winter1 Posted January 18, 2015 Author Share Posted January 18, 2015 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 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thom Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 Thanks to all who have contributed here, some good food for thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillW Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 (edited) Bill, (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 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 Edited January 19, 2015 by BillW Added last line Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 (edited) 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 ........... You will not be able to claim the Australian government pension at all in that case - you have to be living in Australia on the day you claim it, and remain resident for a period of two years. If you think about it, that's not practical - you'd basically have to sell up, come back for two years, then sell up and move back all over again! With the British pension, you need a certain minimum amount of NI contributions to become eligible. So you'll need to work in the UK when you get there, to build up your contributions. Then but only then, you can use your Australian pre-2001 work record to count towards the UK pension, but you'll need evidence from each of your employers with dates etc. What I can't tell you is how many years you'd need to work. I did find one site which said that if you're going to use your Australian work record, you need only one year's NI contributions - but it wasn't the official govt site and I haven't been able to find confirmation anywhere. If you do, please let me know!! Edited January 19, 2015 by Marisawright Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillW Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 (edited) 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 Edited January 19, 2015 by BillW snipped typos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 (edited) 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've been researching this for several months so I've already been through most of those! The BPIA website is especially useful and thanks to them, I already have my British pension forecast and have paid some extra NI contributions to ensure I'll get the full UK pension. I think you said your wife had worked in the UK - if so she can request her pension forecast here: https://www.gov.uk/state-pension-statement Frozen pensions are irrelevant to you - that refers to the fact that UK pensioners living in Australia don't get increases in the UK pension. For Australians moving abroad, there is no freezing - there's just no pension! I'm confident the information I've given you about getting the Australian pension is correct. The trouble is, 90% of the information is for Brits moving to Australia. There is much less information for Brits returning to the UK - and none for Australians retiring to the UK. So I haven't been able to get any certainty about whether my husband, who has never worked in the UK, will be able to get a UK pension. Edited January 19, 2015 by Marisawright Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winter1 Posted January 19, 2015 Author Share Posted January 19, 2015 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 . Bill 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 (edited) Hi Bill,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. . Many thanks for that, now I am confused. My pension forecast says that if I produce evidence of my Australian work record before 2001, I may be able to claim those years "as if I had paid NI contributions for those years". Whereas that example implies that I can use those years to meet the minimum qualifications, but my actual pension will be calculated on actual NI contributions. If that's true, that's a bummer! Edited January 20, 2015 by Marisawright Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillW Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 (edited) Thanks for the tips and links about possibly working for UK pension. Very interesting. Anybody considering this would have to consider whether or not it jeopordises (spelloing ?) a partners Australian centrelink pension. Is it possible to simply purchase a UK pension similar to purchasing a commercial product ? I know back payments are possible. Not sure if it would be worthwhile or competitive with other products, or why I might want to, simply dont know enough yet. Am scouring the gov.uk website for more info this afternoon. All good questions for the Fin Planner and the tax accountants in UK when I go back this year. Bill Edited January 20, 2015 by BillW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 (edited) Thanks for the tips and links about possibly working for UK pension. Very interesting. Anybody considering this would have to consider whether or not it jeopordises (spelloing ?) a partners Australian centrelink pension. No they wouldn't, unless their partner is older and is already in receipt of the Australian Centrelink pension BEFORE they leave the country. Neither of you will be eligible to claim the Australian Centrelink pension once you become resident in the UK. If you remain in Australia and your wife goes to claim the Centrelink pension, they will insist that she claims her UK pension first, then they will reduce the Centrelink pension accordingly. It is not possible to purchase a UK government pension, though you can make SOME back payments IF you have worked in the UK for at least a year. I believe it is possible to purchase a commercial product just like it's possible to purchase a commercial pension in Australia with your superannuation. Edited January 20, 2015 by Marisawright Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winter1 Posted January 20, 2015 Author Share Posted January 20, 2015 Many thanks for that, now I am confused. My pension forecast says that if I produce evidence of my Australian work record before 2001, I may be able to claim those years "as if I had paid NI contributions for those years". Whereas that example implies that I can use those years to meet the minimum qualifications, but my actual pension will be calculated on actual NI contributions. If that's true, that's a bummer! 