winter1

Health insurance is not the panacea. A friend of ours had an operation last year on a crushed nerve in her neck which involved fusing the vertebrae. All fine entered hospital as private patient had op all well. However after the op was informed by the doctor the procedure was changed slightly whilst she was undergoing surgery due to the medical condition. This resulted in the Health insurance company saying it was not a change that was in their list of procedures and she now faces a bill of $24000. She had previously checked and was informed the procedure she was due to have was covered and been told it was but the change whilst on the operating table caused the disparity. If she had gone to a public hospital with no insurance the op would have gone ahead with no extra cost. Health insurance is not for everyone and many take it out just to reduce the extra medicare charge once your salary goes over the limit.

I would recommend when you arrive you could transfer to a credit union there are some that are based on the industry or profession you are in similar to the Bank Vic link attached or Victoria Teachers Mutual. These institutions use the major banks to facilitate transactions and ATM withdrawals (which are often charged for in Australia however these are waived for their members) . They generally offer better terms with no monthly fees. I also bank with ING as well however I am not sure any of these can be opened whilst still in the UK. The links below are only for illustration of the services they provide. https://www.ingdirect.com.au/ http://www.victeach.com.au/ http://bankvic.com.au/

I assume you are talking about the25% tax free lump sum from your pension. I also assume that you are in a scheme that allows you to take your pension at 55. You can take your lump sum in Australia however you will be taxed on any increase in value from the time you entered Australia or were granted permanent residency after you had entered Australia. If your PR visa was granted whilst in the UK then it is the date you arrived. It is always useful to find the value of the lump sum at the time you are first liable to be taxed in Australia. Also that that value is based on the AUD value on the day you arrived and the day you draw it. Some people in the last few years had a lower tax liability as the AUD was a lot higher in value on the day they drew it than when they first arrived.

GeoffL Is your 150%based on the fact you will have fewer qualifying years at the time you emigrate? I have not seen or heard any other legislation that states or implies this.

I am receipt of a Local government pension and it is not frozen. The local government scheme also make up a small portion of the state pension if are subject to a State Pension Age deduction If you inform your provider you are overseas in a frozen country (this was part of an older system when some percentage of the occupational pension increase were paid in your state pension and not in your occupational one).

Not if they said it would produce a net saving, fortunately most UK politicians don't rely on 3 word slogans. Also UK pensioners wouldn' t get nothing they already get the rises automatically. It is about equality with those who have paid the same contributions.

Thanks Gbye grey skies, Panic over! Phew Yes this is also my understanding. I received a pension forecast from the UK which also implied this. I would recommend those approaching retirement age apply to get a forecast, then you will know your starting point. https://www.gov.uk/check-state-pension

As stated in the Debate in Parliament many people who would like to return to their country of origin from the UK when they retire are not doing so because their pensions will be frozen. If many from the Caribbean and the Indian subcontinent retired back to their original homes it would save the UK around £4000 net per person a year. We have paid for this pension through our National Insurance over many years some as many as 44 years (although the qualifying period for a full pension is now 35 years). People retiring to Australia to be with their children and grandchildren are also very badly treated under this they can get no pension from Australia yet the UK government stops and annual increase as soon as they leave the UK. It is just not fair.

Not sure what the implications would be in the hopefully unlikely event of Trump becoming President, World's gone mad!

Agree with the bookmakers as a barometer they usually get it right currently one is giving "Remain 4/11" and "Leave 2/1". Pollsters reckon phone polls are more accurate than online ones. The phone ones are consistently ahead for the "Remain camp" but it is still a long way to June 23rd. There could be wild swings if one side or the other can land a significant blow.

