Near retiring age

[100]

I want to return to the UK this year but am worried about the age pension.I have lived here for over 35 years and of course entitled to the Aussie pension but as everyone is aware the UK is one of the countries that Australia will not send the pension to.I will have approx 50,000 pounds in cash.When this runs out does anyone know if the UK will add anything to my pension (UK approx 30 pound) or a site where I can find out.I did return there 3 years ago,because of a death in the family and was awarded pension credits,etc but on settlement of the estate I came off this benefit and renovated a property in France,which has to be sold for me to obtain the figure of 50,000.I am not trying to bludge off the UK but am worried I may end up homeless once my money has run out.If not I may have to live in Spain as the properties are cheap there and Australia will send my Oz pension there as I will not be entitled to any help from the UK.I find the cost of living and rental prices to high for me to exsist here in Oz as I have no super etc.Thanks

[Freckleface]

Are you sure you don't have any super? It has been compulsory in Aust for over 20 years.

[flag of convenience]

You should surely get the basic UK pension if retuning to live permanently and show evidence of the fact. Most countries in Europe you will qualify for the Aussie pension. That includes cheapish countries like Malta and Cyprus.

[Peccavi]

I want to return to the UK this year but am worried about the age pension.I have lived here for over 35 years and of course entitled to the Aussie pension but as everyone is aware the UK is one of the countries that Australia will not send the pension to.I will have approx 50,000 pounds in cash.When this runs out does anyone know if the UK will add anything to my pension (UK approx 30 pound) or a site where I can find out.I did return there 3 years ago,because of a death in the family and was awarded pension credits,etc but on settlement of the estate I came off this benefit and renovated a property in France,which has to be sold for me to obtain the figure of 50,000.I am not trying to bludge off the UK but am worried I may end up homeless once my money has run out.If not I may have to live in Spain as the properties are cheap there and Australia will send my Oz pension there as I will not be entitled to any help from the UK.I find the cost of living and rental prices to high for me to exsist here in Oz as I have no super etc.Thanks

 

This is what is so misleading. I got caught by this too, and it was only the insistence of another PIO poster that made me look into it.

 

Even now it is difficult to explain, but I do know that if you reached pension age by a certain year etc,etc, you ARE paid your AusPens in the UK.

 

I should know. It's being paid! Contact Centrelink International (131-673) directly; give them your details, and get your answer.

I found out in February last year that my AusPen could be paid permanently in the UK. I hit the ground at warp speed!

 

Good luck, I hope you qualify; I had the same fears as you.

[100]

Would like to thank everyone who replied to my question about moving back to the UK.It has been very helpful.The reason I do not have any super is that for most of the time I was self employed.As for the Oz pension being paid in the UK I believe this stopped in the early 80's as my father-in-law gets his Oz pension paid in the UK but I will find out more.Many thanks once again to all that replied.

[jen85]

I would check the conditions of being eligible for the Aus pension as an british citizen, I read that they have recently changed the requirements so if you move permanently back to your country of origin that the pension will stop after a certain period of time plus you have to have lived in Aus for 30yrs min to even qualify.

 

Don't want to alarm you just thought best check it out, it was recently changed by the Abbott government along with a few other benefits. :mad:

[Peccavi]

All it needs is a phone call.

[flag of convenience]

Would like to thank everyone who replied to my question about moving back to the UK.It has been very helpful.The reason I do not have any super is that for most of the time I was self employed.As for the Oz pension being paid in the UK I believe this stopped in the early 80's as my father-in-law gets his Oz pension paid in the UK but I will find out more.Many thanks once again to all that replied.

 

The agreement between the two countries ceased in 2001 from memory. It is very confusing I agree. If the agreement ceased operation how is it that the Oz pension continues to be paid to new claimants then? If that is indeed the case.

Although with the dollar in long expected free fall it will not be worth a great deal at the end of the day.

[flag of convenience]

I would check the conditions of being eligible for the Aus pension as an british citizen, I read that they have recently changed the requirements so if you move permanently back to your country of origin that the pension will stop after a certain period of time plus you have to have lived in Aus for 30yrs min to even qualify.

 

Don't want to alarm you just thought best check it out, it was recently changed by the Abbott government along with a few other benefits. :mad:

 

One is supposed to be resident two years in Australia prior to claiming. There is a set period required to be resident in Australia, but thought it ten working years. Must check it out sometime, but regulations change with such haste in Australia that nothing will be applicable until closer to the date in my case. Qualify for nothing anyway being mean tested.

