part of my job so can bring things in with me - as long as you declare on your immigration card that you've got something in your bags you'll be fine. They'll ask you what you've got and 99 times from 100 they'll simply wave you through. What they are after is any raw meat/sausage (if your on an Eastern European flight) or things like herbal teas (especially if you're travelling in from China as I often do) as these type of things can bring in harmful bugs. Anything that is pre-packed (like chocolate or chutney!) is fine and even if they ask you to open your bag they'll take a quick look and wave you on your way. Don't be tempted to try to bring anything in without marking it on your card (I really can't stress that enough!) as they frequently have sniffer dogs and random bag checks so at the very least you'll lose whatever it was you tried to bring in, worse you can be fined quite heavily and, heaven forbid, get yourself a criminal record which, if your coming in on a 457 visa, means you can kiss permanent residency goodbye! My kids love Galaxy/Thorntons chocolate from the UK - you can get Galaxy over here but it really doesn't taste the same. The one big taste disappointment for me was Aussie bacon as it's partly smoked before packaging and it really doesn't taste like British/Danish bacon - after being here for 2 years Coles started to offer "British" style bacon and it's heaven! (though you have to be quick when you spot it as the Brits are all over it as soon as they put in othe shelves!)

We moved from Sydney to Brisbane using "You Pack Removals" and they were a disaster! The idea is simple in that they deliver a container to your current house, you pack it over a few days, they pick it up then put it on a train overnight. I drove up the day before whilst my wife waved off our container. I arrived at our new rental to take delivery and at this point things started to go wrong! Container failed to arrive and they claimed they'd already tried to deliver it but couldn't as they couldn't drop it on the property driveway and wouldn't drop it on the road outside (need a permit apparently!) What followed was a series of increasingly frustrating phone calls resulting in me having to hire a van and have them drop our container at an Industrial estate near the railway station! I then took approx 8 trips back and forth in a van to get everything to my new house in MacGregor. Any and all complaints were ignored/refuted and I was left with a large bill and a strained back! Whatever you do use a company registered with the removals federation and get them to pick-up/deliver as part of their responsibility - don't try to do it yourself as if anything goes wrong you are well and truly on your own!