jimmyinoz

thanks Marisa, thatll save us a few grand ,, hows life back home so far ?

Soooo a bit of an update since we last posted ..The worlds turned to shit !!!   my employer wants me to stick to my original plan of retiring in Sept ,{i know he cant force me  but hes a new business owner and likely to stress  so who knows ] ,another issue is my super [like evryone elses] took a severe hit in March

So i took it out of the balanced investment option and put it in a cash investment plan  that seems to have plugged the hole that my money was dissappearing down ,Im not making anything but not losing 7k a week either .  The revised plan is now to retire officially on 3 Sept find a bit of casual work till My other halfs visa comes through and hope the UK is returning to some form of normality by January . We now dont have enough savings to satify the  financial part of her visa but i do have an "offer" of a job that should satisfy the 18600 salary requirement plus were only short of a few thouseand so i can show that to the Immigration people .Further to that weve decided to bite the bullet and  go with a Immigration agent any referrals would be greatly appriciated cheers ..a lot of variables now ..

6 hours ago, LKC said:

Yep, like tea4too says, no idea about the financial side of things, but we moved to Scotland from Aus about 2.5 years ago, having never lived here before, and it is the absolute best thing I have ever done in my life! 

We lived in Sydney for about 9 years, but the pull of home started to become too much to bear. We came over to the UK for a holiday in 2016, and visited Scotland as part of that holiday. I absolutely fell in love with the place, and pretty much cried my way down the A1(M) etc on our way back to my ex's parents house in Kent, where we were staying for the last few days before we flew back to Aus. We moved over in September 2017 (me, my ex, our two primary school aged children, and four cats), and moved to a gorgeous village to the west of Kinross. Husband and I have since separated, but the kids and I have found ourselves immersed in the most amazing community, into which we have been welcomed with open arms! I feel more at home here than I have ever felt anywhere in my life. Like I was always meant to be here! I have since retrained for a new career, have started my own business, met a lovely man, and the kids are happy and settled in their new life, with plenty of friends and both doing well at school. The people are friendly, the place is absolutely gorgeous (honestly I don't think I'll ever get tired of walking in the hills where we live), and I don't have even a single regret about moving here

Have you any idea where you'd like to live?

yeah my missus was of the same mind ,shes of Italian /Dutch descent but born in Tamworth NSW never been to Caledonia but felt like its was home .We will probably live in Ayrshire  where im from 

3 hours ago, Marisawright said:

We were told that we couldn't use our super even though it was accessible.  We didn't pursue that further as we had savings in the bank because we'd sold our house some time previously.   I'd say it's worth investigating that a bit further though.

Do you have a house to sell?   If so, that can be used to satisfy the financial requirement:  You must have already found a buyer, but you don't need to have the money in your hands yet - you just need a solicitor's letter proving that it's been sold and showing the amount you're going to receive. 

Good idea to cash the super before you move.   Once it's in the bank, it's just savings and safe from the taxman in either country (if you waited till after you leave Australia, the British taxman would take a third of it!).  

The only downside of leaving now is that neither of you will be able to claim the Australian govt pension, ever (even your partner - being an Australian makes no difference).  As you don't have a large amount in superannuation, this may be a concern - what will you live on in your old age?

You should contact the International Pension Centre to get a British pension forecast and arrange to backpay your missed NI contributions, so you can get as much British pension as possible. That's obviously not an option for your partner, so that is something to consider. 

https://www.gov.uk/international-pension-centre

 Thanks Marrisa ill let you guys know how we get on with that .

