winter1

Very Sorry to hear this Sad News.

If anyone tells you "it will be better on x date" then they are deluded. It is just a question of when you feel it is right for you. You may win or you may lose. Just remember if you have moved to Australia on a PR visa you are liable to tax on the difference in the rate from the day you arrived in Aus as a capital gain.Also just heard the UK growth rate has stagnated again and improvement not expected till 2017 now. There are some exemptions but it is different in every case.

Hi, If the debt is greater than £600 then you could follow this link it gives access to high court sheriffs who have a good record of retrieving debts as opposed to bailiffs. http://thesheriffsoffice.com/services/money_claim_online. Also from their website " [h=4]Can I still use Money Claim Online if I live abroad?[/h] If you live abroad you will still be required to provide a UK address to be able to use Money Claim Online. If you live abroad you are able to provide service address in order to fulfill this requirement, however." There are costs of 75 pounds + 60 to get the sheriffs to collect the money. Having been a landlord of a UK property living in Oz I know how frustrating it is when you get bad tenants. Sometimes the threat of High court action is enough to get them to pay up. Although you say it is with the TDS tenants deposit scheme surely this is regulated and held by the managing agent if you have one. So good luck whatever you decide.

I had a couple of endowment policies and was able to carry them on to maturity. There is however the chance that any payment on maturity is taxable in Oz as opposed to tax free in the UK. There is a limit below which no tax is liable I think it was around $50000 when mine paid out. The life insurance part is probably worth hanging on to. The ATO website has more info and examples.

It is not that easy to get into the British armed forces these days!

I agree this is a regressive move taxing backpackers for every dollar at 32.5% but it always was 32.5% they have just removed the $18000+ tax free threshold that backpackers used to get. This also comes after Four Corners did an investigation into slave labour conditions meted out to backpackers. Some farmers don't deserve to get staff. My own son got treated abysmally in Queensland being asked to pay a ridiculous amount for a bunk and getting no work for days due to weather conditions. Whilst weather is not the farmers fault they would not take them back to a town miles away so they could go elsewhere, despite the farmer taking an empty minibus to town to pick up other workers without letting them know. Remember the vast distances between towns in some areas. The move has nothing to do with getting Aussies to do these jobs very few Aussies would take these jobs. see this link https://newmatilda.com/2015/05/05/four-corners-exposes-slave-labour-and-sexual-assault-farm-and-factory-workers

That's amazing you must have been a very independant young toddler. How did you get on alone?

It very much depends on the type of pension final salary ones in particular are not always viable to transfer. Also you say they aren't, in payment till July, is that this year? You may not have time before they are in payment. It is best to get proper financial advice Andrew from Vista is around on this forum and he has posted useful threads on this in the past. Also Remember any UK State pension will be frozen at the level when you first draw it in Aus. . F

One of the considerations will be health care. There is a lot of rhetoric going on at the moment in the UK about health tourists whilst it is not aimed specifically at ex-pats it includes them. You would be available to access free hospital care for an emergency, however it seems likely the NHS is going to be checking further and there is talk of people having to produce their passport and fill in a detailed questionnaire. The current rules state that you need to show that you have permanent residence of at least 6 months or you intend to stay longer than that before you can access anything other than emergency treatment. Many expats who have moved to Europe are also finding it difficult when returning to the UK. Having Global or specific Health insurance may be necessary. I know there will be some people who will say that they had no problem but it is a matter of chance with where you are living. here are a some links a couple may be a bit outdated but research is essential before you consider this. http://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/1087.aspx?CategoryID=68&SubCategoryID=162 http://britishexpats.com/articles/uk/expats-nhs/ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/expat-money/10834116/NHS-rejects-expats-returning-from-Spain.html

Yes your are correct I was basing this on after reaching preservation age. As mine was 55. The original poster I assume will be around 59 as per his details. I was cautioning about the fact that the UK tax authorities would consider any sum taken from a pension fund as pension income if you are already resident in the UK.

