mdufton

Hi all,

Are there any ex- UK nurses here who have looked into what happens to your NHS pension?

We moved to Perth from the UK 3 months ago, my wife getting a post in a hospital here.

She was a nurse in the UK for about 20 years, and so has built up a fair superannuation pension.

There is a Financial Adviser advising nurses at her hospital that they can transfer the pensions from the UK, and get them as a tax free lump sum in Australia.

Has anyone heard of this? It is flashing warning lights in my mind- frankly I would rather the pension is left where it is, so it is still there when we retire.

Also, I know a lot of nurses who were pursuaded to transfer their pensions into inferior personal pensions in the 1980's.


I know this is an area for specialist advice, but with the amount of nurses moving here from the UK, I reckon this must be something that comes up often,

Cheers,

Mike

goodwnsherratts

Hi there

I'm sure you will get lots of better replies than this one but I'm in the process of applying for OZ through STNI SA & in NHS pension plan as a nurse. I'm lead to believe that you can transfer your pension over to OZ and put it in your workd one there rather than drawing it.

Your right to be cautious I was one of those stupid fools who followed advice from financial advisor to opt out of NHS pension (brother in law would you believe!). Now back in and fully compensated for what thats worth, excess funds put into equitable life etc.

You can always ring or e-mail NHS pension department in Preston always found them very helpful, they will tell all options.

www.nhspa.gov.uk

Hope this starts you off

Jill

Alan Collett

Mike,

A UK pension fund transferred to Australia is received in an Australian Superannuation Fund as what is called an "undeducted contribution". And benefits deriving at retirement from an undeducted contribution are tax free in Australia (but will be taxable in the UK if you have returned to live there once you are in receipt of the pension income).

I know one can be cynical as to the motives of financial advisors, but I think you and your wife (and her colleagues) should look into this more fully. If you would like more advice please feel able to contact me, and to request our free factsheet on Investments Held Outside the UK at this website:
http://www.collettandco.com/factsheet.cfm

Best regards.

scoobydooathome

Hi Mike,

Leave the pension where it is, end of story ... sorry to be blunt !but only a fool would transfer it,

Mark.

Alan Collett

Mark,

I don't proclaim to know chapter and verse about the NHS Scheme, but have you looked into the treatment of pension benefits in Australia and compared them to the UK? Leaving aside the vagaries of the UK£-A$ exchange rate (which could significantly affect the amount of pension income you receive every month as the exchange rate hops about) the tax treatment of pensions deriving from a pension transfer could be significantly beneficial and more flexible than if the monies were left in the UK.

As I said in my reply to Mike, you really should look into this more fully before drawing conclusions.

Best regards.

Roger

Umm! Though I'm off to NZ I am happy that I have about £10K a year pension from 19 years of NHS work at age 60, plus lump sum. Doubt (Know) that couldn't have got that from Personal Pension. Will need to look very closely into it.

Wife had an Equitable Life (safe as houses huh!) pension for a few years. Naturally we've written that off now. Bit sceptical about advisors and PPs now.

Roger

mdufton

Thanks for these replies everyone.

I am going to try to suss out the tax implications of leaving it where it is vs transferring it to a pension here- or see an adviser, more likely.

Cheers,

Mike

Diane&Bob

I don't know a great deal about it but it is possible that if you have worked for NHS for 20 years over here and then for Oz NHS for 20 years that the two pensions could add up to more than one pension in Oz.

Worth checking on what NHS pension you would get on present contributions and what you would get in Oz if worked from now till retirement and compared those figures to transferring the amount over from UK.

Only a thought

Bob

Jolyn

If it's a final salary scheme leave it where it is. Nothing anywhere is as good as a final salary scheme.

But do check out what salary they base it on as your wife has stopped work in the UK. If it's her last salary in the UK then check whether there's any inflation indexing for the years until 65. A proportion of her salary now might not be worth much later if she's a long way from retirement. I know with state pensions it's frozen at the date you leave the UK for Oz which is really bad news many years later.

Even if it's defined contributions - think carefully before moving it as if you reinvest in a private pension in Oz you'll pay steep initial charges and shares are dodgy now anyway. Every adviser who encourages you to leave one pension anywhere for another is merely counting the money for their kickback percentage and residuals from the new pension company!

Check out whether the lump sum is generous compared to the final pension she could get. If it is generous then see if it can be put in the company scheme for your wife's new job if there is one(usually cheaper than private pensions). Or maybe you have some ideas for self-funding retirement from a lump sum with a variety of investments (eg property or whatever).

Best wishes.

claireg3

Am I the only one who is confused by this?

Jolyn

Pensions are REALLY complicated. Esp British rules. But if you can get some handle on it yourself first you'll be able to get the right adviser to work out the finer details and spot the crooks.

mdufton

I'm going to contact the NHS pension scheme people, and find out whether it goes up by inflation etc. I'll post the answer when I get it.

Cheers,

Mike

Kiwipaul

I think you will find it is frozen from the date you start drawing it, not when you leave the country.
You are correct if you are drawing the pension when you leave the UK for a number of countries (Australia & NZ included) it won't be indexed for inflation.