Was the day you left home the best or worst day/decisioin of your life? (25 Oct 1978 was mine)

[flag of convenience]

With the present favourable FX rate, and making an effort to abide by my budget, my UK income is the major part of my income.

 

That's good, as owning an overseas property will disqualify you from the not to distant aged pension.

[MARYROSE02]

That's good, as owning an overseas property will disqualify you from the not to distant aged pension.

If I declare as part of my assets and income (and I do) won't they take it into account and either pay or not pay depending on my asset level?

[Harpodom]

I was 39 the day I left home,I was living with me mum and wife,plus me dad and me eldest sun.It was very emottive exprience handing my ww2 memoribilia to me dad(would never get thorough custums).however i soon cheared up when my wife was badly assorted bye a customs officer for havin a open packet of hobknobs in her bag,i thought'yes,Im home were I belong at last"

[Guest241083]

I was 39 the day I left home,I was living with me mum and wife,plus me dad and me eldest sun.It was very emottive exprience handing my ww2 memoribilia to me dad(would never get thorough custums).however i soon cheared up when my wife was badly assorted bye a customs officer for havin a open packet of hobknobs in her bag,i thought'yes,Im home were I belong at last"

 

 

 

 

..........your a worry sometimes......:rolleyes:

[flag of convenience]

If I declare as part of my assets and income (and I do) won't they take it into account and either pay or not pay depending on my asset level?

 

They of course will but owning two houses will disqualify you from pension. If a part share in UK ownership you'll need to check that out with the reliant people.

[MARYROSE02]

They of course will but owning two houses will disqualify you from pension. If a part share in UK ownership you'll need to check that out with the reliant people.

Isn't it the value of the asset and or its income rather than the fact of owning two homes?

[flag of convenience]

Isn't it the value of the asset and or its income rather than the fact of owning two homes?

 

No I know a German fellow who inherited a house on last parents demise and lost out on an Australian pension. He owns a very expensive house in Sydney as well.

[Johndoe]

No I know a German fellow who inherited a house on last parents demise and lost out on an Australian pension. He owns a very expensive house in Sydney as well.

 

That would be because the 2nd home took him above the asset test, so as MR has stated, it depends on the value of the asset and/or income stream. At least that's how it was explained to me when I applied for my pension

[Marisawright]

If I declare as part of my assets and income (and I do) won't they take it into account and either pay or not pay depending on my asset level?

 

Yes, they'll take your income into account and yes, your pension may reduce to zero if you have a valuable investment property and a decent super balance. However, if you sell the house and put the money in the bank, it's still an asset of the same value, so you'll still get no state pension - therefore you might as well hang on to it!

 

There's a calculator here where you can punch in the numbers and see what you'll get:

http://yourpension.com.au/APCalc/index.html

 

From that, you'll see that even putting the money into your superannuation won't help, because that's counted too.

 

You will still get all the other pensioner benefits like cheap train and bus travel, senior's discounts etc.

 

I think you worked for several years in the UK? Centrelink will insist you apply for your UK pension before they assess you, so I suggest you get a Pension Forecast now, so the UK pension system has you on record at your current address:

 

http://www.britishpensions.org.au/enquiry.htm

 

You'll get a letter back, telling you how much pension you're entitled to and when, and giving you the option to pay extra NI contributions to increase the pension amount.

 

I decided to pay the extra contributions because like you, I won't get any Aussie pension for a few years because I have too many assets. Whereas you'll get the UK pension from the day you reach retirement age! I worked out I'd get the money back within a couple of years so it was worth it.

 

One thing to remember when reading the letter - they will talk about being able to claim your Australian work record to increase the UK pension. That applies ONLY if you go back and live in the UK so it doesn't apply.

[Marisawright]

They of course will but owning two houses will disqualify you from pension. If a part share in UK ownership you'll need to check that out with the reliant people.

 

Your own residence is not counted in the assets test.

[MARYROSE02]

Yes, they'll take your income into account and yes, your pension may reduce to zero if you have a valuable investment property and a decent super balance. However, if you sell the house and put the money in the bank, it's still an asset of the same value, so you'll still get no state pension - therefore you might as well hang on to it!

 

There's a calculator here where you can punch in the numbers and see what you'll get:

http://yourpension.com.au/APCalc/index.html

 

From that, you'll see that even putting the money into your superannuation won't help, because that's counted too.

 

You will still get all the other pensioner benefits like cheap train and bus travel, senior's discounts etc.

 

I think you worked for several years in the UK? Centrelink will insist you apply for your UK pension before they assess you, so I suggest you get a Pension Forecast now, so the UK pension system has you on record at your current address:

 

http://www.britishpensions.org.au/enquiry.htm

 

You'll get a letter back, telling you how much pension you're entitled to and when, and giving you the option to pay extra NI contributions to increase the pension amount.

 

I decided to pay the extra contributions because like you, I won't get any Aussie pension for a few years because I have too many assets. Whereas you'll get the UK pension from the day you reach retirement age! I worked out I'd get the money back within a couple of years so it was worth it.

 

One thing to remember when reading the letter - they will talk about being able to claim your Australian work record to increase the UK pension. That applies ONLY if you go back and live in the UK so it doesn't apply.

 

Thanks for that information Marisa. I remember I did get a pension forecast a few years back when I was living in the UK, I think, from the government department in ?Newcastle-upon-Tyne? You were able to pay those extra contributions (and afford to of course)? I did work in the UK for twelve years from 1996 to 2008, plus 1971 to 1978, and a few months in 1983. The twelve year stint, I was working for Royal Mail and I opted out of the second tier of National Insurance because I was in the Royal Mail pension fund.