I dont intend to retire per say  but carry on working when i get home until we find a business to invest in or start after which well buy a house in the west of Scotland where im from and most of my large family still live  My wife is a good deal younger than me with excellent qualifications so i dont see her having any difficulty supporting herself in the future , ive looked at my UK pension and ill back pay my NI to bring that up 

So ...went home for a wee holiday 2018 and i had the usual spell of "missing my mountains and glens "  but to my surprise my Australian partner  said shed never felt more at home anywhere , anyway ive been travelling since i was about 14  and as i approach a ripe old age of 60 i think its time to "Gan Hame". Now my question is  [and i guess youve heard of this visa stuff a million times ]  my darling wife  has to apply for a spouse visa [as i did to come here ].We satisfy most of the requirements the only one causing me confusinion is the financial requirement.  I have $140000 in super  i have reached the age at which i can withdraw it [by sept on my 60th birthday  this will be tax free] Can i use the period that its in my super account as part of the 6 month cash savings period   we wont be applying until nov at which point it will have been in my bank account for 3 months . My idea was to provide my yearly statement[in july ] as proof of funds combined with the 3 months in my savings account ,i can draw it out now but id rather wait until the tax free option becomes available for obvious reasons . we have lived as a couple for 7 yrs and we are getting married in march [finally lol ] we have no dependents [they've all grown up and left ] i have a good job here and my boss says he will give me casual work after i retire in Sept until we leave in January next. 

20 hours ago, Quoll said:

3 years for those with a British spouse. 5 years for everyone else

cheers 

8 hours ago, RandL said:

yes , but the first 200000 are taxfree 

and thats all ive got lol 

15 hours ago, RandL said:

I went through the whole spouse visa recently,  starts with a spouse visa  ( you need to be married for at least 5 years before applying), valid for 2 years, but you can apply for an ILR as soon as you hit the UK , the you need to do a KOL test ( knowledge of life in the uk ), then wait for 3 years to apply for citizenship, lots of paperwork,  lots of £ for every step.  We did it by ourselves and all went through, not difficult just need to take your time with the paperwork.

 

somebody mentioned earlier that you have to be 60 to access your super in OZ, I think it is 55 , but you must have stopped working or work less then 10 hours per week.

 

 

cheers mate thats a great help  its 60 if you dont wanna get hammered with tax and depending on when you were born i was born 1960 after july so my preservation age [earliest i can access] is 56

Just now, Marisawright said:

That's up to you, I'm clarifying because other people may be reading this thread for information.

got it  thanks for the advice ..

20 hours ago, Marisawright said:

To clarify about the Australian aged pension and the UK pension.

The Australian pension is not the same as the UK pension.  It's a benefit, the same as the unemployment benefit, for the less well-off. 

In the UK, you pay NI contributions specifically so you're entitled to a pension when you retire.  In Australia, you pay nothing.  You pay taxes in both countries, but they go to pay for hospitals, roads, schools, etc etc. 

If you get a UK pension in Australia, it counts as income and Centrelink will reduce your Australian pension, because the Australian pension is means-tested.

If you get an Australian pension in the UK, it has no effect on your UK pension.  The UK pension is not means-tested.

awesome  Still i dont want to wait till im 65 just to get a few extra dollars 

10 minutes ago, Skani said:

Being a "legitimate couple" doesn't have anything to do with it now....as many legitimate couples are finding out.     But, from what you've said, you will have the employment salary and/or savings to satisfy the prerequisites for importing a legitimate spouse. 

lol my missus just read this and said " Im not a bloody  a mail order bride"  lol 

she will have yes   she will apply for indefinte leave to remain in the UK  as an Australian citizen , being of good character and being married to a Uk national i dont see any problem with this .

yes the UK govt can be assholes when it comes to foreign nationals settling there but ive  every confidence that we can overcome any issues ..after all we are  a legitimate couple lol 

5 hours ago, Johnny Kash said:

It would be good to get clarity on this.   In terms of reaching preservation age for your Super and stopping working - assuming the OP is back in the UK he will have technically stopped working in Australia (even if he does carry on grafting back in the UK). 

  I asked the question of my Super fund and was told this was the case - if you are not working in Australia at preservation age you satisfy the release conditions.   I'm slightly sceptical of this but would be good to get this confirmed or otherwise.