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winter1 Posted January 20, 2015 Author Share Posted January 20, 2015 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 (edited) 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 Thanks, that is brilliant! This section is pretty clear as far as I can see: "The Social Security Agreement between the United Kingdom (UK) and Australia was terminated by Australia and ended on 28 February 2001. When in force the agreement helped people moving between the two countries by allowing ... periods of Australian residence to count as periods when UK National Insurance Contributions had been paid in claims for UK basic State Pension... For people living in or coming to the UK after the agreement ended, the UK Government has made special arrangements to allow periods of residence in Australia, up to April 2001, to be taken into account in claims for basic State Pension and bereavement benefits. " That post also says that if we were to move to Italy or Spain, for instance, I'd lose the extra pension. However in either of those places, I'd be able to claim the Australian pension as they have a social security arrangement so no loss! My husband is in a similar situation to your wife. He has never worked in the UK and would really prefer to retire, but he would work for a year or two before retirement if that would mean getting the UK pension. I had hoped they might give me some advice on that but my enquiry, while acknowledged, has never been answered. Edited January 20, 2015 by Marisawright Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillW Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 No they wouldn't, unless their partner is older and is already in receipt of the Australian Centrelink pension BEFORE they leave the country. . Yes you are correct that is precisely our situation. All relevant pensions have been in place for a few years now so if I work in UK it threatens centrelink pension for my wife. But it was worth a look. The paperwork and documentation required for centrelink was astonishing and our accountant told us that he thinks some of his clients were too intimidated by the process and gave up even though they were entitled. I have greatly appreciated the information available on this thread it has been very useful and helpful, thankyou. The mantra of most financial planners I have spoken to is that everybodies situation is unique/different and you cannot assume that what works in one case will be applicable in another case. All the various ways of getting credits for the pension are Listed in the depths of the uk govt website there could be some variations that apply to all sorts of different personal scenarios could be worth a detailed trawl through for anybody considering shifting back. Start here (https://www.gov.uk/national-insurance-credits/eligibility) and trawl through all links that might be relevant to your own situation. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 (edited) Yes you are correct that is precisely our situation. All relevant pensions have been in place for a few years now so if I work in UK it threatens centrelink pension for my wife. But it was worth a look./QUOTE] Sorry Bill, I made the unforgiveable error of assuming your wife was the same age as you! I can understand your concern if working would jeopardise your wife's Centrelink pension: but has the financial planner considered your pension situation? You've said you are in your fifties, so you will not be able to claim the Australian pension, and if you don't work in the UK for a year or two, you won't be able to claim the UK pension either. That's a lot of money to forego. Edited January 20, 2015 by Marisawright Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillW Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 (edited) I can understand your concern if working would jeopardise your wife's Centrelink pension: but has the financial planner considered your pension situation? You've said you are in your fifties, so you will not be able to claim the Australian pension, and if you don't work in the UK for a year or two, you won't be able to claim the UK pension either. That's a lot of money to forego. Basically the plan changed recently, hence my presence on these various forums, and current planner advised us yesterday that the move to UK is beyond their skills and experience. It worth looking in all the nooks and crannies of the eligibilty site I posted earlier and its worth playing with this https://www.gov.uk/calculate-state-pension - quite strange - if I do nothing I still get 3.77 a week ! Bill Edited January 21, 2015 by BillW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Basically the plan changed recently, hence my presence on these various forums, and current planner advised us yesterday that the move to UK is beyond their skills and experience. It worth looking in all the nooks and crannies of the eligibilty site I posted earlier and its worth playing with this https://www.gov.uk/calculate-state-pension - quite strange - if I do nothing I still get 3.77 a week ! I have! I'm curious how you got to 3.77 a week - I thought you hadn't worked in the UK at all? I just went through it as if I had never worked in the UK and my result was precisely 0.00. