Ferrets
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Everything posted by Ferrets
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My work will likely limit me to capital cities for the next few years. Realistically I would not have traded London for Sydney and Melbourne....not worth the move for something that has been described as comparable by recruiters for lesser career opportunities in my field. 90 minutes in traffic in Sydney on Friday underlined that for me, as did the Melbourne weather in December ? Perth / Adelaide / Hobart / Darwin are short on opportunities for me, but of these we have been to Adelaide but wouldn't tick the box for us, and nothing would draw us to the others. Guess that means Brisbane or bust for us!
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The difference between "don't believe all advice" and "most people's advice" can be key at visa time (adlib gap filling) ?
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It feels like a cheat of a caveat; all of our siblings are here, my parents are here, my wife's parents are 6mos/6mos..... It has made it a "low risk" migration from our perspective, but appreciate it's likely not the norm.
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I think this is why migrating for us has been like a duck to water - we were a set family unit of 2+2 and have always had a focus on that. We miss friends etc. but overall has been a good move for us. It actually wouldn't matter where we were tbh (before Australia we were set on a step via New Jersey), just so happens at the moment there isn't anything that would get me out of Queensland. It sounds like @Banana707 made the right call - good luck with your life back in the UK!
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This question pops up from time to time where applications were made years ago but with a subsequent change to the age restrictions. Given this is non standard and quite specific to personal circumstances suggest you speak to your agent on this. Good luck!
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If you are nearby then would.give it a go, we are doing Moreton for our exploratory trip ?
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Hi there, I used Randstad as a local company to contract back overseas on arrival. Worked easier than setting up a formal structure and still showed local income. Good luck!
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For some professions you need a 7 or greater across the board in the Academic test. For points you can sit the General to get 8 or greater across the board to get 20 points.
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We did our own first returns, but we had taken advice from Alan. We established that if you are are an Australian Tax Resident that any winnings from residual UK premium bonds are all taxable like bank interest ?
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Fair point, only problem is that tracking the progress of an 864 that has moved 6 weeks in 21 months (as @ramot pointed out) I am struggling to keep on topic. Might be easier to log out and log back in in 36 months time to check progress ?
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My numbers were a bit simplistic, and were admittedly based only on the new pension. For those retiring before 2016 the contributions made would typically have been at a different average salary - but will park that one. Certainly agree that there is trouble brewing though!
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I think that the advent of auto enrolment means that the UK is already on the path for the abolition of the pension in it's current form to move to an Australian system whereby you pay into your own named account and then a state pension is means tested. Not sure how quickly it will happen but definitely on the way!
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Simply if the pension was abolished by parliament then there would be limited recourse which underlines that it is currently a benefit (reality is it wouldn't happen, but is the same when they change age and contributions, etc.). If it were a named account then this would not be possible. I was also mulling up that because it may be possible (I didn't do the sums on the sliding scale of NI) to pay more in NI than you claim as a pension, which again emphasises that it is more of a universal benefit, akin to child benefit before the changes is 2010. The language of the politicians is particularly unhelpful in this area though - I think Steve Webb when he was pensions minister and still wanting to be re-elected went to pains to emphasise it was not a benefit and a right, yet now he is in the private sector is talking about how the system needs to be adjusted / changed to make it more equitable to the younger generations. As a result there is never the proper conversation that needs to be had as they are all eyeing the next general election.
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We are getting closer to each other each reply ? That said I would stick with an average working life of 35. I will do 46+, my wife will do 15-20 (in terms on tax and contributions - her work is unpaid but far harder than mine as the children are....lively).
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Employer rates are 13.8% over £8,400, so based on average salary of £27,600 it's approx £2,649. Plus £2,200 employer contributions = £4,849. I've based my thoughts on an average 35 years contributions but yours is based on a max 46 year working life. Given various circumstances (maternity, paternity, etc.) I'd argue 35 is more realistic at this point, which gives £170k (so a big whack above my initial ramblings). But then take off 50% for NHS contributions and that brings you back to £85k. Can that support an £8,500 pension based on current life expectancy and expectations? I know it's moot for most here as stamps have been paid against promises made, but it's still a looming issue.
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You are right on the contributions, but there are also thresholds that impact the amount. Based on that average going in to cover pensions and NHS p.a. is about £4,400 (employer and employee). I don't believe that adds up to cover the liabilities of the pension element, let alone the NHS part! I have not looked too much into average Aussie pensions as under the super scheme I go on my own defined contributions, but overall it's still too low (9.5% with no NHS contributions as it is all pension). Musings are always good, especially in an area where the Pollies are too scared to have meaningful conversations. Even as an accountant I have paid little attention to the UK state pension as I have always assumed I will get nothing and made my own provision.
