holmes5668

Thanks for the info. I've sent away for the forms to get a pension forecast.

Which countries are index linked and how do they know you are not in the country?

I wouldn't be due to receive a pension for another 25 years, so anything could change in that time.

shaku07

Not sure if you have had this question answered.

You only need 30 years now for a full Uk oap.
If you or your wife have piad in one year that would be 1/30
you can back pay up to 5 years uk oap.
The UK oap is not index linked.


You will receive both cpp -can oap and uk oap.

fuschiagirl

Yes - this is true. It is necessary to put a claim in within 28 days of arrival in the UK or any other "non-frozen" countries (except the US and Bermuda). Claims should be made to the UK Pension Service.

I also believe it is possible to take advantage of UK travel concessions on buses and trains. You should show your UK passport and proof that you are in receipt of a UK pension.

PensionPete

There are better options for you than paying into the State Pension which is not indexed to inflation. I find it funny that it is indexed in the US but not here.

CaroleW

Hi

I have just joined so please bear with me as I try to explain because I am unfamiliar with Canadian pensions/taxes.

An elderly friend of mine (86yrs old) was born in England but she and her husband worked in Canada for many years and were granted Canadian Citizenship. They returned to England about 20yrs ago and each received Canadian pensions.

Her husband died in 1996 and she now receives a Pension Code 01 Retirement Pension of her own

Plus a Pension Code 08 Survivors pension from her husbands pension

She receives 2 cheques each month sent to England and payable in British currency

She declares both these pensions for UK tax purposes and pays UK tax on them

Following some dealings with the British Tax office - a query has arisen as to whether these pensions are already taxed at the 25% non-resident rate before she receives them, in which case she should not be taxed again.

There is a tax treaty between Canada and the UK which would suggest the pensions are untaxed in Canada but on the leaflet issued re: tax treaties - it shows "CPP or QPP death benefit" is taxed at 25% and we are not sure if her widows pension falls into this category

She has written to the British Columbia and Yukon branch of Health & Welfare Canada asking for clarification/confirmation but has had no reply. They do not accept queries by email

Can anybody advise a way forward to get this query answered?

Thank you

fuschiagirl

Can't he

JonboyE

If she receives a CPP or OAS pension from Canada she should receive a T4A slip each year in February. The T4A slip will show if any tax has been deducted by the Canadian government. It shouldn't. As you have said, the tax treaty says that only the country where the pensioner is resident can tax pensions.

The number to call to ask the Canadian Government to confirm this is # 1 613 990-2244.

JonboyE

No.

Well, probably not ...

shelley748

I have paid into UK for 23 years before moving here in 2002. By my calculation I only need to catch up 7 years... based on the new 2012 rule of only 30 years for a full UK pension.

Where please can I find out what the GBP amount is I have to pay weekly monthly etc? Are there any online calculators out there?

Thanks

JonboyE

These are the people you need to talk to:

http://www.thepensionservice.gov.uk/...sioncentre.asp

CaroleW

A thank you to Jonboy for his reply to my query on behalf of my friend. She cannot recall ever receiving this form but will wait until her February pension arrives to see if it is enclosed.

onlycanada

Hi. This is directly from an article in yesterdays Sunday Times discussing this very issue. Hope it is helpful. It's tip#5 from the following link

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/mon...cle5579590.ece


5 BUY EXTRA BENEFITS FOR YOUR SPOUSE

Buying extra years’ state pension entitlement gives an effective return of more than 30% — almost impossible to beat in today’s environment.

Around 70% of women and 15% of men do not receive the full basic state pension because they have not built up enough entitlement. However, you can buy back additional years at £421 a year, on present rates.

The full basic state pension is £90.70 a week, or £4,716 a year. To get this, men need 44 years’ National Insurance contributions (Nics) and women 39. You may be able to subtract years after 1978 in which you had home responsibilities, such as looking after children aged up to 16 or acting as a carer. For each year bought back men receive an extra £107 in pension and women £120 a year.
Say,you are 12 years short of the full term and due to reach state pension age next year. You would have to pay £4,245 to buy these years back, figures compiled by Grant Thornton show. This would give women an extra annual income of £1,451 and men an extra £1,286.

Based on the average life expectancy of 84 for women aged 60 — the current age at which women start receiving the state pension — they would stand to gain £35,386 in total (without factoring in inflation). That equates to an annual return on their outlay of 34.2%.

Based on the same example, a man aged 65 next year — the age at which men start receiving state pension benefits — stands to gain £21,962, if he lives until an expected 82, giving him an effective annual return of 30.3%.

“It’s an excellent deal,” said Warburton. “Returns are index-linked and government backed: you would struggle to beat this anywhere else.”

From the start of the new tax year on April 6 the cost of buying back a year will rise 49% to £627, but bear in mind that from April 2010 you will need only 30 years’ Nics for a full basic state pension. So don’t buy years if you already have that entitlement and will start drawing your pension after then. The benefits of buying back years will be higher at £157 for men and women — so check how worthwhile it will be.

JonboyE

For most of us, i.e. those who will reach retirement age after 2010, the 2007 Pension Act reduced the qualifying contributions required for a full pension to 30 years.

I do agree that buying extra years contributions can be an excellent investment for many people, even though we don't get the annual increases.

shelley748

I believe that there is a Canadian group of expat pensioners who are trying to lobby the UK government to index the pension, does'nt seem right that we don;t get it and theUSA expats do!!

http://www.britishpensions.com/index2.html

JonboyE

With no hope of success unfortunately.

I agree that it doesn't seem right. However it is the way it is - the number of expats in Commonwealth countries who are still able to vote in the UK just don't register on MP's radar. There is not much more we can do than like it or lump it.