 

There are a few things I need to do, including that pension forecast. My RM pension started last year at 60 and my employer pension from the Commonwealth Public Service started in 1996 as part of my redundancy package. I could have waited until I was 55 but I opted to have it straight away at a reduced amount.

 

Here in Australia, I have three separate super funds, maybe two come to think of it, because one I had to put funds into when I was made redundant, then Aussie super which started when the Defence Department changed to private company, and a small amount in the new Commonwealth super fund from my job with the ATO. There's about $60,000 in total I think. What kind of income could I generate I wonder - $5,000 pa perhaps at most?

 

I remember thinking the other day, what would I do if I had $1,000,000? Put it in the bank and live off the interest, say $50,000 pa? My present income from two pensions and my home rent is about $30,000 pa I might get a better return on the value of the house if I sold it and put the money into the bank or a super fund.

 

I suppose I could sell my flat here in Sydney and move to a cheaper area but I don't want to move. Moving closer to my brother might make sense as I get older, assuming he stays where he is at Mt Annan now that his daughter is building near Camden. I like Camden as it happens, but none of the other suburbs out there.

 

I'm presently trying to live within my budget, though using my credit card as it nears the end of the month.

 

It's all food for thought! Thanks again for those links.

[Marisawright]

There are a few things I need to do, including that pension forecast. My RM pension started last year at 60 and my employer pension from the Commonwealth Public Service started in 1996 as part of my redundancy package. I could have waited until I was 55 but I opted to have it straight away at a reduced amount.

 

Here in Australia, I have three separate super funds

 

In that case, you need to consolidate them PRONTO! It makes no sense to have it in three separate funds, because the multiple fees and insurances will be wiping out your earnings. Nowadays, the new government super funds allow you to transfer funds just like the private ones so it shouldn't be a problem. Moving the money is child's play - you just decide which fund you want to move it to, contact them, they will send you a form to fill in and they organise it. Aussie Super is pretty good IMO.

 

Or, since you've already got two other pensions, you could just withdraw the money and put it in the bank. At the very least, you could withdraw enough to pay the extra NI contributions to boost your UK pension.

 

By the way, if you're not working then the insurances are invalid so make sure you cancel them.

 

As for selling the house - I sold my investment property last year and I had to pay a whopping $37,000 in capital gains tax. So IMO it's best not to sell until you really need the money, or until there are problems with the house.

[MARYROSE02]

In that case, you need to consolidate them PRONTO! It makes no sense to have it in three separate funds, because the multiple fees and insurances will be wiping out your earnings. Nowadays, the new government super funds allow you to transfer funds just like the private ones so it shouldn't be a problem. Moving the money is child's play - you just decide which fund you want to move it to, contact them, they will send you a form to fill in and they organise it. Aussie Super is pretty good IMO.

 

Or, since you've already got two other pensions, you could just withdraw the money and put it in the bank. At the very least, you could withdraw enough to pay the extra NI contributions to boost your UK pension.

 

By the way, if you're not working then the insurances are invalid so make sure you cancel them.

 

As for selling the house - I sold my investment property last year and I had to pay a whopping $37,000 in capital gains tax. So IMO it's best not to sell until you really need the money, or until there are problems with the house.

I'm not officially retired yet. I had the thought at the back of my mind about combining the funds. When I joined the ATO they asked me if I'd been a member of Govt funds so I said yes otherwise I'd have put Aussie Super down. The other fund was something I had to put part of my redundancy money in. It was in capital guaranteed but foolishly I moved it to International shares in 2000 at height of dot com boom.

 

I made other good decisions to compensate like purchasing extra years in my RM pension.

[Marisawright]

I'm not officially retired yet. I had the thought at the back of my mind about combining the funds. When I joined the ATO they asked me if I'd been a member of Govt funds so I said yes otherwise I'd have put Aussie Super down. The other fund was something I had to put part of my redundancy money in. It was in capital guaranteed but foolishly I moved it to International shares in 2000 at height of dot com boom.

 

Don't wait until you're retired to consolidate the funds, they are costing you in fees every month. I'd suggest looking into exactly what the ATO is doing with your money, whether it's a new-style transferable fund or not.

 

You don't have to be retired to cancel the insurances, you just have to be not working.

 

You don't have to be of retirement age to withdraw the whole amount, either, if you're over 60.

[MARYROSE02]

Don't wait until you're retired to consolidate the funds, they are costing you in fees every month. I'd suggest looking into exactly what the ATO is doing with your money, whether it's a new-style transferable fund or not.

 

You don't have to be retired to cancel the insurances, you just have to be not working.

 

You don't have to be of retirement age to withdraw the whole amount, either, if you're over 60.

Yes you are right. I have to get my act together - for the first time in 61 years, make this "manana" the last one!?

[flag of convenience]

Your own residence is not counted in the assets test.

 

Yes I think that is generally well known. The inheritance of another house and rental or sale income though does/can.

[Marisawright]

Yes I think that is generally well known. The inheritance of another house and rental or sale income though does/can.

 

But it should be pointed out that the fact it's a house is irrelevant. Your original statement implied that the mere ownership of a second home would disqualify someone from the pension, but that's not the case. The assets test only talks about dollar values of assets, nothing about what they are.

[flag of convenience]

But it should be pointed out that the fact it's a house is irrelevant. Your original statement implied that the mere ownership of a second home would disqualify someone from the pension, but that's not the case. The assets test only talks about dollar values of assets, nothing about what they are.

 

Yes poorly explained. The person was making money from it and later sold it.