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillW Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 (edited) I have! I'm curious how you got to 3.77 a week - I thought you hadn't worked in the UK at all? I just went through it as if I had never worked in the UK and my result was precisely 0.00. Try filling out the calculator as if you were a male between 55 and 60 years old never worked in uk but have worked overseas. do it several time changing the birth year every time. you get different answers varying between zero and 11.74 per week and sometimes it gives you a couple of years of credits. Also works for a female. If you look in the depths of the eligibilty link it appears that as a male approaches 65 years old he can automatically aquire NH credits simply by being resident and unemployed/low wage - I do not know what the logic is behind this, maybe I've misinterpreted it. Also, in the notes at the bottom of the calculator page there seems to be automatic credit for between the ages of 16-19, again needs further investigation. If you look at the printout below you see that this mythical chap that I invented automatically got 1 year's credits and I am assuming that the calculated pension is based on those credits plus the years overseas qualifies him. I do know there was some weird and obscure rules about British pensions - if a female was the right age she can somehow "claim" a spouse on her pension or get a pension for him - am not sure of the details we were vaguely aware of this when we got the Sate pension for my wife but it didnt work in our circumstances so we didn’t investigate any further. That was a few years ago maybe those rules will change in April 2016 My conclusions have changed a bit and am thinking that people in our situation could work for a year or two on a low wage without hurting Centrelink pension too much. This might work for your situation as well with possibility of buying extra credits. This calculator is only good for people retiring before April 2016 and probably works best for “vanilla” scenarios ie “Female aged 64 worked 40 years in UK” I’d say that our extreme fringe type scenarios could need substantial verification and checking and they may not be relevant as the rules change in April 2016. I don’t know to what extent “sunset” and “grandfather” clauses will be implemented for current crop of baby boomers who have planned their retirement under current UK rules. There have been a few of these in Australian system recently Regards Bill State Pension calculator The State Pension will change on 6 April 2016. When you reach State Pension age you’ll claim the new State Pension. This is an estimate of your basic State Pension under the current rules. [TABLE] [TR] [TH]Basic State Pension[/TH] [TH]Your results[/TH] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Your State Pension age[/TD] [TD]66 years[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]When you’ll reach State Pension age[/TD] [TD]16 May 2023[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]How much per week you may get[/TD] [TD]£3.77[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] You may not qualify for the new State Pension. Under the new State Pension rules you need at least 10 years of National Insurance contributions. Check if the time you lived or worked overseas can help you meet the 10 years you need. The State Pension age is regularly reviewed and may change in the future. This estimate doesn’t include any Additional State Pension you may have before 6 April 2016. It may change if you make more National Insurance contributions before you reach State Pension age. How much State Pension you get depends on how many years of National Insurance contributions you have. [TABLE] [TR] [TH]National Insurance[/TH] [TH]Your results[/TH] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Years of contributions you already have[/TD] [TD]1[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Years you can still make contributions[/TD] [TD]9[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] Get a pension statement Find out how you can get a State Pension statement to get an estimate of your full State Pension. More about the State Pension Read about: the new State Pension voluntary contributions increasing your basic State Pension with your partner’s (or late or former partner’s) National Insurance contributions State Pension if you retire abroad Your estimate may include up to 3 years of automatic credits for the years containing your 16th, 17th and 18th birthdays. If you got your National Insurance number after April 2010 you don’t get these automatic credits. Previous answers Start again [TABLE] [TR=class: section] [TD=class: previous-question-title]What would you like to calculate?[/TD] [TD=class: previous-question-body] Amount - estimate of your basic State Pension amount[/TD] [TD=class: link-right] Change answer to "What would you like to calculate?" [/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: section] [TD=class: previous-question-title]Are you a man or a woman?[/TD] [TD=class: previous-question-body] Man[/TD] [TD=class: link-right] Change answer to "Are you a man or a woman?" [/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: section] [TD=class: previous-question-title]What is your date of birth?[/TD] [TD=class: previous-question-body] 16 May 1957[/TD] [TD=class: link-right] Change answer to "What is your date of birth?" [/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: section] [TD=class: previous-question-title]How many years have you worked and paid National Insurance contributions from the age of 19?[/TD] [TD=class: previous-question-body] 0[/TD] [TD=class: link-right] Change answer to "How many years have you worked and paid National Insurance contributions from the age of 19?" [/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: section] [TD=class: previous-question-title]How many years from the age of 19 have you claimed unemployment, sickness or disability benefits?[/TD] [TD=class: previous-question-body] 0[/TD] [TD=class: link-right] Change answer to "How many years from the age of 19 have you claimed unemployment, sickness or disability benefits?" [/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: section] [TD=class: previous-question-title]Have you ever claimed Child Benefit, cared for someone sick or disabled or worked as a registered foster carer?[/TD] [TD=class: previous-question-body] No[/TD] [TD=class: link-right] Change answer to "Have you ever claimed Child Benefit, cared for someone sick or disabled or worked as a registered foster carer?" [/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: section] [TD=class: previous-question-title]How many years between age 16 and 19 were you working and paying National Insurance Contributions, or receiving National Insurance credits?