Marisawright Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 (edited) 54 minutes ago, Wanderer Returns said: It's hard to say how long it takes to feel settled but you should give it at least couple of years, even if initially one of you hates it. If you're still not happy after 4-5 years then that would be a good time to start thinking about moving back. My only advice would be don't go back before the end of March, so at least you can enjoy two summers that year! I think you're right that it takes a couple of years to feel really settled, but I strongly believe that if someone really hates it, then there's no point in persevering that long. If a country is fundamentally not right for you, then you're probably going to know in the first year or so. The trouble with giving it 2 or 4 or 5 years is that your life gets entrenched. You've got jobs, bought a house, made some friends, and the happy partner is saying "but this is a great life, why would you want to go back?" The homesick partner can see the logic and feels like they have less and less and less of a leg to stand on, so they don't feel they can argue - but it doesn't change the fact that they're getting more and more desperate and quietly crying themselves to sleep at night. Edited July 22, 2020 by Marisawright 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul1Perth Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, Wanderer Returns said: From personal experience it took me a couple of years to feel settled when I first came over. Christmas was the thing I really missed. Santa in the sun doesn't cut it for me - never will do. 17 years ago my mum was still alive and an aunt and uncle I was very close to and who were always saw over Christmas, but they've all gone now so I don't hanker for that any more. It's hard to say how long it takes to feel settled but you should give it at least couple of years, even if initially one of you hates it. If you're still not happy after 4-5 years then that would be a good time to start thinking about moving back. My only advice would be don't go back before the end of March, so at least you can enjoy two summers that year! We came in 92, never been before, 2 year old, gave up good jobs to come, middle of a recession here and we never felt like we'd made a mistake from day one. Always felt so lucky we'd got in, even though I was out of work for 5 months. Felt "settled" as soon as we got our rental. Took us about a year to check out where we wanted to live and get a mortgage. Carefully choose where you buy would be my advice. We love where we live, kids love it, my eldest had the usual downer on Perth when he was in his teens. A lot of his friends used to go on about Perth being boring, nothing to do, even though they were never in, always out surfing, down the beach with friends, out on boats, nightclubbing, going out at 10:00, coming home at 4:00am. Then he started travelling and he's been all over the place. Lived in Canada for 2 years, in Whistler snowboarding. He's back now, talked his girlfriend from Newcastle into moving here and his trips have shown him that Perth and WA are incredibly good. Edited July 22, 2020 by Paul1Perth 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lavers Posted July 22, 2020 Author Share Posted July 22, 2020 1 hour ago, Wanderer Returns said: @Lavers it's hard to say how are you are based on that photo (late 20s?) - but if you haven't got 10 full years NI contributions then it's worth topping them up so that you'll still have an entitlement to the UK state pension when you retire. Haha cheers mate I am 38 in a few weeks. I've got 22 full years then what I've paid over the last 3 months before leaving should cover this years NI as well. How much is it a year do you know? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lavers Posted July 22, 2020 Author Share Posted July 22, 2020 Hopefully we both love it and theres no looking back, after that its atleast to get citizenship for the girls (unless it's really that bad). We will just take one day at a time and see how we feel. On a plus side neither off us are really close to our families, so that should help a little with not feeling home sick. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul1Perth Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 9 minutes ago, Lavers said: Haha cheers mate I am 38 in a few weeks. I've got 22 full years then what I've paid over the last 3 months before leaving should cover this years NI as well. How much is it a year do you know? I was about the same age when we came. We looked into paying our stamp up but decided to put any spare cash into the mortgage. Luckily I had a couple of company pension schemes, one with the NCB where I did my apprenticeship and one with Ferranti, where I worked when I finished my degree. I took a lump sum and a monthly payment from the NHS one at 55 and the Ferranti one at 65, along with the British Government pension. All up mate I was pleasantly surprised with the income from all of them and that, along with my super from here is enough to keep us ticking along in retirement. My wife is still working part time as a nurse. She's 5 years younger than me so can't get her pension till sh's 67. I keep telling her she can't pack work in till then. She got her NHS pension last year but we both got stung with a tax bill when it came into our bank account. Good to be aware of that. I retired in December though so should get a decent rebate this year. We don't get any state pension as we have too much income at the moment. That might change when my wife retires. IMO the Aussie pension is pretty generous, your home doesn't come into the equation and you can have an awful lot od assets and still get some. It's all on line to find details and if you're anything like me, I didn't start thinking about it till I was 60 and you can do a transition to retirement, which is a bit of a tax saving. You've years of work yet mate, don't worry about it yet. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 34 minutes ago, Lavers said: Hopefully we both love it and theres no looking back, after that its atleast to get citizenship for the girls (unless it's really that bad). On a plus side neither off us are really close to our families, so that should help a little with not feeling home sick. It's not a question of it being bad or good, it's a question of whether it's right for you or not. It's a very individual reaction. You'll either feel at home or you won't, and it has nothing to do with logic! so long as you both understand that and are sympathetic and open to each other's feelings, you'll be fine. Being independent of family is good because it removes one big stumbling block that a lot of migrants can't get over. