Re: police transfer of pensions
 

There are a lot of threads running about pensions at the moment (so sorry if this is boring ! )

Does anyone know if there is a set time limit that you need to adhere to in order to take your funds out of a police pension (or indeed any pension)?

Can we sit back for a couple of years to ensure our new life is all it was cracked up to be, then transfer funds later when we are sure this is where we want to be ? I appreciate the money could be earning more in this time if it was invested, rather than sitting in a pot doing nothing, but I suspect the actual transfer costs alot anyway, and we are pretty cautious generally!

Anyone?

Re: police transfer of pensions
 

Ann, I'm not qualified to comment on the specifics of your pension scheme, but generally I don't believe there is any time limit as such for transfers to Canada. The risk is that any legal changes either in UK or here might make things more difficult in the future. But then again nothing might happen either!

One of my concerns is facing a tax bill on the growth in a pension fund value from the day I became a PR to potentially the day I start drawing it. (26 years hence for me so hopefully the fund will grow considerably by then!). I don't mind paying tax on the pension when it starts paying out but want to avoid any capital gains type hit. I have not as yet got any firm information as to whether this is a risk or not.

I am actually in a similar place to you inasumuch as I have two occupational pension schemes from employment in the UK and at this stage am not sure whether to leave them in the UK in case I decide to move back at some point. No plans to do so at present but never is a long time. The flipside is that bringing over the pension funds now and putting into a 'locked in RRSP' scheme here takes advantage of the favourable exchange rate at present.

What I am doing is getting a valuation of the schemes in the UK and then talking to financial advisors here to establish what sort of return I might get on my $ investment into the RRSP. It's a complex but important subject so I am eager to learn from others as well!

Re: police transfer of pensions
 

Thanks AX - it's a minefield out there. I now have a couple of contacts for a more expert opinion - which is definately what we're going to need here !

And if anyone else has any more comments, then yes please !

Re: police transfer of pensions
 

In the spirit of a shared learning experience please post any general non-specific to you advice you may get from any experts!

Re: police transfer of pensions
 

Absolutely ! :)

Re: police transfer of pensions
 

Sorry to upset anyone, and I know we get a lot of professionals on this website, but YES you can move your police pension to Canada. People may say no, and complicate things, but I have done it, got the tee shirt and just counting the years till I am 55.

The scoop is this.... you can not transfer like you do in the UK from Uk to Calgary your pension within the police service. YOu know how if you were a met officer you could transfer to Lancashire and still get it all counted.

What you do is get a financial advisor (pm me if you are interested for details) He then contact the Met (in our case we both had 15 years ) he asked for our pension. There are certain rules... like we have to have it properly invested and can not get it till we are 55, but hey with the exchange we doubled our pension over night and it is currently working for us over here.

PM me if you need more info.

Re: police transfer of pensions
 

Helen,
That sounds great and that you made the right move
can you provide any information on how you went about doing this/ how long it took and what type of costs/losses are involved.

its a minefield out there any help would be appreciated!

Re: police transfer of pensions
 

If anyone is still looking for info on their pension transfers to Canada, you can email me directly and I will give you a detailed breakdown of what happens when you move your money across the pond. Speak to you soon!

Brian

Re: police transfer of pensions
 

From a pensions advisor in Canada. Sounds like a good idea to me

The rules are as follows:



If you leave your money in the UK then you will be entitled to a monthly amount when you reach the age of 60 (or later if you decide to continue working). Should you pre-decease your spouse then the widower’s amount is cut down to half of that monthly amount. Upon your spouse’s death, the funds are then depleted and kept within the UK pension allocation. Also, the funds are so conservatively invested, once you are in Canada that you will be hovering just above a 1% return per annum.



When you bring your money to Canada it is deposited into a Locked-in Retirement Account (LIRA). You can access the money at age 55 (retired or not) and should you pre-decease your spouse the ENTIRE amount is transferred over 100% tax-free. Upon your spouse’s death, the money is then distributed on to your beneficiaries (usually children or grandchildren). You will also have complete control over how the money is invested for enhanced returns. Every individual I have sat down with to date has taken advantage of the preferential legislation in Canada.


The next step would be to send me all the details with respect to your pension (i.e. contact info for your pension's branch, badge number, national insurance number, date of birth, and address in the UK). I should advise you that they will not release information if you are still employed at that time. When you send in your resignation they will forward along all of the pertinent details. I will contact them on your behalf to get the ball rolling and then we can take it from there. They will require a signature at some point in the near future, but in the initial stages it is not necessary.

Finally, you will be pleased to hear that there are no charges for my services. I will manage the pension fund on your behalf, but it is you that has the say of how it is invested. You have the final say in how the funds are invested. So basically, you have complete control over your funds once they are here, I will merely be the administrator.

I have the guys details if anyone is interested

Re: police transfer of pensions
 

I am still receiving quite a few requests for my friend's information regarding UK pension transfers. For those of you who are interested, he will be doing free seminars on the topic in Edmonton and in Calgary during the last week of June. He is also doing seminars in Ontario. Anyone who is interested can PM me and I will forward you the details along with his contact information.

Cheers,

Excdncop (formerly Canadapension)

Re: police transfer of pensions
 

Helen,

Thanks for that, hopefully its still possible now. If you wouldn't mind, ill take any details you can give, and make contact with your 'man in the know'!

Re: police transfer of pensions
 

If no money is charged up-front how does he get paid ? Does he get paid from the Annual Management Charge on the Fund?

Re: police transfer of pensions
 

hi, anytime you like up to 59yrs. from 59 when you are in the last year before you draw it, it has to stay where it is.

Re: police transfer of pensions
 

Why take money from a pension that dosent have to rely on investment to produce guaranteed income. These U.K Civil Service type Pensions are so good that M.Ps have voted even more of it for themselves.and they have just voted for ammendments to legislation that would keep their Allowances their "Allowances" secret. Their pensions and allowances are so good they are embarrased that the public will find out.

If a transferred fund goes Belly-Up i.e does not perform sufficiently to exceed your existing fund will the Canadian government bail you out, or will you try to claim you have been Mis-sold, I think you will be wasting your time on both counts.

If you can get a written guarantee that your newly transferred pension will produce a better income than if you leave it where it is ,I say go ahead and do it, then let me know because I will put my pension there also.

I seem to have got a bee in my bonnet now about "contributors" to these threads who imply that you will get something extra and you risk nothing.
Investment is risk. Remember the Endowments Mis-Selling in the U.K and the next biggest Mis-Selling scandal was with Pension-Transfers.

Re: police transfer of pensions
 

Hello,

we are just in the latter stages of immigration at the moment ( from uk force to Calgary force)and would really appreciate the financial advisor contact details you talked about please.

Many thanks, kr, Tina