Guest Alan Race Posted November 24, 2007 Share Posted November 24, 2007 Thanks to everyone who helped with my last question regarding pensions which has now been sorted out. I am now wondering if anyone knows if any of the Australian banks have facilities in the UK for receiving ongoing pension payments etc. My thoughts are that it may be possible to open an account in the UK with an Australian bank where payments from pensions etc could be paid in in sterling and transfered to the same bank in Australia where I would have my current account. Or does anyone have a system already in place to accomplish this in a cost effective way. regards to all Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gollywobbler Posted November 25, 2007 Share Posted November 25, 2007 Hi Alan Welcome to Poms in Oz. I deleted my earlier reply to you because it was unnecessarily long and also too woolly. The Commonwealth Bank of Australia has a branch in London. Please se here: Commonwealth Bank of Australia UK | Moving to Australia or New Zealand? Setting up a bank account : HiFX Plc HIFX have give some quite canny advice on the link above. HSBC - Credit Cards, Savings, Home Loans and more | HSBC Australia HSBC have branches in Oz but I don't know how many. My mother has a Contributory Parent visa, though as she is now 87 ad disabled she lives with ny sister's family in Perth. Mum has accounts with two banks in the UK (God knows why, but she's got one with Lloyds TSB and another with Nat West) but she does not have an Australian Bank account - she reckons she doesn't need one. When Mum wants to move money from the UK to Oz, she just gets Elaine (sister) to do an Internet BACS transfer from Mum's UK accounts into Elaine's local account with the Commonwealth Bank in Perth. Elane then draws cash, writes an Australian cheque or whatever Mum requires. Obviously, our rather clumsy arrangements would be unlikely to suit you but I am not aware of any problems with shifting money by BACS so you do't necessarily have to open an account at the Commonwealth Bank or HSBC in the UK. Hope this helps. Where are you going to move to in Oz? Best wishes Gill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SAINTHURLOCK Posted November 25, 2007 Share Posted November 25, 2007 Thanks to everyone who helped with my last question regarding pensions which has now been sorted out. I am now wondering if anyone knows if any of the Australian banks have facilities in the UK for receiving ongoing pension payments etc. My thoughts are that it may be possible to open an account in the UK with an Australian bank where payments from pensions etc could be paid in in sterling and transfered to the same bank in Australia where I would have my current account. Or does anyone have a system already in place to accomplish this in a cost effective way. regards to all Alan Not sure if is is any help but if i were you id leave your uk bank account as is and draw your pension thru your debit card using atm's over here. Barclays and westpac are affiliated so they dont charge you for withdrawls,keep track oof your acc. over the internet and enjoy those pounds turn into waterproof beer tokens ;0) loverly jubberly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gollywobbler Posted November 25, 2007 Share Posted November 25, 2007 Not sure if is is any help but if i were you id leave your uk bank account as is and draw your pension thru your debit card using atm's over here. Barclays and westpac are affiliated so they dont charge you for withdrawls,keep track oof your acc. over the internet and enjoy those pounds turn into waterproof beer tokens ;0) loverly jubberly. Hi St Hurlock If it is free to use a Barclays card at a Westpac ATM (or however it works) then I think yours is an excellent suggestion. I know some other Contrib Parents who say that they do exactly as you suggest, but as they hadn't mentioned specific banks or any other details, I ddn't know whether it was a good idea to mention your notion or not. Cheers Gil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tisme Posted November 25, 2007 Share Posted November 25, 2007 My elderly mother has her British pension paid directly into her Australian Bankwest account. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SAINTHURLOCK Posted November 25, 2007 Share Posted November 25, 2007 Hi St Hurlock If it is free to use a Barclays card at a Westpac ATM (or however it works) then I think yours is an excellent suggestion. I know some other Contrib Parents who say that they do exactly as you suggest, but as they hadn't mentioned specific banks or any other details, I ddn't know whether it was a good idea to mention your notion or not. Cheers Gil I 'm a barclays account holder and before we came over here I asked wether they were affiliated with anyone ,they said Westpac so thats who we joined when we got here, I have used my Barclays debit card over here numerous times at WP ATM's and they certainly dont charge on withdrawls. Going the other way tho it