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!