kairika Posted October 26, 2020 Share Posted October 26, 2020 Hello there. We have been in contact with DeVere Group to discuss transfering my husband’s pension which is in UK. He is 50 and not able to access it yet but DeVere suggests transferring it to Self Invested Personal Pension. They allow withdrawing 25 percent of funds when 55. Has onyone dealt with them at all and happy or should we avoid? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew from Vista Financial Posted October 26, 2020 Share Posted October 26, 2020 (edited) Hi there. I'd suggest that you do some googling on DeVere to get some background, they are now based in many countries over the world and work on pretty aggressive marketing tactics (cold calling, trawling through LinkedIn to search for UK expats etc). They usually use an Investment Bond in the SIPP and may also be using funds that they have either an association with or receive some remuneration from (this would be in addition to any Adviser fees and ultimately comes from your money). I am not saying that the actual strategy is not legitimate, many people transfer to SIPPS for various reasons but do your homework (this is obviously one form of that for you). Is Husbands pension currently a defined benefit scheme? If not then it should also be accessible at age 55. Do you really need to access a lump sum at age 55? This is retirement money after all. Were the tax implications of accessing the 25% explained and covered off? Whilst it is UK tax free it certainly isn't Australian tax free (if perm or citizen), the lump sum will be assessed for tax and the amount of tax paid will then depend on the size of pot (not just the 25% lump sum), how long you have been in Australia and your Husbands marginal tax rate. How does accessing this 25% impact on your overall retirement planning? Have you ensured that you will remain on track to meet your retirement goals and objectives (after accessing this so early). Was a transfer to an Australia Super Fund considered (possible at age 55)? Withdrawals from Australian Super are tax free (after age 60) so it should have been explored at the very least as part of your overall retirement plan. Has the Australian tax implications of eventually drawing the pension (income) been explained? Typically pension income from SIPPs are taxed at a persons marginal rate in Australia. That's my input to get you thinking anyway, I'd say if none of the above has been worked through with you then think again because the transfer of a UK Pension should be built on retirement planning as the foundation however if it has then great. Regards Andy. Edited October 26, 2020 by Andrew from Vista Financial 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted October 26, 2020 Share Posted October 26, 2020 9 hours ago, kairika said: Hello there. We have been in contact with DeVere Group to discuss transfering my husband’s pension which is in UK. He is 50 and not able to access it yet but DeVere suggests transferring it to Self Invested Personal Pension. They allow withdrawing 25 percent of funds when 55. Has onyone dealt with them at all and happy or should we avoid? Do you have a permanent visa in Australia and are planning to stay forever? If so, then there's no point going for an "expat" type of pension. If you're going to move your pension at all (and it's not always a good idea), move it to an Australian super fund (and deVere aren't the best people to help you there - Vista is). However, do NOT move the pension to an Australian fund until you're 100% sure you won't be going back to the UK - because there's no way to transfer it back, and even if you wait until you can cash the whole thing out, there may be tax implications. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFinanceGuy Posted November 19, 2020 Share Posted November 19, 2020 Cannot agree more with Andrew. Please do some extensive research (and look for reviews) prior to engaging with DeVere. If your ultimate plan is to retire in Australia, then this should be a considered in regard to the advice you receive in relation to your husbands UK pension, especially given the favorable tax treatment of super (among other benefits). Rule of thumb - if you receive advice that recommends an International/Expat SIPP with a investment bond inside of this and no extensive analysis on what a transfer to Australia would offer - be extremely careful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToowoombaBlue Posted December 3, 2020 Share Posted December 3, 2020 I've been with DeVere since 2018, no problems with them whatsoever. They use London and Colonial for the SIPPs, to date I have been happy with their service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted December 3, 2020 Share Posted December 3, 2020 (edited) 23 minutes ago, ToowoombaBlue said: I've been with DeVere since 2018, no problems with them whatsoever. They use London and Colonial for the SIPPs, to date I have been happy with their service. You may well be happy with their service but it doesn't mean their recommendations are the best optionj financially. One thing to bear in mind is that many members here have migrated permanently, and what makes sense for a temporary expat isn't sensible for someone who's going to spend the rest of their life in Oz. Edited December 3, 2020 by Marisawright Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew from Vista Financial Posted December 3, 2020 Share Posted December 3, 2020 24 minutes ago, ToowoombaBlue said: I've been with DeVere since 2018, no problems with them whatsoever. They use London and Colonial for the SIPPs, to date I have been happy with their service. Hi Glad you are happy so far, I also use the L&C SIPP for clients in circumstances where a SIPP is warranted, I believe though that they use an investment bond within the SIPP in a lot of cases (RL 360 tends to be the main one) and this typically pushes up the fees, in fact the FCA issued their concern yesterday about this: Information for consumers on transferring or switching UK pensions into international self-invested personal pensions (SIPPs) | FCA Could I ask where your Adviser is based please? Regards Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToowoombaBlue Posted December 10, 2020 Share Posted December 10, 2020 On 03/12/2020 at 12:51, Andrew from Vista Financial said: Hi Glad you are happy so far, I also use the L&C SIPP for clients in circumstances where a SIPP is warranted, I believe though that they use an investment bond within the SIPP in a lot of cases (RL 360 tends to be the main one) and this typically pushes up the fees, in fact the FCA issued their concern yesterday about this: Information for consumers on transferring or switching UK pensions into international self-invested personal pensions (SIPPs) | FCA Could I ask where your Adviser is based please? Regards Andy Hi Andy The RL 360 fees have been questioned by me previously with my advisor who is based in Melbourne, reminds me, I need to chase him for an answer. Chris 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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