Aussie moving to UK permanently with British husband

[Paul1Perth]

3 hours ago, Chortlepuss said:

So if you’re resident in Australia and take a lump sum from a UK pension then this is counted as income For Australian tax purposes? I might need to have a year in the UK once I turn 60....

I'd sooner take the tax hit.

[starlight7]

I didn't think they taxed pensions. Probably need to check. My Dad brought out a lump sum and no tax but things might be different now.

[Marisawright]

59 minutes ago, starlight7 said:

I didn't think they taxed pensions. Probably need to check. My Dad brought out a lump sum and no tax but things might be different now.

Of course it’s always possible he didn’t declare it on his Australian tax return because it never occurred to him that it was necessary. It happens a lot I believe. 

The banks are supposed to report such large transactions so he should have got caught, but as we’ve learned from the Royal Commission, the banks’ reporting has been very slack for years

[ramot]

1 hour ago, starlight7 said:

I didn't think they taxed pensions. Probably need to check. My Dad brought out a lump sum and no tax but things might be different now.

As I posted on another thread all our income pensions etc come from UK monthly, we were previously taxed on our income in UK, but as we finally got PR last year, we are sorting out our tax obligations. I am fairly sure our monthly pension payments count as income here and will be taxed accordingly. Will post once it is sorted and we start paying here. Can’t comment on a lump sum as not applicable.

Edited February 23, 2020 by ramot

[Home and Happy]

They are not stopping the UK state pension for anyone who had paid their full 33 years NI or whatever it is.

The mandatory workplace pension was actually introduced to supplement the state pension not replace it.  

Mainly rumours largely based on the views of left leaning socialist/communist liberal and labour politicians who feel state pension is a benefit when in fact it is your right if you’ve paid your NI.  

As is stands, for fully paid up British citizens, the state pension is still your right no matter what and until, the government tell us otherwise, there will be no change to this. 

Even if they wanted to stop it, it would have to be gradually phased out over a 33 year transition period taking into account your workplace pension.  

[Tulip1]

2 hours ago, Home and Happy said:

They are not stopping the UK state pension for anyone who had paid their full 33 years NI or whatever it is.

The mandatory workplace pension was actually introduced to supplement the state pension not replace it.  

Mainly rumours largely based on the views of left leaning socialist/communist liberal and labour politicians who feel state pension is a benefit when in fact it is your right if you’ve paid your NI.  

As is stands, for fully paid up British citizens, the state pension is still your right no matter what and until, the government tell us otherwise, there will be no change to this. 

Even if they wanted to stop it, it would have to be gradually phased out over a 33 year transition period taking into account your workplace pension.  

No it wouldn’t have to be phased out over a 33 year period, that’s what you and everyone else hope, me included. You cannot possibly know they won’t stop it anymore than you can know they’d have to phase it out. Women in their early 60’s are going crazy right now as a few years ago they thought they’d be getting their pensions at the age of 60 and then suddenly the government announced they’d have to wait until they were 65 like the men. They have rallied and campaigned to turn that decision around saying they weren’t given enough time to make other arrangements. It’s actually been to court and you know what.... they lost. The government can make decisions on changes to the pension and they don’t have to give 33 years notice/transition period.

Edited February 23, 2020 by Tulip1

[Marisawright]

5 hours ago, Home and Happy said:

They are not stopping the UK state pension for anyone who had paid their full 33 years NI or whatever it is...As is stands, for fully paid up British citizens, the state pension is still your right no matter what...Even if they wanted to stop it, it would have to be gradually phased out over a 33 year transition period taking into account your workplace pension.  

I think you are in cloud cuckoo land, sadly.  I have three female cousins over 60, who've paid NI contributions since they were 17 or 18.  Using your logic, the government should've been obliged to pay their pensions when they reached 60, as they'd been promised all their lives.  But no, the government cut 5 years off without any apology.  

It's the government's fault - for decades, they've been too scared to raise NI contribution rates because it would be unpopular. At the same time, the government has let everyone believe their NI contributions were paying towards their pension, and that when they retired, they'd get out what they put in.  

That's why the government can get away with cutting back the pension - it can easily show that what people pay in, is not enough to pay out a pension for life - even taking into account investment growth.  So it can rightfully claim the NI contributions is just that, a partial contribution to a pension, and does not convey the right to any fixed amount or commencement date.

[Home and Happy]

6 hours ago, Marisawright said:

I think you are in cloud cuckoo land, sadly.  I have three female cousins over 60, who've paid NI contributions since they were 17 or 18.  Using your logic, the government should've been obliged to pay their pensions when they reached 60, as they'd been promised all their lives.  But no, the government cut 5 years off without any apology.  

It's the government's fault - for decades, they've been too scared to raise NI contribution rates because it would be unpopular. At the same time, the government has let everyone believe their NI contributions were paying towards their pension, and that when they retired, they'd get out what they put in.  