Unfotunately it is not as simple as that. If you are resident in the UK and withdraw your Australian super as a lump sum and transfer it to the UK you will still be liable to UK tax on the lump sum as it would be considered to be Pension income. If it is a substantial amount then it could attract tax at 45%. No allowance will be made for the contributions tax or even if you have made after tax contributions. The only concession is that only 90% of it will be taxed. If you draw it as an income in the UK you will get your tax free threshold and again taxed on 90% of it. If however you withdraw it before you leave Australia and put it in a bank account then you can transfer it as capital. The tax on a lump sum in Australia prior your 60th birthday will take into account after tax contributions and the rest is usually taxed at a lesser rate but again this depends on the amount. Your super fund will be able to tell you your rough liability. If you were to transfer it as you initially indicated a large sum might attract a please explain where it came from from HMRC which the banks are liable to communicate to HMRC. There may also be capital gains liabilities depending on the exchange rate difference based on when you became resident in the UK and when you transfer the money.

Your first problem is the Visa for your wife I have heard stories of Australian husbands and wives being refused entry other than a visitor visa for six months. Your UK born husband or wife has to earn a miinimum of £18600 pa in the UK under income rules. Or as Marisawright says a lump sum of £62000 plus see this link http://www.marriagevisahelp.com/uk-home-office-minister-admits-that-income-threshold-rule-is-unfair/ I also agree with Marisawright on qualification for drawing the Australian pension in the UK. It used to be a lot simpler for the visa but the new rules have been brought in due to the fears of mass migration probably fuelled by the inflow of EU citizens the rules bizarrely do not affect EU citizens. Gbye grey sky is also right in saying heating costs can be high however if you look for an energy efficient home your costs can be greatly reduced. My sister lives in a very comfortable well insulated modern home with annual energy running costs of £700 pa combined for gas and electric . She never scrimps on the heater. All UK homes have to have an energy performance certificate when sold. Do not be put off if it is what you want, Good Luck

I agree with what Marisa has said above, that is the position as I understand it after calling HMRC several times. The only concession that is given is that you are taxed on 90% of a regular pension payment I mentioned the other reliefs that are implied in sa 106 but was told this did not apply as it would be an income stream( I was hoping when I posed the original question that someone else had tested this). However as I am not in the position yet I haven't had to file a tax return to test it. So the option of a purchased life annuity is a possibilty this is also mentioned in the first link as it is regarded as capital and only the interest is taxed. It may be possible to buy one in Australia with higher yields. However as I stated before the exchange rate could vary the payment far more than tax or interest. Therefore bringing it to the UK as a lump sum could actually protect the value of capital if the AUD were to drop even further. https://online.hmrc.gov.uk/information/help?helpcategory=selfAssessmentFiling1011&affinitygroup=&helpid=PensionsAndOtherBenefits https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/self-assessment-foreign-sa106

Just to clarify I was advised by my super fund that starting an income stream before the 1st Jan this year would not save me from new rules to include it in the aged pension Deeming calculations as you already have to have been old enough to receive the aged pension before the 1st of January. Unless you know different, if so I would be making representation to my fund for incorrect advice.

Hi fizzybangs, It is not for everyone, but is an option to protect a capital amount. I agree the returns in an Australian super fund are superior strictly on a dollar basis but you also have to take into account exchange rates. For example my Aus super has risen in dollar terms but has gone down by around 17% in pound terms since mid 2012 despite adding 20% in dollars in the same time. It is now worth a lot less now than in mid 2012 in pounds. However if the AUD recovers it will be worth more. Also the Deeming rules would make no difference if you reached aged pension after this date regardless of when you started drawing a super stream.

I contacted the DWP by phone and can confirm that I was told that as per current regulations that any time in Australia prior to 28th February 2001 can be counted towards a UK pension and each year increases the amount payable. However the lady could not tell me how many years of UK work years were required for this to kick in. I was told to ring Revenue and Customs as this was under their remit. I will try and do this with my wife very soon as I cannot make an enquiry on her behalf. I was also informed that they expected that arrangement to continue however as the "New pension" which comes in after 2016 has not yet been passed totally by parliament this could change. The other thing that is of note from the "New Pension" is their is no spouse pension all pensions from April 2016 will depend on the individuals NI record taking no account of a spouses contribution.

I have just found this on another forum which gives a clue that the years in Australia may well count towards your payment of UK age pension. http://www.expatforum.com/expats/france-expat-forum-expats-living-france/125698-uk-state-pension-not-fully-payable-france.html

I agree it is a bummer if this is indeed the outcome. However I am not sure if the rules for Australia are different with the now defunct agreement. When we asked for a forecast for my wife from the DWP they said this was not possible till she reached age pension age as she had only worked in the UK for 1 year. I got my forecast as I had nearly 30 from age 16 (despite having paid NI since 14 from a part time job). My wife was led to believe that Australian work years prior to 2001 would add to the pension amount. It is very difficult to find a defintive answer.