 

thanks that s what i was after ..i understand why they wouldnt want the money going out of the country [and as long as this govt dosent change the goal posts again it should be ok ] i intend to declare retirement BEFORE i leave ,and transfer the funds for the house to my cousin ,who  owns a property /real estate company, for the purchase of a house,  She will then rent out and manage the property untill we leave a few months later [i can work while were waiting to exit Australia,  logistically this makes more sense 

16 hours ago, Tulip1 said:

What about healthcare for your Aussie wife?

Australia and the UK have a  reciprocal agreement for health care she will get better free healthcare on the NHS than here and  no up front payments. 

After  2 yrs on her 'authority to remain' visa she can apply for UK citizenship i dont see any issue with her getting it. All we have to do is the reverse of what we did to get here 13 yrs ago .

.I did all my own immigration paperwork and research ..a bit long winded but relatively  straight forward ..  i see no reason to pay anyone 5 grand to fill in forms for me ..

So i still havent found an answer to my original question has anyone taken thier super home as a lump and if so what if any tax did they pay on it ?

1 hour ago, Quoll said:

The Aussie pension isn’t an entitlement and whilst you may like to think of it as one, it’s actually a safety net for people who haven’t been able to accrue enough in super. As time goes on and the compulsory super contributions scheme goes on for longer and covers a full working life, fewer people will meet the means test to be able to access it. It’s not like a UK pension at all, it’s a Centrelink benefit. 

In that case as, i suspected, taxation here is extortionate  ,and as i stated earlier  i have enough NI payments to draw on 90% of the UK pension  to put some figures on it i can buy a 3bed semi in a village near my home town of Irvine for 59000 outright which after expenses of moving will leave us with around 20kGBP in the bank .. currently running costs of that home including telephone internet etc are around 300 quid a month ,i have several contacts in the transport game which i will ultilise on a part time basis to bring in another 800gbp a month ,not a kings ransom but enough .plus whatever OH brings in   I am nothing if not resourceful ..but i still havent had an answer to my original question?lol

..

36 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

Are you over 65??   Are you aware that if you leave before you reach pensionable age, you won't be able to get the Australian pension at all?  Same goes for your wife.   

in my experience most expats who go home find it very difficult if not impossible to get the aussie pension whether they reach 65 or not   there appears to be this belief  here that its somehow a hand out and "only for you poor people "  lmfao ..its a reward for the tax you paid into the system and the work youve done to contribute to the country ..thats what a pension is!  most here dont seem to get that  still not my problem .... they can keep it !!! if their that skint .

You have to apply for it whilst in Australia AND have spent at least 2 yrs here previously  so i could wait unitl im 65 claim it and then go but the Uk will just subtract it from my UK pension as foreign earnings so it may well be counterproductive 

We ll manage ..my wife will get the UK pension as long as she spends at least 10yrs working [which she will just slid in under the wire] and so will i  and like i said ill be  working  as soon as hit blighty ..im not moving for another 5 yrs at least as mentioned [ill be 63 by then ]my missus will be 55..i have a lot of contacts back home 

youre welcome 

On 1/29/2018 at 11:19, Clm said:

Hi , 

we as a family ( me, my OH and our two daughters) moved to Brisbane over two years ago.

However I still feel very unsettled - my OH and youngest daughter feel very settled. 

But myself and my eldest daughter 11 have struggled.

I miss home , friends and family, but the hardest thing I have found is genuine friendships?

i feel like there is not many people here - well I have yet to meet genuine sincere people. Who don't play mind games - take advantage of kindness , play keeping up with the jones - gossip or are just mean to friends when they are not around.

it just all seems very fake - I've sincerely met some of the rudest people in my life here! I'm not a negative dweller - far from it! I'm polite pleasant and will go out of my way to be kind and friendly. I miss friends that I could share problems with - that were kind , friends you can socialise with and  laugh till you cry. 

But I'm starting to feel like an alien here. What I think are basic morals , manners and respect - others don't ,and the whole - playing mind games within friendship isn't me.

