UK private pension lump sum

[oxboyinoz]

Wanting to take out lump sum from private pension and have been advised UK take their share an whats left when you bring it to Oz they take 50 % even though they have a tax treaty agreement.  ATO say you declare it at tax time and they send you a notice of what is left. No expert but I make it thus 44,000 Pounds uk tax off 12k leavin approx $64,000 put that figure into tax calculator and left with about $30,000 rip off. Or do i have it paypalled and tell know one lol

Anyone who has done this in the last 12 months would welcome your input

 

 

[Gbye grey sky]

Maybe it’s just me but I haven’t got a clue what you are asking here.

[Marisawright]

The answer is not to take it as a lump sum, it’s a pension

[Guest The Pom Queen]

Have a chat with @Andrew from Vista Financial I’m sure he can advise as not only does he deal with pensions but he is a financial advisor. He also helps people in securing a mortgage

[Marisawright]

12 hours ago, oxboyinoz said:

Wanting to take out lump sum from private pension and have been advised UK take their share an whats left when you bring it to Oz they take 50 % even though they have a tax treaty agreement.  ATO say you declare it at tax time and they send you a notice of what is left. No expert but I make it thus 44,000 Pounds uk tax off 12k leavin approx $64,000 put that figure into tax calculator and left with about $30,000 rip off. Or do i have it paypalled and tell know one lol

 

To provide a more serious answer to your question - I think you were joking, but there is no way you'll be able to transfer the money quietly and hope the tax office won't  notice.  These pesky governments talk to each other now, so you'll be found out and stung for  a fine as well as the eye-watering tax.

I haven't done it myself but I've seen people ask about this before and yes, you'll lose a vast chunk if you take a lump sum.  Remember it's a pension fund, the whole idea of it was to provide a pension for you in your old age (when you will need it, the way the age pension is going), so I guess governments want to discourage people taking lump sums, because too many are inclined to spend them. 

As I understand it, you have two choices.  Either transfer the money to an equivalent pension fund in Australia (there isn't one approved yet but hopefully there will be, so it's a case of being patient)  or sit back, let the money continue to earn interest, and take it as a pension in your old age.  But as ThePomQueen says, Andrew can advise on your particular situation.
 

[oxboyinoz]

Thanks for all your help, looks as i thought it would, Virgin Finance were doing something a few years ago doing all the work consolidating Pom to Aus super, will have to look that up next.

Cheers again everyone

[Marisawright]

37 minutes ago, oxboyinoz said:

Thanks for all your help, looks as i thought it would, Virgin Finance were doing something a few years ago doing all the work consolidating Pom to Aus super, will have to look that up next.

You may be out of luck.  Here's an article explaining why no one is doing it right now:

https://www.smh.com.au/money/planning-and-budgeting/thousands-of-aussies-caught-in-tougher-rules-to-transfer-british-pensions-20171012-gyzb6h.html

Edited October 24, 2018 by Marisawright

[Andrew from Vista Financial]

Hello oxboyinoz

It may be possible to transfer the pension to an Australian Super Fund although currently there are no retail options available, the only retail fund that existed recently was deleted from HMRC ROPS list a couple of months ago for a review.

Therefore currently the only option is to have a Self-Managed Super Fund established and QROPS recognised. However this is really something you should probably seek advice on as its a pretty complex area AND may not be suitable for you for many reasons.

I understand that there are a number of other Australian Retail Super Funds who will be putting in (or already have) applications to HMRC to be QROPS so may be worth waiting a bit to see how this turns out.

I am assuming that your scheme is a defined contribution scheme?

Regards

Andy