BillW

Thanks for the reply Marisa - There ought to be a mugs guide to all this stuff .............. but I suppose we are the ones writing it. I have found these web sites that could be useful Google this phrase "reciprocal pension UK Australia 2001 site:www.pomsinoz.com" to get a list of previous relevant threads in this forum This Australian site is of interest and has a list of relevant UK web sites on the bottom of the page http://www.humanservices.gov.au/customer/enablers/centrelink/international-social-security-agreements/countries-that-have-agreements-with-australia This organisation http://youle.info/bpia-blog/ was given a strong reference in another thread and is said to have helped people going in both directions, seems to have a strong focus on the frozen pensions. This organisation https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/bapaemail/conversations/messages also seems to be focussed on the frozen British pensions. Bill

Hey Marisa, Was it easy to open a Citibank account in UK if you are not a resident ? We have had massive problems with British banks refusing to open an account because we are not resident. My wife has an account from when she was working in Edinburgh in 2001 and they will not let me be a co-signatory on that because I am not a resident. We have ended up opening an account at Lloyds in Jersey in order to transfer money in both names. Bill

Hey Winter, This is intriguing ................. I have never worked in UK ............... but maybe I might find something in future .............. and then my years of working and paying tax in Australia are somehow counted ? Sounds far too good to be true, but would sweeten up paying tax on my Aussie super . ................. I am not eligible for Aussie pension yet so havent applied am simply 55+ and able to withdraw the odd bit of money now and then as we need it ........... Our financial plan was put together by lots of consulting with Financial Planner and also the Financial Services Officer (FSO) at Centrelink. The FSO was particularly helpful - he doesnt give advice, not allowed to - his job is to help people understand what the rules are and what information is relevant to your situation that you need to digest before making any decisions - I'd recommend that everyone gets an appointment with the FSO to find out various issues to consider prior to retirement. What are the key terms that I need to do some searching on to find out more about this possible eligibilty please ? <EDITED> Have just done some googling on reciprocal pension UK Australia 2001 and got some interesting results - worth the effort to Google this, brings up other threads on this forum that are worth a look as well as other stuff. Bill

Marisa, Thanks for the suggestion. My wifes heart is set on St Andrews or thereabouts. All I want is a decent sized shed but it seems that in UK people dont have decent sheds like we have here. Am looking in vain for a small house with a big shed. Am astonished at what houses cost in UK compared to rural Australia where I am (Gippsland) ................ I've threatened to hijack a spare bedroom in lieu of a decent shed but my wife isnt amused. Yes am currently sorting through various super options & trying to understand ramifications of move to UK as discussed in the other thread, only got my wifes pensions running at the moment, mine are still accumulation will talk to aussie fin advisor and British tax accountants to sort out whats important to think about in all the possible combinations of options. Will leave detailed discussions of all that for the other thread. Regards Bill

Am beginning to think I may have over reacted to this issue. In UK you each get 10,000 pounds tax free then the money you earn on top of that is taxed at 20% ? So if you budget to live on 30,000 per year thats 15,000 each So that is tax of 20% on 5000 pounds that is 1,000 pounds tax each. In my overall big picture that is a relatively cheap price to pay for being able to live where I want, and, for us, that means getting away from what has become an annual bushfire worry - we spent approx $1000-$1500 per year for the last few years when we flit to a caravan park on the extreme fire danger days - "Leave and Live" - well worth it for the peace of mind. For the other 10 months of the year our place is a paradise, but it takes a lot of energy that I no longer have to look after it. So maybe everyone could have a look at their own big picture spreadsheet and see if the "TAX !!!! HORROR SHOCK NO WAY WILL I PAY TAX !!!!!!! " reaction is warranted, and are you depriving yourself of something you'd enjoy for the sake of tax minimisation. I know it can become a bit of a passion to minimise tax, but the danger becomes that I spend my retirement minimising tax instead of enjoying myself as much as I possibly can before pegging out with my last 5 cents in the bank, and yes you have to do some planning to achieve that and it does involve attention to taxes. I will always remember one financial planner recommending planning on spending up and enjoying your early retirement before your "Deep old age" - wonderful turn of phrase. Maybe I've got this all wrong ? Are there other implications ie will UK try to make me pay tax on the earnings of my funds rather than on the withdrawals ? We dont have SMSF we are self funded retirees using industry funds to hold our retirement money. Must admit I've gone back to being willing to pay 2000 pounds per year to live in a cooler climate as long as I've understood it properly. In my big picture spreadsheet that cost is offset by other costs I won't have to pay any more. But everyone has their own scenario to model and for some the costs may not balance out. Leaving funds in Aussie super does bring up other issues - ie 20-40 years of the following : currency exchange risks, double the legislative risk with 2 governments involved, transfer costs, management & communication between Britain & Aus. any others ? Will be talking to British tax accountants in May when we go back for holiday, and will post back whatever I learn. Bill