Hi Bill, I think that Marisawright has answered this quite well the official site of the Director of Work and pensions shows the new rules. https://www.gov.uk/new-state-pension/living-and-working-overseas It indicates that a minimum of 10 years NI contributions are required but gives examples of people with only 7 years NI contributions made up allow the ten year entitlement with recipricol agreements. The caveat is that the pension is based on the seven years of NI. I had wrongly made the assumption that you had previosly worked in the UK. However if you are going soon and working you should be able to build up years. the full pension is now based on 35 years of contributions so on the current estimate of the new full pension of around £155 ten years would give around £44 a week.

Bill, Certainly agree with your sentiments re not doing it just for tax minimisation. The original question was to see if there was any concessions on the fact that tax had already been paid in Australia. Will you be entitled to a UK aged pension at age 65 or your pension age? if so this MAY add another potential £8000ish to the mix each. (remember that time worked in Australia up until July 2001 when the reciprical agreement ended. It could give you an entitlement to the non means tested pension if you have already had a number of years working and paying national insurance in the UK or maybe if you work in the UK till the day you retire. You only get the estimate for this when you reach retirement age. This could be a plus that will give a net gain on the whole deal. Good luck Winter

Andrew, Am I right in assuming that as I don't have to declare my Australian Super payments any amount of pension received from the UK being the only other income I receive would be subject to the $18000+ tax free allowance before any tax is deducted in Australia? This may also be a factor for people considering a transfer to a QROPS fund. Particularly defined benefit pensions.

Thanks Alan, I forgot it was only the increase since moving. A good reason to get proper advice.

Yes unfortunately this does sound about right. When you pay money into your Super as salary Sacrifice you have to pay a 15% contributions tax regardless of your Marginal rate. This will include amounts you transfer from the UK if you transfer more than six months after becoming a permanent resident. Normally when you work if you Salary Sacrifice for example $10,000 then the second and subsequent rates are increased by the $10,000 so the 19% rate cuts in after $28,001 a saving of 4% the 32.5% rate at $47,001 a saving of 17.5%. Sorry if I am teaching you to suck eggs just trying to keep it simple. Remember you will probably have already received UK Tax relief and when you reach 60 the income produced by this pension will be tax free (under current rules). See the current year tax rates below. This is another reason to consider very carefully before you transfer UK pensions to Oz. However the tax rates are for 2014/15 [TABLE] [TR] [TD]$0-$18,200 0%[/TD] [TD=width: 23][/TD] [TD=width: 43][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=width: 33]$18,201-$37,000[/TD] [TD=width: 23]19%[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=width: 33]$37,001-$80,000[/TD] [TD=width: 23]32.5%[/TD] [TD=width: 43][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=width: 33]80,001-$180,000[/TD] [TD=width: 23]37%[/TD] [TD=width: 43][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=width: 33]$180,0,001 and above[/TD] [TD=width: 23]47%*[/TD] [TD=width: 43][/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] [TABLE] [TR] [TD][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [/TR] [TR] [/TR] [TR] [/TR] [TR] [TD=width: 43][/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE]

Glad to be of help Nearlythere. As for the topping up of your NI contributions this can be done through the DWP you will need 35 years for a full pension from 2016 or 30 if you retire before this. If you are in paid employment for an Australian employer you can pay the lower class 2 contributions. If you are self employed or not in employment it is more expensive (this may seem a bit bizarre). Remember the aged pension is Frozen at the rate you first draw it, however there are campaigns from British Australian Pensioner Association affiliated to the Consortium for British Pensioners. I am optimistic that at some stage in the future this wrong will be righted but it may take some time. In the meantime this link may be of use. http://www.expatknowhow.com/Images/going-to-live-abroad%5B1%5D.pdf Page 16 has the relevant addresses and phone numbers. Good Luck

I left my Local Government Pension in the UK and it is upgraded by CPI every year and hopefully when the Aussie dollar returns to average exchange rates (likely when the recovery takes hold in the UK and UK interest rates increase). Only the UK aged pension is frozen. They cannot stop you from drawing it when you reach pension age and this is not being changed.