cafa123

Well. I'm a new member and searched back months on this site - I think this is a new question....


I'm under pension age and have nearly 30 years UK state contributions including SERPS.

A) can I transfer the UK state pension into a complying Aus super fund, and if so how do I do that?

B) Is it worth paying vol contributions into the Uk state pension fund, and if so how many years can I go back (been in Aus for 4 years now). Does anyone know of a calculator for working this out.

Thanks for all your help..
Colin

podgypossum

This is a good question...sorry i have no idea..

surely theres someone out there that would know!


just as a silly side question....... i was 37 when i left UK...say i decided to go back when i am at retiring age, would i still be ebtitled to the state pension?

ABCDiamond

I am pretty sure that you can still draw the UK state pension, when you reach retirement age, but it will be prop-rata for the number of years of contributions though.

Sue Milner

I'm sure you can transfer your UK pension into an Australian one, but I'm not sure how!!

I do know you can back date your missed national insurance contributions for 6 years - I am thinking about doing it, but not sure if it is worth it.

Check out www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk they should be able to help. You can also request pension forecasts from them to show how much you would be entitled to on the contributions you have already made.

Let me know if there is anything else you need to know - I probably have the answers, its just ploughing through the information!

Cheers,
Sue.

ABCDiamond

I forgot to add that it is payable even if you are not living in the UK.

My dad left the UK in the 80's, and he draws about 50% of the normal pension even though he lives overseas.

Pollyana

Someone will soon correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding is that you can transfer private/company pensions into Aussie Super funds, but the UK state pension stays in the UK, and is frozen. In some countries it gets an inflation linked increase each year, but Australia isn't currently one of them. So what is in it now, is what you will get when you retire.
On retirement age it is paid into a bank account in the country where you live (minus the exchange fees no doubt!)

ianj

It all depends. I am not expert but I have sought expert advice. As a result I have now contracted out of the S2P (State Second Pension) and the Inland Revenue will pay all my NI contributions into a Stakeholder Pension that I have set up with Scottish Widows. This is basically being used as a 'vehicle' to store in until I go within the next 6 months or so.

My understanding is that whatever you have built up prior to going cannot be touched until retirement age and cannot be used as a lump sum. I do not know however, if it can be transferred or how the tax side of things will work when you draw it if it stays here.

This is an area where you really need to seek advice.

I J

jaruky

try this site - i have been wondering the same thing

www.thepensionservice.gov.uk/

pockygoes

hopefully alan collett may see this & comment - he is a mind of info & very helpful!

cheers

pockygoes

GoodwinFS

Thought this would solve the issue with the transfer of pensions. It can be done. Forget the inland revenue service. I contacted them over a 4 month period from Australia and got knowhere.

See email posted earlier below and attachment:
Just thought I would give my perspective and actual transfer experience as I have done this for clients in the past.

1. You can leave your pension entitlements in the uk, and in some cases you have to if they are known as SERPS contributions, effectively not in a private fund.

If the private fund allows you to transfer, you can still leave your money where it is with no tax penalty. In retirement, you can still take your pensions as you would living in the UK. because of the double taxation agreement, you would receive the penion in australia as if you were receiving salary or an income and normal tax rules would apply.

if you decide to take it as a lump sum, i.e as a transfer or rollover to an Australian fund, the 6 month rule comes into affect:

This is detailed in the attachment:

Basically the following occurs:

1. If you transfer the amount within 6 months of become an Australian tax resident, all monies come across tax free and are seen as Undeducted (tax paid) contributions. Very effective in retirement for tax purposes plus if you withdraw these funds in retirement you will receive them tax free.

2. If the funds come across after 6 months, the growth on the funds which you have received since you became a resident would have to be declared in your tax return and you could be taxed at 48.5% on the growth.. The downside to it all is that the funds coming across could not be utilised to pay this liability and therefore you would have to pay it out of your own pocket.

New legislation that has just hit my desk which has been put to govt but passed is that the growth should be taxed at 15% like Australia residents get taxed and it is taken from the transferred funds. this is a win for foreign transfers as it reduces any tax liability plus allows you to access your transfer funds to pay the liability.

I have attached the paper outlining the changes.

Most people would think that six months is ample time to transfer the funds. In my experience as an adviser, some funds can take longer than that just to reply. each fund has its own requirements to release funds, as specified under the individual trust deeds. Minimum requirements are:

1. National Insurance form
2. Letter from current Australian employer saying you are employed
3. Tax return from Australia or tax file number letter.
4. Rollover forms to funds, saying where the funds are to be transferred.
5. Letter from Australian receiving fund saying they can accept the money.

This will get the ball rolling well and truly. Key to it is to get the requirements before you leave the UK if applicable, also to get a quote on retirement pension benefits as you give these up once you rollover the funds.

If you would like to chat further about this, just email me at [email protected] or call me at +612 9239 0011.

I would be happy to assist.

Don

Wasn't the point that the OP wanted to know about UK state pension, not private pensions?

AFAIK the answer is a simple one:

1. no, you can't transfer UK state pension or SERPS into an Aus super fund.

2. It depends on your life expectancy. The longer you live, the better an assured return you will get compared to average riskier investment alternatives.

lesleys

You all need to get a pension forecast from:

Retirement pension Forecasting Team
The Pension Service
Whitley Road
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE98 1BA

Tel: 0845 3000169

You give them your name, DOB and National Insurance number and they send you a statement telling you how many years you have contributed and how much state pension that will give you. They also include any SERPS you may have.

They will tell you how much the voluntary contribution (Class 3) will cost (about £350pa) and by how much this will increase your pension. You can then work out how long you have to live to recoup the benefit. In my case I only need to live 5 years after pension age to get back the cost of voluntary contributions, so definitely worth it.

When you reach pension age they pay you the pension as it stands at that time but freeze it at this level if you live in Aus or Canada or s. Africa etc.
There are court cases being brought to try to get this changed (one backed by the Canadian Gov I think).

So far as I remember, if you have 11 'qualifying years' of NI contributions to your name then you are entitled to a UK pension of sorts. THe level of pension is dependent on the number of years you contributed. The statement will explain all this.

If you delay taking your UK pension at normal retirement age then you get a higher pension when you do take it. The UK gov is messing around with this at the moment so it's one to watch.

http://www.britishpensions.org.au/

Tax implications are somthing else - but only when you start to draw a pension.

Sometimes I think it would be easier to learn Spanish and retire to Spain.

And it's so boring.

Lesley

Grayling

This may also interest you:

http://www.atpubs.com.au/bpia/


G