Mark Carney Governor of the Bank of England was asked by a select committee in the UK Parliament his view and he answered that it was the BoE view that being in Europe had been good for the UK. He did have to qualify later and say that Brexit may be good or bad for the UK as he had to due to him having to walk a fine tightrope to remain neutral in the vote. My take is that if we were to leave the EU Scotland would leave the UK more uncertainty and the likelihood would be perpetual Conservative governments in England and Wales. You often hear Conservatives spouting we have to control our own issues but only 13% of laws come from Brussels and even those are voted in with Conservative MEPs no rules contrary to the popular belief are introduce by unelected officials they only enforce the rules that are. The working time directive is often quoted but this provides important safeguards for workers. If there is a Brexit I can see the mother of all "Work Choices" being imposed on those remaining in the UK. So I see a long period of a low Pound.

Regardless of any import Duty surely if the Pound was devalued as is likely on Brexit, then it would cost more to bye goods from the EU and elsewhere than it currently does. So as Pommy rightly says prices would go up.

Hi, What I meant was suppose you moved back to the UK for a few years without drawing your Super as you were below 60. You then returned to Australia as a tax resident over the age of 60. You then withdraw a lump sum from your super maybe only a portion or maybe the full balance. Circumstances then force you back to the UK after 2 or three years. would the UK be able to claim an amount of tax on the super lump sum you withdraw whilst in Australia. Hypothetical at the moment but due to complicated family circumstances not out of the realms of possibility (both my wife and I have elderly parents in need of support one is in Australia one is in the UK). would it be better to just draw the super in the UK and pay the tax on 90%.

In most cases NO, it is treated as capital once it has been removed from Super in Australia but it has to be done before you return to the UK and transferred when you move all your other assets over. If you wanted security of an income from this then you could set some of the sum aside to buy a "PURCHASED life annuity" when you get back to the UK. This is where only any capital gains or interest earnings are taxed but draw down of capital is tax free. for example you draw a monthly sum of £200, £180 might be deemed to be capital and £20 earnings therefore Tax is only taken on the £20. Annuity rates for these are generally higher than those of ones purchased from pension funds directly, and unlike pension annuities any remaining pot is passed on to your heirs. There may be differences if you have been away from the UK only a short time and have returned just to do this but I would also like to know the answer to this and the time limits involved.

Hi, My understanding as per The UK / Australia double tax treaty states at Article 17 (Pensions and annuities) that the determining factor of where a pension payable by one of the countries is taxed is the residence of the recipient. The HMRC rule on taxation is that 90% of the overseas pension received is taxable so for ever £100 you pay tax on £90, not a great concession when you have already paid tax going in. I have included several links which you can read the HMRC fourth paragraph refers. may take some further reading. Other links should be of interest. hope this helps. https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/employment-income-manual/eim74500 http://www.gerardassociates.co.uk/how-pension-taxed-overseas-double-taxation/ http://www.ftadviser.com/2015/07/21/pensions/personal-pensions/hmrc-rules-out-australian-pension-tax-exemption-dpZ5Fk3zBb4

It will increase annually in line with your previous grade until you retire, as did my Local Government scheme and will be index linked for life it may not be as pitiful as you think. You may get taxed on the tax free lump sum but only on the increase in this value from when you entered Australia. I assume as my pension the 14% is added from day 1. Add this to the fees that transfer companies charge and the 15% contributions tax on transfers over 6 months after entry( unless this is going to be waived due to the circumstances of the delay.) As Ken says it doesn't matter where in the World your money is, it is easily accessible.

Do you also lose the 14% employers contribution? Just another thing to take account of. I left my local government pension in the UK and it now pays out every month index linked for life with a widows pension as well. These schemes are sometimes best left where they are depending on your circumstances. However the new legislation or interpretation at least has put a block on it for now.

Also are you aware that any UK aged pension will be frozen so that you will no longer receive any annual increase from the date you arrive in Australia. Any UK private or work based pensions including NHS and Local Government Armed forces will continue to rise each year. Also as per parleycross make sure you don't shoot yourself in the foot re visa entering on a visitors visa before the grant of a parent visa, Immigration dept can be a stickler.

