jamesw Posted May 8, 2013 Report Share Posted May 8, 2013 Between us, we still have three UK pensions that are still there. We know have a super over here and I was looking into transferring the UK ones over here. As we have been here nearly 5 years, it got confusing and looks like we will be taxed a lot on the pensions. I was sure there is a way around this. Anyone have any recommendations on how to do this, or a company that will do all the work for us, at a relatively low cost? Thanks in Advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Williams Posted May 9, 2013 Report Share Posted May 9, 2013 Hi James What type of Pensions do you have in the UK? Is your Superannuation Fund in Australian recognised with HMRC as a QROPS? Tax may or may not apply, it is not a given and although there may be growth on the UK funds in terms of sterling it may be that there is no growth in terms of dollar value taking exchange into account. Take a look at this thread I wrote on PIO http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/pension-transfers-ask-vista/169401-uk-pension-transfers-information-thread.html it may help you a bit. Regards Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesw Posted May 9, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 9, 2013 Hi Andrew and thanks for the reply I have 2 pensions, one from the Metropolitan Police and the other from Orange. My wife has a teachers pension. Over here, we both work for the government and have Gesby polices. I am sure I asked Gesby if they were able to transfer the funds and was told yes, with lots of paperwork! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StraighttothePoint Posted May 9, 2013 Report Share Posted May 9, 2013 Although my circumstances are slightly different in that I go back and forward every year I did decided, after much reading and financial advice, to leave my final salary pension in the UK and simply move any cash across after it matures, as and when required in regular small sums. It will be treated as income for tax purposes here, as long as I remain resident here, as will the lump sum on payout. However, and this was the big one for me, what happens if you move a pension across here into a superannuation fund, and then you decide to move back to live in the UK? I appreciate that will not always be the case due to most folk thinking / saying it will never happen to me but what if there are unforeseen circumstances and it does? What are the implications if as permanent resident you want to do that? Are the super funds accessible to you? If so is the tax rate higher than normal in relation to withdrawals or further transfer? My understanding on the research that I did on this was that it can possibly be done but it is very, very complicated, it is down to the super company as to how pre-active they are in helping you, the tax rates are not in your favour and it takes a long, long time. I think there is even a minimum age issue attached to that circumstance as well although that seems to be a grey area. All in all difficult so is that the piece of the jigsaw that is missing here for many of us when making this decision? There as usual seems to be a lot of quality information, and advice, on getting your pension into Australia but it is not so clear on the reverse. As I say for me personally my lifestyle decrees how I made my decision but without all the facts then I would be very worried about doing anything. Probably just me though because I like to undertsand things in their entirity before deciding. Andrews link is a great starting point but for many, without understanding all the implications, is it that easy to decide? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StraighttothePoint Posted May 9, 2013 Report Share Posted May 9, 2013 And this is before, depending on your age, you even start considering what to do about your state pension entitlement!! That is entirely different ball game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Williams Posted May 9, 2013 Report Share Posted May 9, 2013 No problem James. I will always suggest that anyone contemplating a transfer should look to take professional advice regarding their individual situation as there are lots of factors involved and as StraighttothePoint points out (no pun intended) not being able to transfer back is definitely one of them. My advice to prospective clients when approached initially to provide advice is always that they should feel settled in Australia before embarking on the process and have an intention to remain, I do actually tell people to come back to me if they have only just arrived as well in most cases. The information thread is there to help people understand a bit about the process as I have heard of many tales whereby people are being scaremongered into transferring for invalid reasons and I will as mentioned always suggest that one should seek advice. However I undertstand peole will still want to DIY it. Another recent thread on this http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/pension-transfers-ask-vista/183537-pensions-transfer-aus-not-transfer-aus.html that covers off some of the factors as to why you need a full understanding of whether it might be right for you or not. James in your case you have 2 potentially 3 (not sure about the orange scheme) Pensions that are Final Salary (Defined Benefit) schemes and these should not be given up lightly, I am not sure of your understanding of Pensions but essentially transferring them would mean that you are moving from a guaranteed Pension for life to a market linked (i.e investment) environment. Now this may or may not be right for you depending upon your attitude to risk and the Cash Equivalent Transfer Value (CETV) offered. There are also differences across the 2 systems that could have impliations for you including potential differences in the age at which you can access the funds. This is an area that we specialise in James so if you do require further assistance then we will be happy to work with you. Regards Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesw Posted May 9, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 9, 2013 Andy I am sure that is all good advice, however, as for the type of pensions I have...well that is where it goes all over my head. My police pension was taken out a week before my 18th birthday, so you can imagine, at that age all I wanted to know was how many beer tokens do I get each week! As for my Orange pensions, I just signed a lot of forms and was put into he firms scheme (I paid 4% into it, the company 8%) and then I get a yearly statement from them. We are just about to have our citizenship ceremony, so going back to the UK is very very long odds indeed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StraighttothePoint Posted May 9, 2013 Report Share Posted May 9, 2013 Andy I am sure that is all good advice, however, as for the type of pensions I have...well that is where it goes all over my head. My police pension was taken out a week before my 18th birthday, so you can imagine, at that age all I wanted to know was how many beer tokens do I get each week! As for my Orange pensions, I just signed a lot of forms and was put into he firms scheme (I paid 4% into it, the company 8%) and then I get a yearly statement from them. We are just about to have our citizenship ceremony, so going back to the UK is very very long odds indeed! Don't worry most ex-pats I chat to over here about private and state pensions do not have much of a clue either...... My brother in law has been here 20 years and is only thinking about them now!! Anyway with having final salary pensions you need to be careful that would be my advice because they are the dogs bollocks and not to be sniffed at. The pensions I mean not the dogs.