Superannuation

[Westy]

Hello. Just wondering if anybody new the answer to this question. 

I have brought my UK pension over to Australia,I paid tax on it in Australia. I have lived in Australia for ten years and worked for full time during that time, paying Superannuation. I have Australian citizenship. I am returning to the UK in July potentially to live in the UK permanently.I was born in UK.

i know i cannot take my superannuation back to the UK, it has to remain in Australia. Once i reach my preservation age at 60, if I have stayed in the UK what are the tax implications when i want to bring my superannuation over to the UK, either as a lump sum or monthly payments. Wanting to know if i would get heavily taxed in the UK, my superannuation would be my main source of income once i retired in the UK

[Martinbjulieb]

I am also interested in any replies to this topic.  We have looked into it but can never get a straight answer!

[Amber Snowball]

I’m no expert but I think the answer is you get taxed as if it is any other income beyond your tax allowance. There are a few people on here who seem to be up to speed with it, @Alan Collett  works across both countries might be willing to give a quick dot point guide.

[Marisawright]

On 18/04/2019 at 20:51, Westy said:

Hello. Just wondering if anybody new the answer to this question. 

I have brought my UK pension over to Australia,I paid tax on it in Australia. I have lived in Australia for ten years and worked for full time during that time, paying Superannuation. I have Australian citizenship. I am returning to the UK in July potentially to live in the UK permanently.I was born in UK.

i know i cannot take my superannuation back to the UK, it has to remain in Australia. Once i reach my preservation age at 60, if I have stayed in the UK what are the tax implications when i want to bring my superannuation over to the UK, either as a lump sum or monthly payments. Wanting to know if i would get heavily taxed in the UK, my superannuation would be my main source of income once i retired in the UK

I thought I had already answered this. If you bring it as a lump sum, you will lose a huge chunk in tax. Australia doesn’t tax it, but the Inland Revenue will. 

I looked into it and the only sensible option was to convert it as a pension. Again, it won’t be taxed by Australia. You’ll have to declare it as income on your UK tax return and if you earn more than the tax free threshold, you’ll be taxed on it. However I think the tax rate on pensions is slightly lower than the tax on salaries.