That's why the government can get away with cutting back the pension - it can easily show that what people pay in, is not enough to pay out a pension for life - even taking into account investment growth.  So it can rightfully claim the NI contributions is just that, a partial contribution to a pension, and does not convey the right to any fixed amount or commencement date.

Women get it at 65, men at 67. You don’t get it soon as you’ve paid up.  In most cases you will overpay by many years.  You are correct.  I have another 13 or so years to work and will be paying all my NI from now on as overpayment.  Coming back here without a pension is not a great move. The government are not likely to be bothered about anyone who has insufficient pensions and there are no handouts for someone who either didn’t pay enough NI or did not save for retirement. Many older EU migrants will have no state pension. A lot of returning immigrants who went to Australia will have no state pension and will get nothing from the government. That’s one heck of a price to pay just to get more sun and be able to brag to your mates that you live near a beach in Australia.

[LouDYorkie]

Women get it at 65, men at 67.

This is not true.
Both men and women approaching state retirement are doing so on on the same sliding scale between age 65 and 66 depending on their date of birth.
For example a man or woman born on 6th June 1954 reaches state pension age on 6th March 2020.

[starlight7]

What happens to women who just looked after kids and never worked in the UK? Just curious.  Do they starve?

[Marisawright]

1 hour ago, Home and Happy said:

Women get it at 65, men at 67. You don’t get it soon as you’ve paid up.  In most cases you will overpay by many years.  

You "overpay" according to the number of years needed to qualify for the pension under the current rules.  You're not overpaying in reality.  Your contributions don't go anywhere close to actually funding your pension. 

It's obvious when you think about it.  You pay a small NI contribution for 20 or 30 years - then you retire and collect a pension much greater than those contributions for 20 or 30 years. That can't possibly add up. 

[Marisawright]

10 minutes ago, starlight7 said:

What happens to women who just looked after kids and never worked in the UK? Just curious.  Do they starve?

There is provision to get credit for time spent as a stay at home mother.  You can also claim something from your husband's entitlements.  I'm not so clear what happens when someone has divorced.

[LouDYorkie]

What happens to women who just looked after kids and never worked in the UK? Just curious.  Do they starve?

It depends if they have claimed child benefit. If they did for 6 years, they get 6 years worth of their 35 years towards state pension. So they’d have to top up to 10 years (if that’s all they have) in order to get anything. If they paid at least some ‘small stamp’, the married women’s category B, there is a chance they can get it based on their husbands contribution. If they get divorced, they can still base it on their ex husbands NI unless they get remarried before retiring [emoji6]

[Tulip1]

1 hour ago, starlight7 said:

What happens to women who just looked after kids and never worked in the UK? Just curious.  Do they starve?

There will be some benefit payment they will get, the country won’t let people starve. It will be minimal though. Married women would get part of any deceased spouses state pension but again not that much.  I’d be surprised if many stay at home mums never work. The working years span for most is about 45/50 years so plenty of time to work before/after child rearing. If they chose not to then that’s a choice they made.  My mum stayed at home until we were all at school and then started with a part time job and then onto full time. She didn’t retire until she was 67 which was out of choice as she’d lost our dad by then and enjoyed the company of being at work. She gets full state pension plus a bit from our dads state pension and the benefit of a good work pension for all the years she did work.  Had she chose not to ever work she’d have to accept there’s not much coming her way, tough but fair. 

[ramot]

I realise that I am sadly old enough to have been eligible at 60 for my state pension and have no idea of the present conditions, but I was entitled to 17 years credit for child rearing. At that time I could pay in extra over several years to top up my pension, which I did. As long as I lived till 62, the amount of extra against amount paid equalled out and I was in profit. It was certainly worth doing for me, but I don’t know if it’s worth it these days.

[Home and Happy]

5 hours ago, Tulip1 said:

There will be some benefit payment they will get, the country won’t let people starve. It will be minimal though. 

That’s what we would all hope for in an ideal world certainly, but sadly there isn’t any such payment and there never has been. You need minimum of 10 years NI to even get basic state pension which currently stands at  just over £40 per week. I don’t even think you qualify for benefits such as Jobseeker’s Allowance after retirement age. Just make sure when you’re out there to keep paying your NI in case you want to come back. There’s no point coming back here without a state pension unless of course you are covered in other ways.

[Home and Happy]

7 hours ago, LouDYorkie said:

This is not true.
Both men and women approaching state retirement are doing so on on the same sliding scale between age 65 and 66 depending on their date of birth.
For example a man or woman born on 6th June 1954 reaches state pension age on 6th March 2020.

Sorry, I might be wrong then, just my understanding. I’ve still 13 years to work, hadn’t looked closely at it but I will now. 

[Tulip1]

9 minutes ago, Home and Happy said:

That’s what we would all hope for in an ideal world certainly, but sadly there isn’t any such payment and there never has been. You need minimum of 10 years NI to even get basic state pension which currently stands at  just over £40 per week. I don’t even think you qualify for benefits such as Jobseeker’s Allowance after retirement age. Just make sure when you’re out there to keep paying your NI in case you want to come back. There’s no point coming back here without a state pension unless of course you are covered in other ways.