[jen85]

 

There is a set period required to be resident in Australia, but thought it ten working years

Its 25 years as a resident in the country I read last week but it is being changed to 30 years, that is for people who have come into the country and wish to move back to retire etc. This may not apply though to people not moving back obviously. Best check it out to be 100%

[vidtek]

I want to return to the UK this year but am worried about the age pension.I have lived here for over 35 years and of course entitled to the Aussie pension but as everyone is aware the UK is one of the countries that Australia will not send the pension to.I will have approx 50,000 pounds in cash.When this runs out does anyone know if the UK will add anything to my pension (UK approx 30 pound) or a site where I can find out.I did return there 3 years ago,because of a death in the family and was awarded pension credits,etc but on settlement of the estate I came off this benefit and renovated a property in France,which has to be sold for me to obtain the figure of 50,000.I am not trying to bludge off the UK but am worried I may end up homeless once my money has run out.If not I may have to live in Spain as the properties are cheap there and Australia will send my Oz pension there as I will not be entitled to any help from the UK.I find the cost of living and rental prices to high for me to exsist here in Oz as I have no super etc.Thanks

 

100-

 

You are in a very similar position to myself. I emigrated in 1982 (landed April fools day - should have told me something). I worked for various companies until 1986 when I went self-employed.

My super was my company. My wife reached pension age in Australia and qualifies for the whole pension. I have another 17 months to go until I reach retirement age. Because I had a heart attack I gave up work and am trying to sell my share of the business (at a knock-down price so my super will be super-slim). I have been informed that I will get 73 GBP a week of British pension, the wife gets 1.25 GBP.

Because the claim for my wife's pension was complicated by me having a half-share in various companies, Centrelink referred the matter to a head of department in Canberra. This lady rang us and was on the 'phone for over an hour, by the end of the conversation with her, my wife had the full pension paid into our account and she had also put me on Newstart allowance until I retire, something I had no intention of claiming but she virtually insisted. She also told us that when we move to the UK my wife will continue to get the full pension. Maybe she looked at the hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes I have paid while self-employed and thought these guys deserve some back.

The moral of the story is, if the local Centrelink don't help you, persevere and keep going up through supervisor after supervisor until you get to speak to someone who can actually make a descision for themseves, ie. head of dept. Complain to your local MP if you get knowhere, it helps if a by-election is coming up. 99% of people give up at the first hurdle, which is what they want, make a nuisance of yourself and they want you to just go away.

 

Tony.

PS. Whatever you do, open a bank account in the UK before you go back, even if you get a sibling or family member to do it in their name.

Edited January 9, 2014 by vidtek
missing point

[jen85]

100-

Tony.

PS. Whatever you do, open a bank account in the UK before you go back, even if you get a sibling or family member to do it in their name.

 

You can't actually do that, its considered money laundering I have been told. It has to be in your name and you have to be a resident in the country I was told before by the bank.

[Flathead]

You can't actually do that, its considered money laundering I have been told. It has to be in your name and you have to be a resident in the country I was told before by the bank.

Not true.

 

I opened a new account in the UK a couple of years ago from Australia

 

You can do it through HSBC or one of the Australian banks that has a British partner

Edited January 10, 2014 by Flathead

[vidtek]

You can't actually do that, its considered money laundering I have been told. It has to be in your name and you have to be a resident in the country I was told before by the bank.

 

Jen-

 

I tried to open an account from here and was told the same thing. I went to the UK for my sister's wedding in June/July and the high street banks all threw up their hands in horror when I said I lived in Australia. However, I went into this little village in a place called Wimborne Minster 10 miles North of my home town Bournemouth and popped into a branch of Barclays. Now 32 years ago I swore I'd never ever set foot in a Barclays bank due to overcharges on an account and their offhand attitude, but time passes and the staff at this branch could not have been more helpful, they were just brilliant. I finalized the setup at another small village Corfe Castle, once again, really helpful staff.

They opened an account for me and I use it to purchase ebay stuff and geosensitive things on the internet.

 

The moral of this tale is not to use the high street branches!

 

Tony.

Edited January 10, 2014 by vidtek
spelling error

[Peccavi]

100-

 

You are in a very similar position to myself. I emigrated in 1982 (landed April fools day - should have told me something). I worked for various companies until 1986 when I went self-employed.