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Williams Posted May 9, 2013 Report Share Posted May 9, 2013 (edited) Yes it's all about the beer tokens at 18 A great start for you though as most people would not have been paying into a Pension at age 18 so you are probably ahead of most! Essentially there are 2 types of pensions, market linked whereby your money is invested in the markets and final salary pensions whereby it is based on time with employer, salary upon leaving and scheme accrual. Your Police scheme is final salary. I will try to give you a brief overview of how final salary schemes work. Without knowing your age, details of the salary you were on when you left the Police Force, etc etc Say you were in the Police for 20 years and when you left your salary was 40k GBP. I will base this on the scheme being a 1/60th scheme. Therefore you would have an annual pension of around 13,320 pounds (derived by 20/60 = 33.3%. 40k x 33.5%), this is what you would get for life when you retire. As a deferred member it becomes what is termed as frozen however the annual pension benefits will still keep up with the cost of living each year generally CPI. Also once you start to take your annual pension at retirement it will increase with the cost of living each year (generally CPI). At retirement you may want to take a part lump sum up to 25% is allowable and a reduced annual pension. This is a brief overview and may of course differ for you depending on your circumstances as mentioned. If you want to transfer the pension an Actuarial calculation is carried out to calculate the lump sum amount that they will offer for you to transfer, this is known as the Cash Equivalent Transfer Value (CETV) if transferring you then lose all rights to an annual pension from them. If transferred to Australia this money would then be transferred to an Australia Superannuation scheme and invested thus becoming a market linked scheme. So yes it can be very confusing but in summary it transferring you are transferring from a final salary to a market linked and the 2 are very different beasts. Edited May 9, 2013 by Andrew Williams Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StraighttothePoint Posted May 9, 2013 Report Share Posted May 9, 2013 At retirement you may want to take a part lump sum up to 25% is allowable and a reduced annual pension. It looks like government based, or public sector organisations, in the UK are now offering increased lump sums on maturity of the pension if you agree to accept a lower monthly / weekly ongoing amount. This is, I guess, is because they do not want to commit to possible long term payouts, i.e. not enough dosh in the treasury coffers. Just to clarify is this what you mean by the above Andrew - an additional part lump sum? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Williams Posted May 9, 2013 Report Share Posted May 9, 2013 Sorry yes with final salary if you opt for the the maximum lump sum then the annual pension benefits will reduce accordingly i.e as you say a lower weekly/monthly amount. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mikecgoodall Posted June 14, 2013 Report Share Posted June 14, 2013 James if you require honest no rip off advice regarding transferring your UK Occupational Pensions to Australia talk to Superannuation Recall Consultants (SRC) on 9309 4001, they will save you a fortune and cut the crap with the paperwork. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Williams Posted June 14, 2013 Report Share Posted June 14, 2013 James if you require honest no rip off advice regarding transferring your UK Occupational Pensions to Australia talk to Superannuation Recall Consultants (SRC) on 9309 4001, they will save you a fortune and cut the crap with the paperwork. Mike Hi Mike Suspicion is always raised when a first time poster promotes a company. Are you connected to this company in anyway or just a happy customer, or are you by any chance the Mike Goodall - BPiA Coordinator in WA at British Pensions in Australia? Kind Regards Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mikecgoodall Posted June 15, 2013 Report Share Posted June 15, 2013 Hi Mike Suspicion is always raised when a first time poster promotes a company. Are you connected to this company in anyway or just a happy customer, or are you by any chance the Mike Goodall - BPiA Coordinator in WA at British Pensions in Australia? Kind Regards Andy Hi Andy, I have no link to this company SRC and am as you correctly guessed the Mike Goodall who is the Regional Coordinator for British Pensions in Australia (BPiA) in WA which is a volunteer organisation campaigning for the 'unfreezing' of the UK State Pension when paid to expats in Australia and other so called 'frozen' countries. Besides our main campaign we also give free advise to UK expats on the best way to maximise their UK State Pension and give them advice on UK Tax. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Williams Posted June 17, 2013 Report Share Posted June 17, 2013 Hi Andy, I have no link to this company SRC and am as you correctly guessed the Mike Goodall who is the Regional Coordinator for British Pensions in Australia (BPiA) in WA which is a volunteer organisation campaigning for the 'unfreezing' of the UK State Pension when paid to expats in Australia and other so called 'frozen' countries. Besides our main campaign we also give free advise to UK expats on the best way to maximise their UK State Pension and give them advice on UK Tax. Thanks for confirming Mike. BTW I think that you are doing a great job in the campaign for UK expat Pensioners here in Oz in relation to the indexation increase to the UK State Pension. Keep it up. Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mikecgoodall Posted June 18, 2013 Report Share Posted June 18, 2013 Thanks for confirming Mike. BTW I think that you are doing a great job in the campaign for UK expat Pensioners here in Oz in relation to the indexation increase to the UK State Pension. Keep it up. Andy Thank you for the kind words Andy, it is always good to be appreciated. What does frustrate me, and probably you as well, is that so many just leave things too late to think about their UK State pensions and miss out on so many additional benefits. BTW are you one of my members or don't you qualify? Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Williams Posted June 20, 2013 Report Share Posted June 20, 2013 Hi Mike I'm a few years away yet. Yes I imagine that there are many people out there who are not claiming their entitlments, we make sure every UK expat client sends for a forecast as a matter of course. Regards Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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