Im coming to the stage where i need to sort out my UK finances.
Has anyone any advice on what to do with Pensions. Do i cash them in or has anyone been able to transfer them to an Ozzy pension??

All advice gratefully received.

I asked this question a couple of months ago and was told all I needed to do was decide which pension fund to have in Oz then let the current pension people know and they will transfer it.

Not sure if that's right but that's the advice I'm using, cant really see why it needs to be more difficult than that.

HTH

Bridiej

Thanks for such a swift response, it sound so simple that its obvious,

Thanks
Nig

P.S whats HTH

Just be careful though on what the benefits of the pension are.

My partner and I both have quite a few years in a defined benefit system in the Uk so we have been advised to leave those here as we know what we are going to get and it is fixed. I have a couple of smaller money purchase pensions that I am taking with me.

I know it costs, but it is worth getting some good advice from someone who understands about transferring pensions overseas.

Hope that helps - took me ages to work it out too, I thought there were loads of people with the initials "HTH"

Just seen in your sig you've just submitted visa application. we're going in October so if you like I'll let you know how we get on with sorting ours out, save you spending out on advice you may not need.

There are a number of things worth considering, not sure if my previous pension posts are still around, however to summarise.

1. Check how many pensions you have in the UK, it might be worth transferring them into a single pension in the UK before transferring them to Oz.. Worth checking.

2. Get the latest valuations for your pensions, you'll need to write to the pension provider or ask your (I)FA.

3. Check the TRANSFER value of your pension, if this is not the same amount as the Current value of your pension then the difference is the transfer penalty the provider will charge you to leave their scheme. Depending on whether there is a charge, and the size of it should help determine whether it is worth transfering the pension.

4. Read up on the net about Oz Superannuations, the Oz pensions are more advanced than ours in many ways, although post April 2006 (A-day) then UK pensions will become mroe similar to Oz ones.

5. You'll likely lose 2-5% of your pension value in transferring it.. As the Oz pension provider will usually charge a joining fee, if you use a pension specialist then they will take a cut as well hence using a pension transfer agents mention on this website will usually reduce your pension by a total of around 5% (some however are fixed fee rather than percentage).

6. If you have a Final Salary pension then seriously think about whether you want to give this up as they are (if you've been paying into it for many years) like gold-dust and very good.

7. Some UK pension providers, such as Norwich Union, are typically very very very slow to shuffle paperwork and will drive you nuts, other's like Standard Life are much mroe on the ball.. So depending on who your pension is with then you may have an easier experience.

8. Depending on the size of your pension fund then it could be worth considering doing a self-managed Super, read up about it on the Internet or get a book of Amazon. There is an excellent book called something like "Superannuation made Easy" (my dad has borrowed it so can't remember the full name/author).

9. If you are not sure, then get professional advice.

10. In general you should try to get your pension transferred to Oz within six months of arriving due to tax rules.

11. Once you have sorted out what Super you will use in Oz you then need to notify your UK providers and that will get things moving. Could be worth talking to your UK provider before you go so at least they know what is being planned.

hth

Alex

off to Amazon for a gleg then...

hi Alex

is it the "complete guide to pensions and superannuation"

Just remember you don't have to transfer your pension. You can leave it in the UK, just remember to give them any new addresses so they can contact you.

I work in the pensions industry and would always advocate taking independent financial advice. Some pensions you'd be better to leave and others better to transfer. When transferring some policies have tremendous charges and others not. It is minefield

Oh, I forgot when I posted earlier, I have a couple of pensions with Standard Life and they are thinking of demutualising next year so I am going to leave them here as I might get a freebie from them and then I will move it over after!!!

Amazon Uk doesn't have the full range of Oz Superannuation books so could be worth looking at http://www.dymocks.com.au/ and either getting it delivered to the UK or have a friend in Oz post it.

To be fair, most of the information in the books is available on the Internet, it just takes a bit of searching though!

http://finance.ninemsn.com.au/ is a good place to start!

The actual book I have is:

Superannuation Made Easy - $19.95
Noel Whittaker
ISBN: 0731812549 - PaperBack

However if you do a search on Dymocks for "Superannuation" then you'll find plenty of other books as well. They generally won't cover transferring your UK pension to Oz, however they will cover all about Oz Superannuations in detail.

hth

:-)

Alex

And whatever book you get, make sure it is very recent.. Both the UK and Oz pension/superannuation markets have changed/are changing a lot..

:-)

Alex

Thanks Alex, first on my shopping list when we arrive

Very true - big changes happening in the UK 6/4/06 which may mean you'd be better keeping in UK as payouts will be different

Only if they are "with profits" schemes, and even then it may not amount to much.

Paul.