Easy access to all the facilities and shops in Edinburgh and far more bang for you buck when buying a house, pleasant easily accessible countryside and villages on the coast, also St Andrews seems like a pleasant place

Andrew, Would you or one of your colleagues be able to make any comments on this thread please ? http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/moving-back-uk/174276-australian-super-taxed-uk-5.html#post1936673999 There are a number of us who have Australian Superannuation and are puzzled about how it could be taxed if we repatriate. There seems to be lots of readily available information on the net for people coming out from Britain but relatively little for people going back with Aussie super funds. Regards Bill

Hello, I started another similar thread on this topic, here http://britishexpats.com/forum/moving-back-uk-61/australian-superannuation-treatment-uk-850849/#post11536489, and have had a useful response with some good links in it. Worth a look. Bill

Hello, You can use a good search function to find British Tax Accountants who specialise in international personal tax here http://www.tax.org.uk/ this is the home page http://www.tax.org.uk/about_the_ciot use the search function 2nd option down in green box on the left one of the keys you can search on is international personal tax Maybe we can persuade one of them to post some info for us Bill

Hello, Residence requirements are summarised here https://www.dss.gov.au/our-responsibilities/seniors/benefits-payments/age-pension Pasted below [h=3]Residence Requirements[/h] To qualify for the Age Pension you must be an Australian resident (that is, living in Australia on a permanent basis) and in Australia on the day the claim is lodged, and must also satisfy one of the following: be an Australian resident for a total of at least 10 years, with at least five of these years in one period; or have a qualifying residence exemption; or be a woman who is widowed in Australia when both she and her late partner were Australian residents, and who has 104 weeks residence immediately before the claim; or be receiving Widow B Pension, Widow Allowance or Partner Allowance immediately before reaching pension age. Special rules apply to residence in countries with which Australia has an International Social Security Agreement. Residence in these countries may count towards the minimum 10-year residence requirement. You also have to be resident and in Australia on the day you apply for it. Bill

Hello, Bill the newb here. Retired a few years ago in Victoria. Have lived in Oz since 12yo and my wife has lived here for the the last 30 years Currently investigating how much tax the UK system will charge us on my Australian super fund and my wifes self funded pension when we sell up and retire to Fife. Best thing about Australia - Great Barrier Reef - should be a compulsory visit for all Aussies and tourists - snorkelling is amazing. Bill

Hello, Last post was over 12 months ago. I've just started thinking about this issue - any new developments / thoughts / recommended web pages / recommended advisors etc. etc. etc. during the last 12 months ? Bill

Hello, Any good web sites or companies with appropriate skills to help us understand the issues associated with tax on our Australian super funds when we shift back to UK ? AT the moment in Australia we dont pay tax on the earnings of my wifes pension fund and my super fund is taxed at 15% "inside" the fund so the earnings are not reported on my tax return. I understand there will be some changes made to the British "Super" system in April 2015 - any known good web pages or sources of information that you can recommend would be appreciated. I found this thread http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/moving-back-uk/174276-australian-super-taxed-uk-4.html are there any others ? Regards Bill