There is pension credit for those on low incomes and has been for as long as I can remember. The UK do not starve any pensioner, everyone in the UK will get some financial help if they have no money.  It may not be called a state pension but to suggest old people are left penniless is wrong. 

[Tulip1]

5 hours ago, ramot said:

I realise that I am sadly old enough to have been eligible at 60 for my state pension and have no idea of the present conditions, but I was entitled to 17 years credit for child rearing. At that time I could pay in extra over several years to top up my pension, which I did. As long as I lived till 62, the amount of extra against amount paid equalled out and I was in profit. It was certainly worth doing for me, but I don’t know if it’s worth it these days.

That’s right regarding getting some for child rearing but that’s hit the headlines as some do not quality. The reason is it is awarded against the child benefit you had at the time. Providing that was registered in your name you qualify but some had it registered in the child’s fathers name and they therefore cannot claim. 

[Home and Happy]

1 minute ago, Tulip1 said:

 

6 minutes ago, Tulip1 said:

There is pension credit for those on low incomes and has been for as long as I can remember. The UK do not starve any pensioner, everyone in the UK will get some financial help if they have no money.  It may not be called a state pension but to suggest old people are left penniless is wrong. 

Yes correct there is such a benefit, but aren’t  benefits are means tested. ? If you have a stash of cash or own property or have any equity, I can’t see how you would get any handouts.

[Tulip1]

24 minutes ago, Home and Happy said:

 

No, you wouldn’t need any then. Yes they’re benefits for people who have no money themselves to live on and need help.  If someone has no money and are not entitled to state pension they will get a benefit named something other than state pension.  You were saying there’s no such thing and never has been. There is and has always been. Currently you get state pension subject to your NI contributions regardless of how much money you have.  If you don’t quality for a state pension and have no money then you will receive financial help from the state. If you have money then quite rightly you won’t.

[Home and Happy]

22 hours ago, Tulip1 said:

No, you wouldn’t need any then. Yes they’re benefits for people who have no money themselves to live on and need help.  If someone has no money and are not entitled to state pension they will get a benefit named something other than state pension.  You were saying there’s no such thing and never has been. There is and has always been. Currently you get state pension subject to your NI contributions regardless of how much money you have.  If you don’t quality for a state pension and have no money then you will receive financial help from the state. If you have money then quite rightly you won’t.

The U.K. gov website has a lot of info on pension credits. Yes it highly means tested, and if you’ve over £10 k in savings it affects your application.  If you own property and have any equity in that property you won’t get a bean off them.  If as you say you are penniless then there are top ups in certain circumstances but they will look at everything, your home, savings, pension savings, investments and go through it with a fine tooth comb. Most people do have a reasonable amount of money in one or more of these forms and you will be forced to cash in those chips somehow or other, otherwise getting such a handout as a freebie is not going to be made easy.  Plus returning as a non resident from a foreign country such as australia, you are not allowed NHS treatment or any benefits for 6 months. 

[Home and Happy]

By and large once you emigrate and taken permanent residence in a foreign country, you’ve put yourself in an awkward situation for coming back once you step out of the system, Government are really clamping down on benefits and NHS now.

If you plan on coming home it’s best not left too late.  

[Tulip1]

1 hour ago, Home and Happy said:

The U.K. gov website has a lot of info on pension credits. Yes it highly means tested, and if you’ve over £10 k in savings it affects your application.  If you own property and have any equity in that property you won’t get a bean off them.  If as you say you are penniless then there are top ups in certain circumstances but they will look at everything, your home, savings, pension savings, investments and go through it with a fine tooth comb. Most people do have a reasonable amount of money in one or more of these forms and you will be forced to cash in those chips somehow or other, otherwise getting such a handout as a freebie is not going to be made easy.  Plus returning as a non resident from a foreign country such as australia, you are not allowed NHS treatment or any benefits for 6 months. 

I have no idea what government website you’ve been viewing but pensioners on a low income can claim pension credit if they are a home owner. It has to be the home they reside in, additional property would be considered as investments.  The residential home is not taken into account. Obvious really, you can’t eat bricks and the bricks don’t pay your bills.  You can have as much equality as you like, most pensioners wouldn’t have a mortgage by that time anyway.  You have stated several things on this subject which are completely wrong and you’re making yourself look silly. If you want to state something like ‘if you own a property you won’t get a bean off them’ you should really be sure before saying it. In terms of them looking at your savings and other assets, of course you won’t get anything if you have over a certain amount which is currently £10k. You say you’ll be forced to ‘cash in your chips’ why would you think someone shouldn’t use their own money to feed themselves? The state isn’t some charity that should give out money to people who have plenty...... the mind boggles.

[Paul1Perth]

On 23/02/2020 at 16:43, starlight7 said:

I didn't think they taxed pensions. Probably need to check. My Dad brought out a lump sum and no tax but things might be different now.

You have to declare it, if you don't the taxman doesn't know. If you get caught later though they could probably hit you with a bill.