[/TD] [TD=class: previous-question-body] 0[/TD] [TD=class: link-right] Change answer to "How many years between age 16 and 19 were you working and paying National Insurance Contributions, or receiving National Insurance credits?" [/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: section] [TD=class: previous-question-title]Have you lived or worked outside the UK?[/TD] [TD=class: previous-question-body] Yes[/TD] [TD=class: link-right] Change answer to "Have you lived or worked outside the UK?" [/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] Last updated: 19 January 2015 Edited January 21, 2015 by BillW added calculator printout Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Interesting! I did know you could get credits simply by being resident in the UK but unemployed, although I thought you had to be registered unemployed. For some reason I didn't connect that with the fact that you (and my husband) will have a few years in the UK before reaching retirement age! There is a spouse pension too, as you say - I still can't get my head around that one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winter1 Posted January 22, 2015 Author Share Posted January 22, 2015 (edited) Interesting! I did know you could get credits simply by being resident in the UK but unemployed, although I thought you had to be registered unemployed. For some reason I didn't connect that with the fact that you (and my husband) will have a few years in the UK before reaching retirement age! There is a spouse pension too, as you say - I still can't get my head around that one! 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. Edited January 22, 2015 by winter1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Collett Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 I have just about driven myself crazy working out all the permutations of this! I did get a recommendation for a financial adviser here, rang him and he told me I needed a tax accountant instead, so bear that in mind. However he did answer a lot of my questions. I'm now very clear about the following: 1. If you're going back to the UK, make sure you dispose of any investment properties or shares in Australia while you're still resident. If you keep them, Australia will charge you 30% tax on all income (no tax-free threshold), AND if you subsequently sell them, you'll pay capital gains on 100% of the profit. <snip> Hi Marisa (and others). The starting rate of income tax in Australia for non residents is actually 32.5% - so even worse, I'm afraid! That applies to the first $ of income (and capital gains) received by non residents in respect of Aus source income - bank interest excepted, given the 10% withholding tax discussed in the UK-Australia Tax Treaty. Best regards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillW Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 Hello, I've started making detailed inquiries to HMRC and DWP. I found a couple of other sites and did some communication via online chat but they basically said "no we cannot help you" These less useful sites were "The Pensions Advisory Service" and "Money Advice Service" . Money advice sent me to TPAS who then sent me to HMRC To be blunt, the representatives of these two services didn't seem to know what services they did offer - the online officers were very reticent regarding why they existed and what topics they could give advice on. It was very frustrating. Will post back what DWP and HMRC come back with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fizzybangs Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 Thanks heaps Winter. That's another option for me...an annuity. I really want to just the the H*ll out now. Like I said, I can take 12months off work unpaid leave and that will let me go and still be tecnically employed when I turn 60 next year. That's when I can consider if I want to take my Super out tax free. What I find fascinating, is how do parents in their 50's and 60's of migrants who arrive after their children in either country with none of the super/pension, seem to get all the benefits and money to live. I wouldn't even consider that option for myself! The interest rates are lousy in the UK versus the interest we get on my SunSuper account! We have earned a heap of money in Oz since December, literally thousands and I rolled mine into pension before Jan 1st so deeming rules do not apply. Low income people in the UK do get help but it took us about a year before it was sorted last time. The ?dept seemed to want to know if we were actually staying and wouldn't move our pensions out of the Overseas dept until 10 months were up, we were registered to vote etc. at that time, when they moved it into a local office,mwe could gave applied for rent and rates relief etc. they were right to be sliw as by the time they moved it we were about to return to Oz! I am now here and will claim my Ozzie pension at 65 this year and it will then be portable. We HAD to go there to find out what we could claim so we could budget for our future as we could get no sense out of the Dept of Pensions! I am still under the part 2 pension subsidies which have now been withdrawn for future pensions which will be a flat rate of £130 per week for people born later than me. Life is an adventure but can be very complicated at times! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fizzybangs Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 Hello, Residence requirements are summarised here https://www.dss.gov.au/our-responsibilities/seniors/benefits-payments/age-pension Pasted below Residence Requirements 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 Chicken you are right and I have done that and am in Oz now. If I had returned just before my Birthday I would have has to stay in Oz 2 years for the pension to become PORTABLE! As I am here the full year before it will become portable upon retirement age instead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fizzybangs Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 Oh ok i thought if you came back and lived for the year before you could claim it you could take it with you once it was all up and running. Yes you are right Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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