Damson

Can anyone help please.

We are going to be meeting with an independent financial adviser but have recently discovered the bombshell that is the FIF tax. Hubby is far more au fait with matters financial, so I will just be going to make up the numbers and nod a lot! Before meeting with any adviser, we'd like to have some up to date knowledge on taxes, pensions and all other things dull like this.

Can anyone suggest an initial "port of call" for this and/or recommend a financial advising company that they've used, as we'd dearly love to stop Gordon getting hold of even more of our cash.

Many thanks

Kingseat

I didn't pay tax of 40% when I moved my monney. WHo told you this?

Damson

I shouldn't have mentioned that because I wasn't listening properly and all I heard was "you are at risk of paying 40% tax unless you get the right advice .....". You know the sort of cobblers you get fed by "specialists" when you haven't a clue what they're talking about - which is why I need the advice really. I will edit my post to remove the 40% bit, as I don't want to panic anyone!

quoll

Ah is that the tax you pay on the increase in value of pension plans if you dont move them over to Aus within the first 6(?) months?

Be careful about bringing pension funds over here before you have got here and decided that this is where you want to be in the very long term. Once they are here, then you arent allowed to take them back with you (if you have PR) should it all go pear shaped - they have to stay in Aus until you reach retirement age. Hasten slowly with that one I reckon - leave it until you are cast iron certain that this is where you want to grow old.

ozhappy981

No it isn't!

The 40% tax rule applies if someone moves their UK pension to an Oz pension that is not a a Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme (QROPS). As long as the OP (and anyone else) transfers their UK pension to a QROPS, there is no 40% tax to pay.

The HMRC publish the updated QROPS list once a month. The latest list for Nov 2009 has 10 pages of A4 lsiting about 600 Australian QROPS.

Which means there is plenty of choice - and it's really quite hard for someone to be so daft as to transfer to a non-QROPS.

This is the current link: www.hmrc.gov.uk/pensionschemes/qrops.pdf
(If the link stops working, just type QROPS in the search box on the HMRC site.)

The 40% tax rule is something used by unscrupulous finacial advisers to frighten people into signing up with them and paying their huge fees.

If someone is in a UK defined benefit scheme with many years of service, then they should get paid-for advice whether a transfer is in their best interest. But few people fall into that category.

The actual transfer of the UK scheme into an Oz super fund is very easy. Most Oz super funds will do this for you without charge. (All you need to do is sign a few forms and have lots of patience.) There is absolutely no need to pay someone to do it.

quoll

That would indeed be very silly of them - but there is too the tax on earnings if you dont bring it over within the time frame. Getting good financial advice would be paramount I should think!

Damson

Hi guys

Thanks for your help. Will look into the thread thanks. Running a business and having personal finance issues, I think we've got no choice but to have independant financial advice in any event. We are having a "free" 2 hour consultation to discuss all things fiscal and it's nice to be able to throw things like this into the mix, especially given that it is updated so often. I'd thought that it was a bit of scaremongering, but with figures being bandied about like 40%, it's mad not to investigate. Looking at fees in the region of £200 per hour does stick in my craw to be honest, but although hubbie is pretty switched on to most types of finance (through the business), this is a bit out of our comfort zone. The tax aspects and implications also look a bit of a minefield.

ABCDiamond

I like the look of the "ABC Superannuation Fund" on that list

I think they should trim the list down to the ones that accept transfers from anyone. There does appear to be a number of private schemes listed, going by some of the names.

Alan Collett

Tax FAQs attached.

Hope it is useful.

Best regards.

lesleys

Before you see an adviser, just do a search on here to see if anyone has anything to say about him/her. There have been one or two named as not being the best.

Damson

Hi, Good point. The companies who we are currently looking at are Montfort International PLC, PrismXpat, Siddals and Go Matilda simply because they appear to offer both tax and pension advice, whereas lots of the others seem to only do one or the other.

lesleys

Those companies appear to span the whole range. Do check.

Grayling

Try checking some of those by doing a search on this forum.

I could name one (on your list) you should not touch with a bargepole....but they get upset and talk about legal action when anyone does.

G

Bix

Or as someone once said of them:

They have a reputation among the expat community to be blood sucking leeches that will take the last penny from a childs piggy bank. You wouldn't have known but they are a load of tossers and have probably already charged you double what you should have paid.Steer well clear. They are con merchants.You work hard for your money as you say so don't let robbing bassards have it.

Grayling

Indeed.

That is so much more eloquent