is about $20 charge from west pac and about 12 sterling from Barclays???? Long and short of it I suppose is withdraw all you like but only transfer if really nessiscary. Oh yeah and maximum daily withdrawl from a WP ATM is $2000. Anymore and its an ID and over the counter job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gollywobbler Posted November 25, 2007 Share Posted November 25, 2007 My elderly mother has her British pension paid directly into her Australian Bankwest account. Hi Tisme Do tyou mean her State Pension or a private one, please? The DWPP told us that they couldn't possibly send Mum's Stae Pension abroad, which may be utter rubbish, knowing the Civil Servce? Also, Mum is convinced that she is going to continue to travel between Oz and the UK. Mmmm. Well- may be ormaybe not. I take the line that it is only money and as long sas Mum is happy during her lifetime, I really don't care if we discover after her death that we could have been far more tax & money-efficient about the whole thing. Cheers & thanks Gill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Picketts Posted November 25, 2007 Share Posted November 25, 2007 I have just moved here and receive a UK State Pension so before coming here in September I opened a Nationwide Flex Account (current account) and have my pension paid directly into it. I also got a Nationwide Visa credit card. I use the internet to keep track of everything and transfer any savings into an e-savings account (for higher interest) as well as pay my credit card monthly. All this is without charge, either at ATMs from my Flex Account or when using my credit card. All other cards like Nat West etc (apart from Liverpool & London credit cards) do charge when using abroad, they are two charges added of something like 1.5% and 2.75% so I would have a word with your bank in the UK before leaving to double check. Cheers,Cheryl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Alan Race Posted November 25, 2007 Share Posted November 25, 2007 Thanks everyone for your info on this..the route via Barclays and Westpac using the atm machines sounds good. One point raised by Gill was the DWP saying you cant have your state pension paid in OZ is as you say rubbish, quote them form NP 46 which clearly states you can have the state pension paid direct in OZ. Probably the same civil servant who lost the 25 million files !!!!!!!!!!! who told you this. Off to the Gold Coast as soon as the house is sold where my daughter and son in law have a small factory making blinds and awnings...no doubt they will put me to work to keep me out of mischief. regards Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gollywobbler Posted November 25, 2007 Share Posted November 25, 2007 Thanks everyone for your info on this..the route via Barclays and Westpac using the atm machines sounds good. One point raised by Gill was the DWP saying you cant have your state pension paid in OZ is as you say rubbish, quote them form NP 46 which clearly states you can have the state pension paid direct in OZ. Probably the same civil servant who lost the 25 million files !!!!!!!!!!! who told you this. Off to the Gold Coast as soon as the house is sold where my daughter and son in law have a small factory making blinds and awnings...no doubt they will put me to work to keep me out of mischief. regards Alan Hi Alan I am only quoting you but I would like to thank everyone on this thread because nobody has ever mentioned Form NP 46 to us before. I assumed that there must be some gormless government rule about exchange rates or something..... Very many thanks for the help, everyone. Cheers Gill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest broadsman Posted November 25, 2007 Share Posted November 25, 2007 Thanks everyone for your info on this..the route via Barclays and Westpac using the atm machines sounds good. One point raised by Gill was the DWP saying you cant have your state pension paid in OZ is as you say rubbish, quote them form NP 46 which clearly states you can have the state pension paid direct in OZ. Probably the same civil servant who lost the 25 million files !!!!!!!!!!! who told you this. Off to the Gold Coast as soon as the house is sold where my daughter and son in law have a small factory making blinds and awnings...no doubt they will put me to work to keep me out of mischief. regards Alan You won't be charged by Westpac for using their ATMs but you will get a lousy rate of exchange (determined by Visa or Mastercard, not your bank) and may be charged a fee by Barclays. I certainly get charged one by Lloyds TSB when I draw my occupational pension. A better way would be if your pension provider has facilities to pay direct into an Oz bank account - you could be up to 10% better off as far as the exchange rate goes. I am about to draw my UK State pension too, and can confirm that they will pay direct to an overseas account. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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