melaniee

Is there anyone out there with a Police Pension ? Have you left it in the UK or transferred it ?

Swerv-o

I have three years worth, and the definitive answer from just about everybody I have spoken to is to leave it where it is. As it's final salary, you can calculate how much you should expect to gain from it when you reach 65, or if you can claim ill health before that.

I've been to several independent advisors, and all have suggested leaving it.

HTH.

S

geordiebloke

Should'nt you be able to claim your deferred pension at 60? I'm assuming
that it's a UK police pension.

Steve

geordiebloke

Melaniee,

have a look at the ************ website, there is a fair bit of advice/opinions
on this subject.

Steve

melaniee

mmm-which website was this ? Can you PM me with the name ? Cheers.

melaniee

what were the reasons that you were told to leave it and not transfer ?

geordiebloke

As requested

Steve

Mandy&Cliff

I have been reading through all these threads, I have 15 yrs Pension and currently I am looking at bringing it over, I am aware of the 15% tax on the growth of the Pension from Freezing it until becoming a resident in OZ, and I am aware that it has to go into an qualified overseas recognized superfund (or whatever they call it) but are there any other pitfalls. I like the idea that here in Australia if both My wife and myself die it would go into our estate unlike in the UK where it would be lost, also over here if i die and the wife remarries she will still get it whereas the UK she would lose it. After paying 11% of my pay for 15 years I would like to know where it is and be able to use it when the time comes.

Does anybody have any positive reasons to keep it frozen in the UK.

geordiebloke

Taking into account that I have no expertise in this area and that I haven't
spoken to an advisor yet, the main concern I would have would relate to
how safe the pension is, if it's transferred to Aus.
I'm assuming (rightly or wrongly) that the Aussie schemes available are basically private pensions. If this is the case are they guaranteed in same
way as the UK one is ?
There have been so many horror stories here in the UK in recent years, where people have lost virtually all their pension, I don't know if I would want to
take that risk, if indeed that is the case.

Steve

Swerv-o

Apparently not according to the letter I received from my old force. They say that unless I become disabled, then I am unable to draw my police pension until I reach 65.

S

Swerv-o

Is this a Police pension or a general pension? If it's a police pension, then as I understand it, the following things apply:

1. The police pension is a defined benefits pension, so there is no 'growth' as such - it simply pays out a guaranteed amount upon maturity based upon a formula calculated on your final salary when you left the police. As there is no annual growth, there should be no yearly taxation exposure in Australia.

2. If you liquidate your police pension, then, as a local authority scheme, they treat it as a 'club transfer'. When they do this, you lose out because they remove:

* The employer contributions
* Any tax that you would have normally paid if you were not contracted into the police pension
* Any national insurance contributions that you would have normally paid if you were not contracted into the police pension

As a result, you end up with a fairly pitiful amount to transfer, which, when you look at the potential gains it could make in thr future may well not live up to the defined benefit that you have already earned.

3. If you leave the police pension in place [it appears that] you may not be able to gain access to it until you are 65.

You will need to get a valuation of your pension benefit from the police when you leave, and also get a valuation of the potential transfer value, then speak to an independent advisor and get them to run the figure for you.

In my case, it was very evident that I should leave it where it is...

I hope this helps.

S

Mandy&Cliff

Prior to leaving the UK I received a transfer value of my pension. Do I understand given your reply that there is a possibility that employer contibutions would be deducted from this figure!!!!!!!!!! Surely not. The transfer fiqure is the transfer figure minus any increase arising from index linking. The difference between the two values is the amount which would be subject to the 15% tax.

2. If you liquidate your police pension, then, as a local authority scheme, they treat it as a 'club transfer'. When they do this, you lose out because they remove:

* The employer contributions
* Any tax that you would have normally paid if you were not contracted into the police pension
* Any national insurance contributions that you would have normally paid if you were not contracted into the police pension

I am really struggling with this, why would these amounts be removed from the figure???????????

pinoybill

Pease keep the information coming on this matter as the decision to take my Police Pension to OZ will be the biggest financial decision I have to make.The fees that are being asked for by transfer companies to do the arranging for you are too high and I would much rather make any decision and do the leg work myself if I decide to transfer.I was asked for 5% of my pension pot for what I gather is a highly regarded company to arrange the transfer of my pension and a large sum before that to do an analysis of what the pros and cons are of a transfer.

With regards to the previous post about the age at which you receive your Police Pension if you decide to leave a regular ie Met,Counties UK Police Force/Service I believe there are now some variables.
As far as i know if you are in a regular Force/Service and in the OLD POLICE PENSION SCHEME (PPS)then if you leave with over two years service but before a usual retirement age,then your pension will start at 60.

If you are one of the poor unfortunate souls that has recently had to join the NEW POLICE PENSION SCHEME (NPPS) then 65 applies.
I believe here are opportunities to bring the start of your pension forward under the NPPS ,but in the usual run of things then I believe 65 is the age at which it starts.
There may well be further differences for BTP,City of London and some of the smaller forces.


My issue with the companies that charge 5% is that it seems lumpy
for anyone in the usually well rewarded Financial Services Sector
but also as Police Officers our pensions are defined schemes and not subject to the ups and downs of the stock market like most private schemes.
So a calculation of worth of an individuals pension pot at a given point should be a more straightforward job than someone in a company scheme.

Any Britexpats can let us all know what they got out of their scheme and the best way to do it or alternatively those who are now in OZ in receipt of a Police Pension and how the tax impacts.
Regards Bill.

OzTennis

Just widening the net, teachers pensions are similar to police pensions in that they are also a final salary scheme with an annual indexation factor. Teachers may be able to comment on transferring which would apply equally to the police?

The only difference between the 2 schemes I would add is that the police scheme is a '1/60' and the teachers scheme is a '1/80'. This means that for every year of service a member of the police accrues more pension and lump sum benefits. A teacher with 40 years service will retire on 50% of final salary; a policeman/woman with 40 years service will retire on 2/3 of final salary. I'm presuming the lump sum 3 times final salary is the same in both schemes? My teaching colleagues tell me the police pensions were improved (and the teachers weren't) because of Maggie 'law and order' Thatcher!

OzTennis

Swerv-o

I went through all of this several years ago, when I left the police and went into teaching. I wanted to transfer my police pension into my teachers pension, and the amount of deductions that they were going to take was ridiculous. It really didn't make any sense to do so.

Apparently, the same applies to transferring the pension overseas as well. There a range of deductions that the Police pension scheme will make, based upon taxation, national insurance and employer contributions. You need to make sure that you have averything in black and white before you make a decision.

S