Andrew from Vista Financial Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 Six months ago we left the UK. Will do some researching. I wonder why people have been successful and not had any problems. To become a QROPS scheme the fund must apply to HMRC, part of the undertaking is to report to HMRC all payments within the timeframe (i.e 5 non UK tax years). Either the receiving QROPS scheme are not reporting these payments (if so they will lose QROPS status if HMRC find out) or they will report them once you have taken your money. If the latter then you will receive a penalty notice from HMRC for payment. If the former then I do not know the repercussions on you but potentially the same if HMRC discover you have withdrawn within 5 years. I would urge you to put the question to them in writing and get their answer in writing, I would love to see it. Quite simply ask them "If you access this transferred UK Pension money now or within 5 years of leaving the UK will you be in breach of the HMRC rules by making an unauthorised payment and can you be penalised for this? Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AllieJ Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 This is why I am so worried about these companies that offer their services. Is there not somewhere that has the pensions rules listed out comprehensively so everyone can assess what they should do and when? Is this advice something that has to be paid for in every circumstance? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hannash Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 yeh thtas what we need also ,,i`m self employed and have paid n i c ontributions `s for 20 years exactly right up to present ,does anyone know what happens to all those contributions when we leave for good ,i also have a legal and general pension ,that i stopped paying into ,,any help at all:unsure: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest31881 Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 Your state pension ( NI Contributions) will be paid when you retire where ever you are living. The maximum pension is 30 years contributions. if you have paid 20 years then you will get a pension worth 2/3 of the rate when you retire. You can voluntarily pay NI contributions for next 10 years to give you a full UK pension. Your pension will then be paid at the going rate when you retire. The problem is that as it stands at the moment, you will not get any increase in pension after that date, while you live in Australia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hannash Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 thank you so much ,its good to know that i`m not walking away from all the payments i made Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2and3 Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 To become a QROPS scheme the fund must apply to HMRC, part of the undertaking is to report to HMRC all payments within the timeframe (i.e 5 non UK tax years). Either the receiving QROPS scheme are not reporting these payments (if so they will lose QROPS status if HMRC find out) or they will report them once you have taken your money. If the latter then you will receive a penalty notice from HMRC for payment. If the former then I do not know the repercussions on you but potentially the same if HMRC discover you have withdrawn within 5 years. I would urge you to put the question to them in writing and get their answer in writing, I would love to see it. Quite simply ask them "If you access this transferred UK Pension money now or within 5 years of leaving the UK will you be in breach of the HMRC rules by making an unauthorised payment and can you be penalised for this? Andy Have I got this right, if you have a private fund in uk and have not been filling in tax returns for 5yrs in the uk - you can somehow 'cash' it in via oz - for real ???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derham Posted September 16, 2011 Author Share Posted September 16, 2011 Hi All, The information within this thread has been great but can anyone confirm the following: You can get your UK state pension in Aus when you turn 65 - Yes. You can get an Aus pension if you have been a resident for 10 years or more? Is the Aus state pension and Super the same thing, or do you get one or the other? What is the current Aus state pension? Can anyone advise how long we should be paying into a super to have a decent pension when we retire (assuming I am paying $9k into super each year)? I am 44 and trying to work if Aus or UK would be better at retirement age.:wacko: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 Hi All, The information within this thread has been great but can anyone confirm the following: You can get your UK state pension in Aus when you turn 65 - Yes. You can get an Aus pension if you have been a resident for 10 years or more? Is the Aus state pension and Super the same thing, or do you get one or the other? What is the current Aus state pension? Can anyone advise how long we should be paying into a super to have a decent pension when we retire (assuming I am paying $9k into super each year)? I am 44 and trying to work if Aus or UK would be better at retirement age.:wacko: I can't answer regarding Australian state pension (other than to say Super is a different thing - similar to a UK private pension plan) but I must point that if you are 44 you will definitely not get a UK state pension at 65 (whether if the UK or Oz). 65 is only the age for those retiring before 2019. Presently you're not scheduled to get your pension until you are 66 but plans are already being made for a further increase to 67 and I wouldn't bet against further increases before you retire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hannash Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 so actually what happens ,,say if we go to oz and dont come back how do i and my wife get our pensions in oz :unsure: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest31881 Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 so actually what happens ,,say if we go to oz and dont come back how do i and my wife get our pensions in oz :unsure: When you are due for your pension, well about a year beforehand, you contact the UK pensions agency ( Or whatever government department is looking after pensions then) and advise them where you are and they will sort out your pension payment, dependent on how long you paid into the scheme and start paying you when you retire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hannash Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 brilliant s r p ,so its as simple as that ,just tell them where we are and they`ll send it over to us,would it be the same as a private one i have a we l and g pension that i`m getting when i`m 55 will they just send it over , i will have to contact them anyway to tell them about a change off address, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest31881 Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 brilliant s r p ,so its as simple as that ,just tell them where we are and they`ll send it over to us,would it be the same as a private one i have a we l and g pension that i`m getting when i`m 55 will they just send it over , i will have to contact them anyway to tell them about a change off address, I have not claimed mine yet, not quite that old. We do have a lot of members who are on the UK pension. I anticipate they will pay it direct to your Australian bank. Just one thing to remember, your UK state pension is frozen at the rate you are paid when you claim. it does not have a annual increase for us living in Australia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brightonbee Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 Your pension is frozen at that rate the day you get your first payment in Oz which is very unfair and will probably change in the future as so many people are challenging this law. I think there is a petition going around for people to sign - on this site or somewhere similar - I'l have another look Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p182 Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 Your pension is frozen at that rate the day you get your first payment in Oz which is very unfair and will probably change in the future as so many people are challenging this law. Sadly this is very unlikely to change -- the challenge to this law was unsuccessful. This rule was challenged in the European Court whereby the court ruled that the freezing of pension payments by the UK government was legal. See here for further details... http://www.smh.com.au/world/british-expats-living-in-australia-lose-push-for-pension-increases-20100317-qcz5.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heathfamily Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 Is it worth transfering UK private pensions to OZ? Or would it be better to freeze them and take out a pension in OZ? My wife is in the NHS pension scheme, same question for her, transfer or freeze and start again in OZ? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brightonbee Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 Can't cut and paste on my new iPad yet. Go to telegraph.co.uk/offshore finance -very important article about an org. Campaigning for more equitable pension rights . Something we should all be considering signing if we are either receiving or will expect to receive a state pension in the future Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denisechris Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/16387 There is still a current petition for reviewing this unfair freezing. I guess the more that can sign, the more the government may have to consider a review. Also surely it is in the Australian Governments interest to have this UK pension "unfrozen". Chris & Denise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denisechris Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 Oh apologise if I should not have pasted the link. I just realised that perhaps that's not allowed. Chris & Denise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perthbum Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 It is unfair but the Government have recently said they cannot afford to pay it. quote. The decision not to index-link pensions was not discriminatory as the pensioners had chosen to live in economies outside of the UK. ‘To accept the arguments would be to lead to judicial interference in the political decision as to the redeployment of public funds,’ the judgement said. If they had won the decision would have cost the UK government at least £500 million a year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PierrePierpont Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 The state pension is NOT paid out of current taxation. All state pensions are paid out of the National Insurance Fund which currently has a surplus of around £40 billion in it. The money is ring fenced and cannot be directly used for other purposes, although the government borrows the money and uses it for general purposes. The National Insurance fund existence can be viewed at the following government websites: hmrc.gov.uk gad.gov.uk nao.gov.uk dmo.gov.uk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derham Posted October 14, 2011 Author Share Posted October 14, 2011 Nice to know the country is totally broke, yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 The state pension is NOT paid out of current taxation. All state pensions are paid out of the National Insurance Fund which currently has a surplus of around £40 billion in it. The money is ring fenced and cannot be directly used for other purposes, although the government borrows the money and uses it for general purposes. The National Insurance fund existence can be viewed at the following government websites: hmrc.gov.uk gad.gov.uk nao.gov.uk dmo.gov.uk The government borrows it and uses if for general purposes? On what planet is that ring fenced? If any other organisation that is required to keep funds ring fenced did that their regulator would shut them down in no time flat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denisechris Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 Um. Thanks to all. Denise & Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heathfamily Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 Is it worth transfering UK private pensions to OZ? Or would it be better to freeze them and take out a pension in OZ? My wife is in the NHS pension scheme, same question for her, transfer or freeze and start again in OZ? Thanks. Anyone? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 Is it worth transfering UK private pensions to OZ? Or would it be better to freeze them and take out a pension in OZ? My wife is in the NHS pension scheme, same question for her, transfer or freeze and start again in OZ? Thanks. If we could predict the future we wouldn't be idly giving out advice here on poms in oz. If you transfer to Oz you might end up thousand of pounds better off but you might end up thousands of pounds worse off. It all depends on what happens to the respective economies, the foreign exchange rate and the tax regimes of the two countries between now and your retirement. It also depends on the specific performance of the fund managers you choose in Oz vs the fund managers you have in the UK and finally what currency you will eventually need your pension in. In short there is no way of knowing the correct answer to your question. If you do end up spending your retirement in Oz it may well be beneficial to have your pension paid in Australian Dollars (no fluctuations in FX rates leaving question marks over how much you will receive and no currency and bank transaction fees to have it sent over to Oz) but what if you move back or otherwise have a need for GBP in your retirement? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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