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Lol that is me told and schooled!! You are right, currently it would be about the same employer contribution, i.e. £2,200 month. Digging a bit it looks like the expenditure on pensions and NHS p.a. s roughly the same (Pensions £165bn for 2019 vs. NHS £150bn) so it figures that on average the current scheme is still only supporting 9-10 years of pension financially, which is certainly not in line with people's expectations.
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With a super it's very specific to your circumstances as it's your account (aka a defined benefit scheme) so any numbers based on averages could be wildly out on the payout. A problem with the Australian super is 9.5% is still not enough (on average) to support retirement; it needs to be north of 15% for a sustainable model. I've also not considered the Australian aged pension as being means tested will be less relevant to most.
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The politics of the UK state pension are a mess, and the politicians duck and weave to avoid proper discussion on the topic. But language aside the mechanics are clearly a benefit; contribution is measured in years and not value and therefore you can get much more or indeed much less than is contributed - it's worth bearing in mind that NI is also supposed to fund the NHS; The UK average salary is £27,600 which means NI of approximately £2,200 p.a. to fund pension & NHS, 35 years of contributions (under new state pension rules) = £77,000. At a full payment of £164.35 per week that means an annual pension of £8,546.20 Assuming no contribution to the NHS this means that on average the NI contributions over a working life will pay for 9 years pension. The maths of this show clearly this is a benefit as on average the payments in are being topped up in a manner that significantly outperforms the market. You make the point that it is a legal right - and in fact that highlights it is a benefit as you are wrong - whilst it is a right at the moment it could be withdrawn by the government or slashed / ages moved by act of Parliament and has no permanent guarantee. You can see the move for auto enrolment is the first step to the abolition of the state pension, which will be gone before I retire. They can't do that to a defined contribution pension (at least not anything that has been paid in up to any point of change). It's been deceitful of governments of all colour for the way that they have approached this, and I think the issue of unfunded liabilities for the UK is a trainwreck that is still unfolding (Pensions, PFI, etc.) and will be a true blight on future generations in the UK.
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But it isn't paid for; most people pay less into NI than they draw out through the pension. It doesn't help because there is no "pot" and no individual account that tracks the value that an individual pays in (vs. the Aus Super system which is a personal account). As a result, with the pension being paid out on the basis of number of years contribution rather than value contribution it can only be viewed as a benefit.
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We have just got a mortgage and they were stress testing our monthly spend with a massive hike in interest rates. I think on 150k it would be closer to 700k max (our theoretical borrowing limit came down by having credit cards, etc). I do not see any long term downturn in Brisbane house prices coming - overseas migration to Sydney and Melbourne is driving interstate movement to Brisbane and that is not going to change, so if you find an area you like I think it makes sense to stretch a bit at the moment. I could of course be wrong though ?
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After assessment you get an approved or not status, but can also include a review of skilled work to establish points. Note you will also need to have finished the IELTS exam as well prior to assessment. You are right about the amount of paperwork, but it can be used multiple times. Around work mine took 5 months to pull together, but that included a detailed work description (even then I got 5 less points for experience than I assumed) and I needed to chase my Uni for copies of an old transcript and syllabi. All in the cost was around £1500 but that did include CPA Australia membership (I used the same paperwork to get reciprocal membership). A lot to do but very worth it. Good luck.
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On that you could assume a maximum borrowing capacity of approx AUD $700k - $750k, in addition to what you have as a deposit from the UK. Individual circumstances would affect that, and you also need to factor in stamp duty, etc. but should allow you to start having a look at what that could buy in certain areas. Good luck!
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I definitely recommend renting, if only to work out what area you like - although parents have always thought buying quickly was the right idea the cost of buying and selling in a short time-frame is a bit prohibitive if you buy in the wrong place! Going a little off thread topic suggest that it might be worth consulting a MARA agent now due to a couple of points; 1) At the moment 75 points won't cut it for an accountant, but there is a backlog of 80+ at the moment (accountants not currently being invited) and 2) you have mentioned in another post that you have a 16 year old from a different relationship which can have it's own complications. Given the low cost of an initial consultation would recommend that as a priority to make sure you have the optimum strategy for your circumstances in place. If your wife is chartered then assessment should be straightforward, and shouldn't delay speaking with a MARA agent - in fact some of the agents that post here are accountants! Best of luck sorry for going off topic ?
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I thought there was no route to PR on those, i.e. no further stay? If possible then a good option
