kaungchiau

My query is as per title above. I am aware of tax regulation in Australia that require the transfer of pension within 6 months of arrival to avoid being taxed. Does the same regulation apply to Cash & Stock and Share ISA?

I saw a poster in Westpac Bank saying that they offer assistance with regard to pension transfer from the UK. Needless to sya, they charge a commission.

Is there anyway I can do the transfer DIY?

I would love to hear from people who have trasferred their pensions over and appreciate all responses.

Wol

You should already be aware that ISAs are not tax exempt if you are an Australian taxpayer.

Capital gains and income from them are taxable as per Australian rules and you cannot put more money into them.

I guess that you will have to have them valued as at the time you are tax resident and then declare any increase/decrease in $$ terms for your ATO return.

We decided he complications were not worth the candle and cashed up completely when we left the UK: solves all the problems!

ozhappy981

Absolutely! The transfer itself is very easy.

When you come to Oz, you'll get a job (hopefully) and your new employer will give you the forms to sign for super (you can choose which super fund you want to join).

Once that's all set up and going, check that your Oz super fund is a "Qualifying recognised overseas pension scheme" (the list is here - most Oz schemes are QROPS).

Then contact your Oz super fund and ask them if they will do the transfer for you (the majority of funds will do it all for you and free).

They will then send you some paperwork to complete and sign. After that you sit back and wait awhile. (It can take several months until the transfer is completed.)

If your Oz super fund does not do the transfer for you, you can still do it yourself. Again: check your Oz super fund is on the QROPS list. You then need to contact your UK pension fund administrator, tell them you want to transfer your pension to your Oz super, and ask the UK fund to send you the paperwork. Complete that (you may need to contact your Oz super fund for some details that go into the paperwork), send it off - and again sit back and wait awhile.

kaungchiau

Yes, I know that they are not tax exempt but with sterling on a downward spiral, I did not do anything about it when I left the UK.

What about money in savings account in the UK? Are they subjected to Aussie tax?

Wol

Yes.

Australia_bound?

Yes they are subject to tax, but there are ways to avoid paying but what you'd save, can't honestly say whether it's worth the hassle as would have to get at it in small amounts.

kaungchiau

I actually transfer a few thousand grand before I come to Oz, to tide me back for the first few months, because I don't expect to find a job immediately after I arrive.

With the downward spiral sterling back in August and still going on today, I did not transfer big amount. I am really in a dilemma, because the fortune of the UK is not going to improve, which means the pound could drop further.

Wol

Yes, a few million *would* do the trick

kaungchiau

Oh, dear, did I make a typing mistake? I meant to say I transferred a few thousand pound, I am not a millionaire, otherwise, I don't have to go through the stresses and anxiety of waiting for my GSM application to be approved.

I would love to hear from people, do they transferred all their money over, despite the precarious state of the pound?

JAJ

If you see your life and future in Australia then it should be expected that you would want to have your funds in Australian currency.

No-one can predict the future path of the British currency but I observed on another thread that the dramatic decline of the South African rand starting in the mid-1980s did not prevent South Africans coming to live in Australia.

If your main reason to move to Australia is the exchange rate, perhaps that is not the best reason.

kaungchiau

To JAJ,

Of course I don't come to Oz purely for exchange rate reason. What I meant was since the rate has slumped so dramatically, I meant to trnasfer fund at later stage, not at $1.7 to the pound. I am sure that not all British migrants transfer all their money in one go, because they don't need to have all their money with them as soon as they arrived.

JAJ

What makes you sure the rate will be better in future? It may be, or it may not.

kaungchiau

Exchange rate moves in long cycle. It could go down further, but since it has slumped so much, it is likely to rebound. The only unknown is when.