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The attitude that nothing would happen as they won't get caught as its such a small amount in the grand scheme of things seemed pretty prevalent

Yes, have also met quite a few people who have left commercial debt, credit card etc (quite huge amounts, 20,000+ ) I would just be so on edge all the time!

I assume they are getting centrelink payments as they are all Perm. Residents as far as I am aware, glad its not something that the majority think is ok

Yes there was a lot of back and forth to the centrelink office to prove things but once we got the CRN number and everything sorted, the online thing is easy to keep updated should circumstances change such as salary etc.

Not a chance, far too straight, would be waking up each day wondering if today was the day there is a knock at the door! It just seemed pretty common amongst people i have come across, seems like i was the only one who was pretty shocked that they were risking it....

:embarrassed: ha agree Bungo! yes they will be in for a shock, rather them than me!!

So been here a year or so now, something that seems to be a common occurrence with some fellow expats. Quite a few people that I have spoken to (a lot more than I would have thought) have confirmed that they have kept their child benefits going into their uk bank accounts, despite the fact that they live here now permanently....1 person had been here over 4 years and still received this. She just transfers it over to her Aussie account. Averaging out to be about £100 a month +, thats quite a lot over a few years. Now when we left, we rang up and informed them we were leaving, never to return (probably) and also sent a letter and it stopped after about a month of being here. Having spoken to quite a few different families (all seem pretty decent and hard working), many seem to have kept this going. I assumed that a) it would stop automatically anyway (but didnt want to leave any loose ends) and b) you'd get caught as it is essentially fraud? Some claimed that they assumed as they were still citizens they were entitled to it?! Others just said the usual, "Ive paid enough taxes in uk..etc" So is this normal that people keep their child benefit going from the uk, surely they will caught up with eventually? Just wodnered if others had heard of this as it seems to be pretty common from the people i have met...or maybe I'm just mixing with the wrong crowd!! I assumed it had to be stopped as we weren't living there any more....

thanks for the info, il try and have a look for the paperwork for my teachers pension to see what it says

Hi all, I have recently arrived in australia and have a question about pensions. A brief background about me: I was a primary teacher in the uk from 2008 -2015, until I left this Easter. During that time I worked full time for 3 years, had a years maternity leave, carried on working part time for a year(2 days a week), another maternity leave and then worked 1 day a week for approx. months. I have missed the deadline to transfer my pension over to an oz one. Can anyone please explain what this means for when i retire in terms of my uk teachers pension? I have looked on their website but cant find an answer. In 30 years time, when i retire, will my pension be the same amount as it is now, for example £200/$400 a month or will it go up with inflation? $400 might only buy me a loaf of bread and a pint of milk in 30 years ;-) or will it be even less as I don't know if employers contributions would be paid if i am here? One of our friends was a public sector worker and said that, if I wanted, I could take my contributions out and get a lump sum now. obviously that would mean that I wouldn't get a teachers pension later in life. But I am thinking if I could take out a lump sum now, that might be more beneficial to me now than waiting for 30 years and potentially getting very small amount each month. Does anyone know any of the answers to this or could they point me in the right direction on how to find out? Also, I have worked since I was 16 years old in either part time or full time except for a few years when travelling or at uni, do I still get to claim a state pension for the UK? sorry for all the pension questions, I'll admit I'm pretty clueless when it comes to any pension business. thanks PIO