Wow, I can contribute to this Thread!

UK Inland Revenue will allow you to transfer to a 'locked' (unable to access money) and recognised RRSP, this is because they don't want you taking money out of the UK and missing out on the tax when you spend it......They still want to control your money.

QROPS - locked recognised plans.
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/PENSIONSCHEMES/qrops-list.htm

Reading this thread there is a way round this.

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=486579

My other half has 3 company pensions to transfer, even though he has had continuous employment, companies bought out other companies.....So has 3 different plans.

We hoped to put all 3 pensions into new employers plan, but he cannot join that company scheme until he has been with them for 1 year. Even then we are not sure if that one is 'locked'. As OH is coming over on a work permit, we are going to take advice in Canada....

Charlie

Thanks i will have a look thro that list.

Chris

We're in the process of setting up a mortgage on a house we've just bought in NS, any advice as to whether its best to get a 6 month variable rate or a 5yr fixed?

I think the rates will continue to slide down over the next few months and we're better off getting a 6m variable then lock it in when its at its lowest, but not exactly my area of expertise.

We've just renewed our mortage at 5.89% fixed for five years. We may win out; we may lose out. At least we have the security of knowing what we'll be paying. We've opted to make payments every two weeks, instead of monthly. It gets the mortgage down faster. We want to be mortgage-free by our early 50s.

Great plan we made it when I was 49.

Then one lousy week after we paid it off my bloody heart problem surfaced.

I would agree, at least with a fixed rate you know exactly what your outgoings are. I have always gone fixed rate, yeah you may get better but the security of knowing payments are 'x' until 'y' date is a comfort.

Sorry about the heart condition. But surely with the mortgage paid off you could relax a bit workwise and not get yourself too stressed.

Chris

I'll make one comment then lets get back to the original topic.

Yes I went from the high of we now have all of this extra money what are we going to spend it on. To oh sh*t there goes my job, how are we going to live in very short order.

Then reality set in and I realised things weren't as bad as they seemed, although I did end up retiring much earlier then I anticipated.

Having the mortgage paid off has been a major factor in our living reasonably comfortably since.

We have a certain urgency. Sundry divorces etc left us both back in the rental sector and with little or no capital. We only got back into the morgage lark when we'd both turned 40. That doesn't give much time to pay off a hefty mortgage.

Easy Tiger you could give a girl a heart attack reading stuff like that!!!!

I have no idea what Chris meant either (and read it loads to try and get my head round it ) but we're not all gonna be booted out of our jobs just yet even though the share price is dire.

The whole "fear factor" is affecting every financial instituation at the moment (FWIW I've just bouught more BMO shares - its a long term thing!) and as the natural cycles of boom and bust occur, all we are in is a bit of a downturn, these don't last forever and in time it will pick up. Could be months but more likely years.

Don't panic is my motto at the moment

anyone looking to change funds in the near future, FOMC (US Fed) making interest rate decision at 2.15pm UK time. No idea what the hell they do, they have to cut, but it could be anything from 0.25% to 1.5%, the higher end of that should cause a sharp rally in stocks and weakness in US $.

Mandy, i did say CAD$ 325m was nothing. If that is all BMO exposure is then they got off very lightly. And means that when the dust settles the shares will be all the more attractive.

Sorry if the explaination went over peoples heads. Was just trying to explain what a margin call was and got carried away.

Chris

I know Chris was just joking - you're too bloody clever for your own good sometimes Go to the back of the class and dumb down a touch

Don't worry i got the dunce hat on today.

Aaaaaaaw don't panic - you'll make back that 50 gazillion dollars (oooops sorry Euros ) back in no time.

You may come out of the corner and start making some money again

HOWEVER CONSIDER YOURSELF TRULY SCOLDED!

BTW have emailed wealth management and hopefully will have a "how to do it" scenario for the transfer of the PP to RRSP for you.