My super was my company. My wife reached pension age in Australia and qualifies for the whole pension. I have another 17 months to go until I reach retirement age. Because I had a heart attack I gave up work and am trying to sell my share of the business (at a knock-down price so my super will be super-slim). I have been informed that I will get 73 GBP a week of British pension, the wife gets 1.25 GBP.

Because the claim for my wife's pension was complicated by me having a half-share in various companies, Centrelink referred the matter to a head of department in Canberra. This lady rang us and was on the 'phone for over an hour, by the end of the conversation with her, my wife had the full pension paid into our account and she had also put me on Newstart allowance until I retire, something I had no intention of claiming but she virtually insisted. She also told us that when we move to the UK my wife will continue to get the full pension. Maybe she looked at the hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes I have paid while self-employed and thought these guys deserve some back.

The moral of the story is, if the local Centrelink don't help you, persevere and keep going up through supervisor after supervisor until you get to speak to someone who can actually make a descision for themseves, ie. head of dept. Complain to your local MP if you get knowhere, it helps if a by-election is coming up. 99% of people give up at the first hurdle, which is what they want, make a nuisance of yourself and they want you to just go away.

 

Tony.

PS. Whatever you do, open a bank account in the UK before you go back, even if you get a sibling or family member to do it in their name.

 

This (I think!) is what jen85 is referring to. A bank account for yourself opened in anothers name. It can be done, but it can lead to all sorts of problems.

 

You can't actually do that, its considered money laundering I have been told. It has to be in your name and you have to be a resident in the country I was told before by the bank.

 

Strewth! I think these banks make it up as they go along! You CAN open a bank account in the UK from overseas in your name, but you can only deposit. You cannot withdraw funds from that account until on UK soil. That's the money laundering potential area.

 

Not true.

 

I opened a new account in the UK a couple of years ago from Australia

 

You can do it through HSBC or one of the Australian banks that has a British partner

 

You can do it through any bank that allows it. Yorkshire/Clydesdale-Barclays (minimal £5,000 deposit for them).

 

Jen-

 

I tried to open an account from here and was told the same thing. I went to the UK for my sister's wedding in June/July and the high street banks all threw up their hands in horror when I said I lived in Australia. However, I went into this little village in a place called Wimborne Minster 10 miles North of my home town Bournemouth and popped into a branch of Barclays. Now 32 years ago I swore I'd never ever set foot in a Barclays bank due to overcharges on an account and their offhand attitude, but time passes and the staff at this branch could not have been more helpful, they were just brilliant. I finalized the setup at another small village Corfe Castle, once again, really helpful staff.

They opened an account for me and I use it to purchase ebay stuff and geosensitive things on the internet.

 

The moral of this tale is not to use the high street branches!

 

Tony.

 

The moral is that the damn thing is a lottery! Like every other 'service' it seems, today. Two different staff members will give different advice, never mind branches!

[jen85]

This (I think!) is what jen85 is referring to. A bank account for yourself opened in anothers name. It can be done, but it can lead to all sorts of problems

 

 

Yes that is what I meant, I know you can open bank accounts with certain banks.

[starlight7]

You wonder what the so called 'commonwealth' is all about sometimes with British not funding the pension increases and Australia making it difficult for those going in the other direction. Time we cut the ties really.

[vidtek]

Peccavi is right -it's a lottery.

 

I can both deposit AND withdraw funds from my Barclays account in the UK from here in Perth-not much point otherwise when you're buying a house there!

 

My comment about getting a sibling or (trusted) family member to open an account in their name with your money is pretty much a last resort. I frankly don't give a stuff what some nosey parker in Canberra or London thinks of it-it's my hard earned money and I'll do what I damn well like with it; I know I'm not a drug dealer or master criminal.

 

Tony

Edited January 14, 2014 by vidtek
spelling error

[fizzybangs]

Once you get your Age Pension in Oz it IS portable to the UK. However, you cannot be living in the UK in the year prior to claiming your Age Pension for the FIRST TIME. You can live in many other countries and apply for the age pension for the first time though. Your heading stated that you are 'near' retirement age so just wait until you get it and you will be free to go to whatever country you want and you will be paid it. Do NOT bank on getting much out of the UK departments. I have been here since April and cannot even get rent or rates assistance despite being on low income as they will not review my payments until I have been here for a year. I initially got a miniscule rise but it is endlessly frustrating here. I get the grand sum of £54 per week! Luckily my husband gets the Australian Aged pension plus a little more UK pension than me.

