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Oz Super from UK??


s713

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Just putting it out there.

We are moving back to the UK this year, I have a Telstra Super fund with a decent amount in, I am just wondering if anyone has an opinion on whether it would be worth me continuing to contribute into it from the UK (via online xfer) or whether to just leave as balance and start a new UK one. Then lump sum xfer at 60.

I use an online xfer site and will keep an Oz bank account open so hopefully not much in the way of fees. Also, no insurances etc. cancelled all them.

Thanks in advance.

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52 minutes ago, s713 said:

We are moving back to the UK this year, I have a Telstra Super fund with a decent amount in, I am just wondering if anyone has an opinion on whether it would be worth me continuing to contribute into it from the UK

Interesting question.  I'm not even sure if you would be allowed to?  Best thing is to ring the company and ask them.

However, lump sum transfer at age 60 would be a bad idea as you'd pay a painful amount in tax (the payout is tax-free in Australia but the Inland Revenue will take a big chunk).  For that reason, I'd say start a new fund in the UK and then take your Aussie super as a small pension.

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Thanks, I will do.

So, when I lump sum my Super at 60, I'll pay no tax in Australia to free up the money, but when I transfer it to the UK, it will be taxed? Does it work like that for house equity as well? I have transferred large lump sums before and never declared anything.

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15 minutes ago, s713 said:

Thanks, I will do.

So, when I lump sum my Super at 60, I'll pay no tax in Australia to free up the money, but when I transfer it to the UK, it will be taxed? Does it work like that for house equity as well? I have transferred large lump sums before and never declared anything.

If you sold a property or cashed out investments and then paid them into an Australian bank account before you left, then it's just "savings" and the Inland Revenue doesn't care what it was before that. 

If you then leave the money in an Australian bank account for a while after you leave,, then the UK government will tax you on any foreign currency gains you make. 

I looked into the lump sum when we were planning to return to the UK and I can't remember the details now.  However I do remember the amount of tax was major. 

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1 hour ago, s713 said:

Thanks, I will do.

So, when I lump sum my Super at 60, I'll pay no tax in Australia to free up the money, but when I transfer it to the UK, it will be taxed? Does it work like that for house equity as well? I have transferred large lump sums before and never declared anything.

The reality is that large deposits in UK bank accounts come to the attention of HMRC who may enquire with you where the money originated.  If it happened to have been from a taxable source and you had failed to declare it at the right time then you are liable both for the tax and a penalty (which starts at 100% of the amount of tax lost, but is mitigated down based on the factors leading to the failure).

Incidentally it becomes taxable at the time that you free up the lump sum, not the date that you transfer it.

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10 minutes ago, Gbye grey sky said:

Incidentally it becomes taxable at the time that you free up the lump sum, not the date that you transfer it.

.....but if you are not resident in the UK at the time you free it up, it's not taxable until you become a UK resident.   So any intrerest/gains/losses before that date would be irrelevant. I think.

Though that doesn't apply to the OP because he's going to be resident in the UK long before taking the lump sum.

One thing that came to light in the Royal Commission was that Australian banks have been  very slack about reporting lump sums transferred overseas, which means people were able to transfer large amounts of money without triggering the attention of the ATO or foreign governments. 

Edited by Marisawright
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6 hours ago, s713 said:

Just putting it out there.

We are moving back to the UK this year, I have a Telstra Super fund with a decent amount in, I am just wondering if anyone has an opinion on whether it would be worth me continuing to contribute into it from the UK (via online xfer) or whether to just leave as balance and start a new UK one. Then lump sum xfer at 60.

I use an online xfer site and will keep an Oz bank account open so hopefully not much in the way of fees. Also, no insurances etc. cancelled all them.

Thanks in advance.

There are large tax advantages when you pay into a UK pension. I'm pretty sure you won't get these if you pay into Oz super, so you should set up a new uk pension fund. Your employer would probably need to do that by law anyway. But you can set up your own if you are self employed. You should be able to over contribute to this fund if you wish.

The only way it would be to your advantage to contribute to the Australian super would be to keep life insurance alive, but these may no longer be valid if you are not resident. Check out the small print, or even get a financial advisor to do so.

Also, my Australian super I can manage online, so that is important.

 

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11 hours ago, s713 said:

Just putting it out there.

We are moving back to the UK this year, I have a Telstra Super fund with a decent amount in, I am just wondering if anyone has an opinion on whether it would be worth me continuing to contribute into it from the UK (via online xfer) or whether to just leave as balance and start a new UK one. Then lump sum xfer at 60.

I use an online xfer site and will keep an Oz bank account open so hopefully not much in the way of fees. Also, no insurances etc. cancelled all them.

Thanks in advance.

I was looking into it last year, i think you can only withdraw your super fund if you are temporary resident and leaving Australia. You also get taxed as well, if i remember correctly it was 35 %, ATO website has all the information regarding this

EDIT: This apply to if you are withdrawing before preservation age

Edited by garrychandi
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