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 41 minutes ago, Lavers said: Haha cheers mate I am 38 in a few weeks. I've got 22 full years then what I've paid over the last 3 months before leaving should cover this years NI as well. How much is it a year do you know? At your age, it's a tough decision to make, because no doubt the pension age will go up and up, and so many things can change before then - so for all you know, it could be money wasted. On the other hand, it's cheap IMO, and you'll hardly miss it now - but if you're unlucky enough to have a few reverses in your life, you could be very glad of that extra pension in your old age. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lavers Posted July 22, 2020 Author Share Posted July 22, 2020 36 minutes ago, Marisawright said: At your age, it's a tough decision to make, because no doubt the pension age will go up and up, and so many things can change before then - so for all you know, it could be money wasted. On the other hand, it's cheap IMO, and you'll hardly miss it now - but if you're unlucky enough to have a few reverses in your life, you could be very glad of that extra pension in your old age. I'll probably leave it a few yrs as I've only 7 yrs to get the full amount anyway, so if I pay top ups now and we return to the UK at some point, then I'll have wasted my money. The good thing with Aus is that companies are putting 9.5% into a pension for you, as in the UK the basic pension is 3% from your company/tax relief. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amber Snowball Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 3 hours ago, Lavers said: I'll probably leave it a few yrs as I've only 7 yrs to get the full amount anyway, so if I pay top ups now and we return to the UK at some point, then I'll have wasted my money. The good thing with Aus is that companies are putting 9.5% into a pension for you, as in the UK the basic pension is 3% from your company/tax relief. It’s 35 years contributions for full uk pension now.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lavers Posted July 22, 2020 Author Share Posted July 22, 2020 15 minutes ago, Amber Snowball said: It’s 35 years contributions for full uk pension now.. I think if you were paying in before a certain date, then it stays at 30. I've checked my online account and it says 30...I hope that's correct anyway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wanderer Returns Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 (edited) 50 minutes ago, Lavers said: I think if you were paying in before a certain date, then it stays at 30. I've checked my online account and it says 30...I hope that's correct anyway Sorry to be the bearer of bad news Lavers, but it's a minimum of 35 years now to get the full UK pension - even longer if you opted out of SERPS. You'd need to have been born before April 1951 to only require 30 qualifying years (1953 for women). I was reliably informed by HMRC just before leaving the UK that I'll need have to have paid NI contributions for 37 years to get a full state pension. Voluntary Class 3 NI contributions are currently £15.30/week, or £795/year, which is rather a lot in my opinion. It's been going up significantly every year, over and above the rate of inflation (last tax year it was around £760/year). I've paid up 26 years and I'm leaving it at that for the moment because I think I might have to rely on the Australian Age Pension when I'm elderly, and that would be reduced proportionally if my UK pension was more than a paltry amount (I think it's currently about $80/week). The UK pension isn't indexed-linked either if you live in Australia, so once you started drawing it you'll get the same amount until you die, with no cost of living rises. As it's still 30 years before you'll be claiming I think you'd be wise to look at other investment options, or paying your mortgage off quicker. Although I should point out that my opinion is no substitute for expert advice! Edited July 22, 2020 by Wanderer Returns Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ausvisitor Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 54 minutes ago, Lavers said: I think if you were paying in before a certain date, then it stays at 30. I've checked my online account and it says 30...I hope that's correct anyway Both you and wanderer returns are correct here. To work out which one is right in your position though we'd need to your income and pension arrangements for the last 20 years. Basically when the UK moved to the new state pension they did away with the state second pension - so if you had been putting money into that (automatic if you don't opt out and earn enough) you were accruing additional cash over the pension amount. When the new scheme started they merged your second pension rights into the main pension, meaning those with a lot in second pension could end up needing many years less than 35 to qualify for the full amount. I had my prediction done last year as soon as I got the grant to AUS and at 44 I have now met my requirement for a full pension and I have it in writing from DWP 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wanderer Returns Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 5 hours ago, Marisawright said: At your age, it's a tough decision to make, because no doubt the pension age will go up and up, and so many things can change before then - so for all you know, it could be money wasted. On the other hand, it's cheap IMO, and you'll hardly miss it now - but if you're unlucky enough to have a few reverses in your life, you could be very glad of that extra pension in your old age. I think at 38, @Lavers would still have plenty of time pay in an additional 13 years in Class 1 contributions should they decide to return to the UK, rather than paying the voluntary Class 3 contributions. And without wishing to be morbid, he'll need to live at least another 30 years to benefit from it (assuming no further increases in the retirement age), and a further 3 years in pension withdrawals to recoup those voluntary contributions. You can also pay Class 3 contributions up to 7 years arrears, so that would give him 30 years - even if he never returned to the UK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wanderer Returns Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 5 minutes ago, Ausvisitor said: Both you and wanderer returns are correct here. To work out which one is right in your position though we'd need to your income and pension arrangements for the last 20 years. Basically when the UK moved to the new state pension they did away with the state second pension - so if you had been putting money into that (automatic if you don't opt out and earn enough) you were accruing additional cash over the pension amount. When the new scheme started they merged your second pension rights into the main pension, meaning those with a lot in second pension could end up needing many years less than 35 to qualify for the full amount. I had my prediction done last year as soon as I got the grant to AUS and at 44 I have now met my requirement for a full pension and I have it in writing from DWP Thanks for explaining this so clearly! I didn't fully understand it when HMRC explained it to me, although I knew that at some point I had opted out of SERPS (so that money had gone into my private pension), and I'd worked for 11 years in Australia, so there it was likely there was going to be a shortfall in my UK contributions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lavers Posted July 22, 2020 Author Share Posted July 22, 2020 Ah well never mind. If you both go on your tax account with HMRC does it show 30years on there for you still or 35? When did they do this serps thing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 26 minutes ago, Wanderer Returns said: I've paid up 26 years and I'm leaving it at that for the moment because I think I might have to rely on the Australian Age Pension when I'm elderly, and that would be reduced proportionally if my UK pension was more than a paltry amount (I think it's currently about $80/week). However, it's not a dollar for dollar proportion. For every dollar of UK pension, you don't lose a whole dollar of Australian pension - so you're still ahead. Plus of course, the British pension isn't means-tested, so you'll get it from the moment you reach pension age. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wanderer Returns Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 5 minutes ago, Lavers said: Ah well never mind. If you both go on your tax account with HMRC does it show 30 years on there for you still or 35? When did they do this serps thing? If you login in to your HMRC account and look at your State Pension Summary, it should look something like this (please see mine below). I've paid in 25 years (I've actually paid in 26 but it hasn't been added yet) and I know I'll need to pay in for 37 years to get the full amount of £175.20. 25 years divided by 37 years, multiplied by £175.20, is roughly equal to £119/week - which is what I'd get if I retired today. I hope that helps. You'll need to check with HMRC to see if you were opted out of SERPS. You could give them a call, but expect a bit of a wait! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lavers Posted July 22, 2020 Author Share Posted July 22, 2020 Cheers for that Wanderer...so mine shows this. When did the serps happen? I started work in 98. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lavers Posted July 22, 2020 Author Share Posted July 22, 2020 But like you say I have to make it there first haha 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dorsetbrit Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 What a mine field. I’m self employed and have been for 20 years. I’m 40 this year and should be over to Oz in October as long as we’re aloud in. Visa runs out in December so cutting it fine!I didn’t give pensions a single thought until swing all This so thank you guys great discussion and thanks lavers I was worried about doing two weeks in a hotel but a blink of an eye compared to the rest of our life’s. I’ll be on HMRC later see what I’m not entitled to! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ausvisitor Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 10 hours ago, Lavers said: Cheers for that Wanderer...so mine shows this. When did the serps happen? I started work in 98. Looks about right - what this means is for some of the years (maybe all) you earned a lot more than the minimum requirement but you didn't opt out into an occupational pension, so you've gained some credit for those SERPS payments. The change happened in 2016 - anyone on the new scheme can get up to £175 a week where as before the max is about £140 a week 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wanderer Returns Posted July 23, 2020 Share Posted July 23, 2020 17 hours ago, Lavers said: Cheers for that Wanderer...so mine shows this. When did the serps happen? I started work in 98. You're welcome @Lavers. It looks like you or your employer never opted out of SERPS so you were right in thinking that you only need to pay 30 years contribution to get a full state pension. In your situation there's a much stronger argument for you paying another 8 years voluntary contributions than in mine, because you are getting more benefit for each full year than I am (1/30th is more than 1/37th). I guess it will depend on your other financial commitments as to what's best for you. I believe you can pay up the preceding 7 years at any time, so you could wait until just before you retire before making a decision. It's 30 years away of course and you know the UK, they'll have changed the rules 10 times by then - and probably not to our advantage! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ausvisitor Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 @Lavers is it not today that you get to cast off the shackles of isolation/quarantine and start your new life proper? Good luck, keep us up to date with how things go Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lavers Posted July 29, 2020 Author Share Posted July 29, 2020 So finally free, went straight to the beach and were greeted by a couple of dolphins 1 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon the Hat Posted July 29, 2020 Share Posted July 29, 2020 15 hours ago, Lavers said: So finally free, went straight to the beach and were greeted by a couple of dolphins Congratulations! Your new life starts here! Woohoo! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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