jeff1949

Hello, my name is Jeff, and I am hoping to become an ex-pat in Australia in two years time when I turn 65. Question - Are there any expat meeting houses or cafes where newbies can sit and chat with people, about retirement in Australia?

Dorothy

Do you qualify for a visa? Without one of those you won't be retiring in Australia.

And aren't you planning to retire to New Zealand?

palmer59

Jeff ....do you realise how much money you need to get a retirement visa....not only the large amount in todays exchange rate for the purchase of the required 4 year investment bond and also the large sum required to have in your bank to show means of support,but also the annual income requirements,again hard to achieve at current exchange rate .....

jeff1949

Wow, thanks for blowing my socks off at this time of the morning. I certainly was not expecting such a bombshell.
Can you tell me more but in smaller detail. I thought it was easy to retire in New Zealand or Australia, once i had turned 65. I was hoping to be able to live off my British state pension every week, which would be put in my bank account.

Bermudashorts

I am really not sure if you are being sarcastic or not?

Assuming not, in which case no it is not at all easy to retire to Australia (no idea about NZ), it would require huge sums of money. You would require assets of $750k (less if you were to live in a regional area) and an annual income of $65k.

Dorothy

No, it's not that easy, just as I can't just go live in UK without a visa (I'm not British). You will require a visa to live in either Australia or New Zealand. I'm not sure of the official website for New Zealand's immigration department, but for Australia you would look at www.immi.gov.au and try the visa wizard.

Petals

If you receive a gov pension from UK they are not increased, once the pension is accessed here in Aus the amount we receive stays the same for ever. Hence its eroded away with inflation over the years.

Also Centrelink our benefit overseer has big brother and knows who gets a pension from the UK.

I get a part pension from UK, a part pension from NZ and Centrelink plus we have our own income as well so we are ok.

Health is another consideration, you would have to pass a medical.

jad n rich

I am amazed at the levels big brother has here.

Centerlink ( despite me claiming nothing!!, unless an adjustment is due in my tax return ) inform ME each and every time I go overseas. So I now tell them first.

Last trip I advised them I would arrive back in OZ on 26 jan, due to a delay as it was 27 jan they wrote to me to tell me I and my son had left the country permanently and my $0 payment would be suspended.

The info they have on your bank accounts and investments is staggering too, read in the Courier Mail the are now able to access your credit card statements to see what you are spending. Frankly that is going too bloody far IMO!

BadgeIsBack

My wife has to contact them when she does big trips particularly in the order of 3 months. The thing we've found though is that they are very fast to act, and to refund and to change things when they've got it wrong, or when the facts have come to light. We're glad they contact us, because often we have been the guilty party. A telephone call normally suffices.

jeff1949

To Bermuda shorts, I was not being sarcastic but was in shock at the amount of money I would have to pay. I was nieve to think i could retire on a british pension alone. I thought as Australia was part of the commonwealth I would be accepted, but obiously not.

coldbeer

Many, many people want to come to Australia and for most getting a visa is not easy. Although the Immi dept is unpopular with lots of applicants we can all see that we can't just throw the doors open for any who want to come here.

I don't think you are allowed to retire here permanently at all, just come for a few years having posted a very large amount of money as a deposit, after which, or if you get ill, you need to return to your home country.

Sadly the Commonwealth has no bearing on visa eligibility.

ozzieeagle

Jeff by your 1949, I'm 7 years or so behind you. Australia is probably one of the last countries in the world you need to be on a fixed UK income at present. Certainly in the Western world. You'd be far better off looking at California if it's sunshine your after.

Wages are very high here, if you convert them to Pounds.... Same applies to costs though and therein lies your problem. . Your UK pension will go at least 30 to 50 pct further in the UK.

I'm cashing up... selling the house and as many goods as I can when we decide to retire (somewhere around that 7-9 year mark)... If I end up buying in another place in Aus it will be very small and cheap. I'm seriously considering renting for much of my retirement.. I will be spending as much time as I can outside of Aus so as to prolong my assets and interest income and save costs. That may well have to be SE Asia... but I may be able to afford other places... like Southern Europe.. France is definitely on my radar and the US. I do intend to return to Aus every year though... just to maintain my retirement benefits.

Aus is one of the last places I'd be moving to on retirement, Unless you've got cash assets of over 1.5 million pounds.

I'm looking to have as hedonistic a time as possible in my Retirement... I can't afford to do exactly what for as long as I intend in Aus thats for sure. Hence my wants are forcing me to look elsewhere.

eddie007

My parents are coming out at the end of may as self funding retirees, we sponsored them.... Theyvare in their 70s

I KNOW we arent doing them any financial favours letting them do this... But Being able to look after them as they become less able is priceless...

And they're not buying here... They're going to share our house with us..

I hope they spend every last cent they have kicking up their heels ... Before turning up their toes....

They will be going from VERY comfortable in the uk... To "crikey" here... But we will be here as their safety net...

I wouldnt be thinking of doing it if they were buying ... On a frozen pension they really would struggle eventually...

Theres no financial advantage to anyone them coming... Its purely family ...

Wol

This is all news to me - we've been abroad many times and never told anyone nor had any communication from them. What is one supposed to do?

elice_in_oz

+1