ollydt

Since getting our visa we have been looking into moving our finances across to Oz. We are both teachers, own a house which we are going to rent out, both have a pension with teachers pension company, a bit of savings, debt (which we hope to pay off by time we leave) and we have a joint bank account. We have spoke to a company called Montfort who have said they can help us move everything and whilst I'm not really looking for a recommendation, I am wondering whether moving things like pensions is easy enough to do ourselves? Mind if someone can recommend using a specific pension company once we are there it would be great (Victoria).

Does that make sense? This is the next thing to sort and I am hoping it can be done in the next three months before we fly off.

Olly

quoll

Dont send your pensions before you know for sure that this is where you will want to end your days (especially if they are final salary pensions - get very good advice about the wisdom of doing that). You have 6 months to decide if you want to transfer pensions without penalty but if you have any concept that you wont be wanting to live here permanently, your pension will have to stay in an Aus super fund (at the whim of the market) until you are old enough to claim it on retirement even if you decide to return whence you came.

Sally Simpson

I agree with Quoll about leaving pension where it is initially.
Bank accounts are easy enpough to open yourselves. We used Commonwealth Bank & opened it before we left the UK, so it was ready to use when we arrived. There are plenty of threads on banks & if you use the advanced search facility, it should narrow it down for you! (ie don't search in the barbie as you will get all kinds of dodgy threads up!)

ollydt

Cheers guys that is appreciated advice. This whole super fund thing is like trying to get my head round the fact an aubergine will soon be called an eggplant, not sure of the difference and if only difference is name.

Olly

Cookster

We have spoke to a company called Montfort who have said they can help us move everything .........

If you are considering using this company please do a serch on here first. Interesting reading. Like a few others we went for an initial meeting with them, decided that we could actually do alot of the work ourselves, told them thank you but no thanks and were harrassed for ages afterwards..... Beware.....

Scotty1

Bank accounts and pensions are very different. You can set up a bank account very easily from here or wait until you arrive. Pensions are much more complicated. The decision whether or not to move your pension will depend on your age, your current pension scheme and what they will give you as a transfer value, your attitude to risk and whether you plan on living forever in Oz.
The paperwork on transfer is possible to do yourself if you know what you are doing, and you find a QROPS fund that you are happy with but its very expensive tax wise if you get the paperwork wrong. The decision on whether or not to transfer is more complex and something you would be wise to take some advice about. I agree with Cookster on doing a search here on the company you mentioned.
The tax treatment of pensions in the uk and oz is very different and something that you need to think about. For example if you are in Oz and have kept your final salary scheme in the uk you will be taxed on your "tax free" lump sum and on your income in Oz. If you transfer your fund to Oz your pension will be tax free. You also have currency issues to consider and whether you want your pension in the same currency as your living costs.
Good luck and hope the move goes smoothly