Just for interest. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-35343792

In light of the roller coaster on the stock markets at this time you may lose more in investment than you would in tax if you cashed them in and brought the money to OZ. If your are going to be a permanent resident then the value in Australian dollars on the day you move to Australia is the base cost of the investment not from when you originally invested in the UK. I hear a lot of people saying I don't want to pay tax but tax is only paid on a gain or a profit. I would rather pay tax at a percentage than take a loss. Also remember that if you were to change your mind and return to the UK they would then become tax free again in the UK. On the downside if you did leave permanently you may be deemed to dispose of the asset on the day you left Australia and may have to report a gain at that time. However if you timed any departure to coincide with the tax year you could still be under the tax threshold for that year.

Just heard Wesfarmers has bought out Home base in the UK and is going to rebrand it as Bunnings no escape now. Oops Ken beat me to it. Although I didn't know it was going to be called Bunnings.

Just note the the change in value for CGT purposes is in Australian Dollars. The rate in May 2014 was around 55p to the dollar now around 48p this would increase the gain over and above the UK pound rise in value. However I believe you may be able to claim the 6 year rule if the property was your main residence where no CGT is due. This will depend on your circumstances. You can only have 1 home that is exempt at any time but this can be by electing which one you want to be exempt. The rules need to be investigated and professional advice can help. Getting valuations at the time of immigration are a must for anyone coming to Australia. Also the UK changed the CGT exemption from 3years (effectively no tax as long as you were away from the UK longer than 5 years) to 18 months on a former home for UK non residents in April 2015 based on the value at April 2015.

Ain't that the truth. As does Australia to an even greater degree. The irony is Rupert is not that popular in the UK after phone hacking etc, but he still seems to be able to steer public opinion using the drip drip method in his press outlets. And cricket is only available on pay TV in the UK due to him. That is totally unAustralian.

Gbye grey sky, Yes definitely the uncertainty, but also the loss of younger workers from the EU who often work harder. Whilst some complain that they are taking their jobs many of these posts remain unfilled without the migrants. Possibility of older people being forced to return to the UK from retirement in Spain France etc if pensions get frozen. This will certainly tie up more of the NHS as their access to health care in EU countries may be restricted. Some of the larger Multinationals reducing their presence in the UK due to access to European markets being reduced or at least requiring more red tape. It may not cause these things to happen but if a referendum votes for an exit I can see a volatile market till at least the exit plans are shown to be viable. Departure from the EU is unlikely to be an overnight operation and I can see many political arguments going on. This also includes the possibility of Scotland voting for independence so they can stay in the EU. The SNP has already said this is a trigger for another vote on independence. We shall see but I can see the pound going either way, but I would be more inclined to think it would go south to start with. However I am not an expert so it is only an opinion. ,

This may seem off topic but gives reasons why the pound may not get any stronger against the AUD. Unfortunately I consider Brexit a real possibility, unless the real facts are explained to the UK population latest polls indicate it is too close to call. The right wing press like the Daily Mail, Express, and Rupert Murdoch's Sun and Times constantly drip feed negative comments about Europe. I see many benefits of Europe for ordinary people, for example when I worked in the UK in an On-Call role I would often get called out in the middle of the night after a full days work. I would have to work 2 to 4 hours get home at 5am and was expected to turn up at my normal workplace by 9am the same morning driving a company vehicle. The European working time directive put an end to that and insisted on a 10 hour break between these times. Also the Number of UK pensioners living in Europe may suffer the same fate as those that live in Australia that is their state pensions are frozen from when they first draw them. This could cause a great many to return to the UK many older people who would be entitled to NHS care putting a great strain on the system. Most European migrants to the UK are young and despite the rhetoric are not the drain that the aforementioned press constantly rail against. Australia maintains a certain amount of growth from immigration. With the possibility of a September 2016 vote now being contemplated by pundits. Brits are often told we want to rule ourselves not Brussels, however it is the elite Eton types who would be in power. I think that I prefer the social democratic slant from Europe. Nothing is ideal but it is not just about straight bananas and the refugees would still be trying to cross borders regardless. So nobody should count their chickens re exchange rates, things can and do change quickly either way.