aston man

when you transfer them over,is there a way to get your mucky pours on the cash..

i believe you can invest in property with them?true or false?

thanks

MartinLuther

You can stick the money into a Self Managed Super Fund (although it is recommended that you have more than $250k-300k to make this viable because of fees and admin charges). The SMSF can then buy an investment property. However, the government is wary of people who want to use this to get access to their super before they should so there are a lot of rules around what you can and cannot do and they are hot on it.

You would have to get your SMSF approved for QROPS otherwise the UK tax man will take a bit cut.

I'm not sure if the govt frowns on people who invest all of their super in one asset class (e.g. all in property).

dolliedimples

yes there is!!
I have been planning to put this on the site when I gather all my bits of info togeather but I will explain briefly..
If you have a pension in the UK and wish to transfer to Australia then you have a coupla options.
Firstly, transfer straight to your superannuation account here all 100% of it, or transfer it to a superannuation account in New Zealand where your superannuation account is made up of 2 parts..60% locked funds and 40% unlocked..so basically you can access immediately the 40% CASH FUNDS!!!!!!

I was advised of this by a financial advisor in May of this year..he put me in touch with the co in NZ and they started the ball rolling immediately..all I needed was my NI no and the name of my last employer(im a nurse so was an NHS pension)..they contact UK pension scheme with request for transfer.

There are set time criterias in UK for responding to requests @ 6 weeks to calculate the financial value..they then reply stating how much your pension is worth and what would be transfered..for me I had paid into NHS scheme for about 5 years and they calculated pension of roughly 16k(dunno how they work it out)..papers sent to agent by post as no email or faxes allowed, then forwarded on to me to read and sign and then back to UK via NZ agent..biggest wait was the postage times and postal strikes in UK!!!

Approx 4 months till funds transfered to NZ and then my 40% transfered by bank transfer..24 hrs. I received just short of $15,000 after agent took fee..which helped very nicely towards the purchase of my new house. BUT..theres always a but isnt there??..I left UK 3 yrs ago and in order for this to be tax free I should have left 5 yrs ago..so basically I couldnt return to UK to work for at least 2 years..which isnt a problem to me as I never had any intentions of doing so. The remaining 60% is in a secure fund until Im 60 yrs old. I can pass on all the agents details in NZ..they are a reputable co. as I phoned UK NHS pensions to check and they confirmed alot of prior dealings with them. So, there you go.. good news eh? Does anyone know if Im allowed to advertise the agents details freely on this website?

Sleeping Beauty

what happens if you have several smaller pensions (i acculmulated a few over the years ). OH just has the one.

NedKelly

That sounds very interesting. Is the NZ scheme a QROPS scheme? I find it difficult to believe it is. And wouldn't you have to pay Australian tax on the proceeds? Why not post the link to the agent for everyone, it's not blatant advertising.

MartinLuther

I had 4 in the UK and consolidated them into 1 before moving it across.

paulhill

I have sent you a PM

dolliedimples

You are still entitled to transfer them, because the agent is in NZ and all correspondence is through them, the pension schemes in UK dont know that you are in Australia. I had no tax to pay transfering money from NZ to here, it was a straight forward bank transfer..
The only hiccup is the fact that I hadnt left Uk 5yrs ago, only 3 so in theory the tax dept in UK could tax me on the amount I received but in order for that to happen I would have to go back to work in the UK..which isnt goin to happen..

dolliedimples

I dont know how to link..im a bit slow on my computer skills, Im on a par with my 6yr old daughter and still 1 finger type!!! Im gonna go and find all the details and I will just put them on here, Im sure the agent wont mind he will be in the money on commissions!!! I think the fees were @ $2500 NZ, taken from the amount received before being divided 60:40..Its legal, just a back way in.

sals

I thought if you didn't move your pension within 6 months of migrating you had to pay tax on it?
Interesting info though, I have nearly 20 years (OMG am I that old) of NHS pension and have been unsure what to do with it. The thought of unlocking some of it into cash interests me, as I don't think I will be able to afford to buy for ages, as not enough equity made, so not enough for a big deposit to ofset mortgage interest rates and don't want to end up saddled with massive mortgage and living each fortnight worrying if we've enough money! Knew I needed some sound financial advice from somewhere but unsure where to start. Any ideas?

MartinLuther

Did you do this before or after 6th April 2006?

Just asking because under QROPS rules I thought the UK govt would charge 40% on any distributions made before you're 55. I think I can see where the 5 years comes into play.

Does the NZ fund comply with QROPS?

Do you know what the tax rules for NZ super?

Just out of interest.

Cheers

MartinLuther

OK - I've done some googling and have the following.

Under UK QROPS rules: after 5 years the UK no longer considers you to be resident (generous of them) and you are no longer subject to the 40/55% charge for transferring your pension (i.e. you don't have to transfer to a QROPS approved super).

In NZ you can cash in your transferred super if its value is less than NZ$20k or 49% of it if it's worth more than NZ$20k.

Just to answer the Aus tax question above. You get taxed at 15% of the gain since you became tax resident if you transfer later than 6 months after becoming tax resident. The tax is not on the whole amount. You also have the option of paying at your marginal rate but for most people this would not be the better option. I wonder what the NZ rules are; especially for someone who has not actually become tax resident.

An interesting option for some....

dolliedimples

Ok here are the details, go to www.pensiontransfers.co.nz this will explain all and this is how I did my transfer.
My agents contact details are:
Chris White
mobile: 021244044
phone: +6449390800
email:[email protected]

The superannuation fund is AXA personal..2 accounts opened:
1st-60% locked till 55 years old
2nd-40% unlocked and accessible immediately

I am quite sure that this option wont be appealing to all, but it is another option available to British expats and for me it was the solution needed to enable us to purchase our own home.

sals

Cheers for the info I for one will look into it as I seem to be in a similar position as you where.

jules123

interesting discussion re pensions.
My question is can you still operate a SIPP from UK after emigrating and if so what are the implications?