 

I want to return to the UK this year but am worried about the age pension.I have lived here for over 35 years and of course entitled to the Aussie pension but as everyone is aware the UK is one of the countries that Australia will not send the pension to.I will have approx 50,000 pounds in cash.When this runs out does anyone know if the UK will add anything to my pension (UK approx 30 pound) or a site where I can find out.I did return there 3 years ago,because of a death in the family and was awarded pension credits,etc but on settlement of the estate I came off this benefit and renovated a property in France,which has to be sold for me to obtain the figure of 50,000.I am not trying to bludge off the UK but am worried I may end up homeless once my money has run out.If not I may have to live in Spain as the properties are cheap there and Australia will send my Oz pension there as I will not be entitled to any help from the UK.I find the cost of living and rental prices to high for me to exsist here in Oz as I have no super etc.Thanks

[Peccavi]

Peccavi is right -it's a lottery.

 

I can both deposit AND withdraw funds from my Barclays account in the UK from here in Perth-not much point otherwise when you're buying a house there!

 

My comment about getting a sibling or (trusted) family member to open an account in their name with your money is pretty much a last resort. I frankly don't give a stuff what some nosey parker in Canberra or London thinks of it-it's my hard earned money and I'll do what I damn well like with it; I know I'm not a drug dealer or master criminal.

 

Tony

 

Holy dooley! Can you really? A lottery.

[Peccavi]

Once you get your Age Pension in Oz it IS portable to the UK. However, you cannot be living in the UK in the year prior to claiming your Age Pension for the FIRST TIME. You can live in many other countries and apply for the age pension for the first time though. Your heading stated that you are 'near' retirement age so just wait until you get it and you will be free to go to whatever country you want and you will be paid it. Do NOT bank on getting much out of the UK departments. I have been here since April and cannot even get rent or rates assistance despite being on low income as they will not review my payments until I have been here for a year. I initially got a miniscule rise but it is endlessly frustrating here. I get the grand sum of £54 per week! Luckily my husband gets the Australian Aged pension plus a little more UK pension than me.

 

That clarifies it! I knew there was some criteria. Sorry about your struggle, -I love being home, but it is anything but easy.

[Petals]

Problem with having an account in Uk is that when there is a problem its hard to fix. We kept an account open for quite a few years until the Bank stuffed it up with another person's account and the only action for us to rectify was to cancel the account. That finished us with overseas accounts lol.

[GlobeTrotta]

This may or not be of use.....amazing what you can find when its 45c outside and one spends their time staying cool!

 

http://www.humanservices.gov.au/customer/enablers/outside-australia

 

Age Pension

You can get Age Pension for the whole time you are overseas, regardless of whether you leave Australia temporarily or permanently.

However, the amount of pension you receive may change if you remain outside Australia for more than 26 weeks. Whether or not your payment amount changes will depend on how long you have lived in Australia between age 16 and age pension age.

 

http://www.humanservices.gov.au/customer/enablers/centrelink/international-social-security-agreements/countries-that-have-agreements-with-australia

[h=1]Countries that have International Social Security Agreements with Australia[/h]Australia has agreements with a number of countries to share responsibility for social security coverage. These countries include:

 

[h=2]The United Kingdom[/h]The agreement with the United Kingdom (UK) ended on 1 March 2001.

For information on claiming UK pensions, paying voluntary contributions or other matters relating to UK social security, visit the following UK government websites:

 

Hope this helps seems clear to me. Good luck!

[Marisawright]

There is no formal agreement - all that means is that there's no special agreement re tax, social security etc. It doesn't prevent the pension being paid.

 

The big change is that the qualifying age is going up from 25 years to 35 years. If you've lived in Australia for less than 35 years you can only get a pro-rated pension.

Edited January 14, 2014 by Marisawright

[jen85]

There is no formal agreement - all that means is that there's no special agreement re tax, social security etc. It doesn't prevent the pension being paid.

 

The big change is that the qualifying age is going up from 25 years to 35 years. If you've lived in Australia for less than 35 years you can only get a pro-rated pension.

 

That actually hasn't been passed as yet, the government is currently reviewing it with no formal decision made. Stupid really I think 25 years is more than enough loyalty to be paid the pension.