I guess in my baffle , what I'm trying to say or ask is - how long before people made genuine friendships or has anyone else felt isolated or met these hurdles ? 

 

Thanks for reading ?

I know how you feel ive been here 13 yrs and im heading home in about another 5 ..  however ive met some of the most genuine friend s im ever likely to meet here  for instance when my dad died in 2010 they had a whip round for me and helped keep my business on its feet while i was back home sorting things out .ive lived in Qld and NSW ,i must admit i like NSW better . It sounds like you live near Brisbane  lol it appears to be the norm around there i lived a bit further up in Gladstone ......Youll find country people here more genuine  than city types ..i guess you get this wherever you go ..I spent most of my life in London but came from a wee town in Scotland so i may be a bit bias lol .

.I hated the atmosphere in London it sucks , maybe thats the solution is to  move 

Ive travelled all over the eastern part of this country conducting business ..it seems the further south you go the more Euro it is ..my advice is dont chuck the towel in just yet,develop a thick skin [Aussies are pretty much  the same as working class brits ]and maybe investigate other states ..

3 hours ago, Phil & Vikki said:

Whilst reading your post the question has to arise if you are using the lump sum to fund a new house, how are you going to live? Have you been topping up your NI contributions so you can have a UK pension and how would you stand with the NHS?

From my research im entitled to 26/30ths of my UK pension and allowed to work 20hours a week  ,that and the fact my missus is a good deal younger than me ..and intends to go back to work when we get home [shes an Aussie but with euro roots } T he only time ive "topped up " my NI was when i had a 716 and was self employed ,didnt need to otherwise , And every UK resident  citizen is entitled to use the NHS regardless [were not Americans lol ]the system was set up by Nye Bevan for that specific purpose to enable universal healthcare regardless of financial means .

I came to Australia for a number of reasons   mainly to give my boy a decent place to grow up ..i arrived with 1800quid no job and no home ,,..but through hard graft and a bit of ingenuity i got sorted  ,I guess i had a bit of a dream about buying a bit of land out in the bush and being self sufficient but thats going to be impossible now ..and in the future possibly illegal..[one state in the US has just made it illegal to come off the grid ].anyway being Scots i have reasearched my home county and house prices are stil reasonable ..and likely to dip in the next five years with brexit etc [my cousin owns a local property company ] so we should just be ready to buy just as the market dips  

On 2/5/2018 at 09:39, Marisawright said:

There are rules about withdrawing a lump sum from your super.  Going overseas makes no difference to whether you're allowed to do it or not.

I suggest ringing your super fund and asking them if you can withdraw a lump sum.  You don't need to tell them you're going overseas, that makes no difference whatsoever.  If you are allowed to withdraw a lump sum, you'll just need to fill in a form, they will pay the money into your Australian bank account and you can do whatever you like with it after that.

Once you've got the money, use a company like Moneycorp to transfer the money to the UK.  Don't use your bank, they will give you a terrible rate!   Moneycorp will hold the money for you until you can get a UK bank account opened.  

By the way, don't close your Australian bank account when you leave Australia as it can be handy for a while after you leave, e.g. if you forget the odd bill.

 

Thanks for that advice i was going to keep an account here for awhile anyway ive done that in every country ive worked in ...much appriciated

im interested to hear how your getting on with this as my partner and i are thinking about moving back home ..i cant do this if i cant pull my super out to buty a house though and wondering if you have had any luck with that 

hi hope you get home ok ..im wondering if your taking your super with you [or are you youngsters ] as were looking at returning home in the next 5 or so yrs to retire and i need my super to buy a house ..good luck  i know how you feel bee here for 13 yrs and i cant put my finger on it but ..i know i miss my mountains in Scotland 

hi we're pretty much agreed that wed like to retire back home in Scotland ..the question i have ... has anyone taken there super with them as a lump? as we need that to buy a house back home