Re: UK Pensions
 

Any idea when Class 2 or 3 apply? I was quoted ~ £700 when I investigated this a couple of months ago...so I presume I only "qualify" for Class 3...

Re: UK Pensions
 

Class 3 is the default, it was quoted to me too. You have to _request_ to apply for Class 2. To get the Class 2 rate, it seems to be required that [1] you were working "immediately" before you left the UK, and [2] left for work reasons/ were working "immediately" after you arrived in your new country of residence. The application asks for your employment history before and after you left the UK, but one person on BE was approved, IIRC, after not working for a couple of _years_ after they arrived in their new country, so I am not sure what the logic is. I also don't recall seeing anyone on BE report that they were rejected for Class 2.

Re: UK Pensions
 

For years that you were or are employed of self employed outside of the uk you qualify for the cheaper class 2 contributions. I think that they are cheaper than class 3 because while you are working in the UK your NI payments on earned income pay for more than just your state pension, probably things like NHS and Dole. In 2014 i bought 5 years of class 2 contributions cost about 650 Quid.

Re: UK Pensions
 

Thanks Pulaski, I will contact the International Pension Centre

Re: UK Pensions
 

Thanks Saskruss

Re: UK Pensions
 

Hopefully we are both able to backtrack to 2005 to buy the class 2 contributions

Re: UK Pensions
 

Hi, as someone mentioned above, under current laws your pension from the UK will not get indexed linked as the pension in the UK and various other countries do. However we don't need to roll over and accept it as a fait accompli. The International Consortium of British Pensioners continues to work hard, along with it's partners in various places such as Canada, Australia and the Caribbean to fix this injustice. See britishpensions.com (Canada) and bpia.org.au/ (Australia) for more information. Please consider joining for a small annual fee, they will also help you if needed regarding back paying NI contributions. There is also the Elections Bill going through Westminster - it just had it's second reading in House of Lords. This bill will give the right to vote to all British citizens regardless of how long they've been out of the UK or where they currently live. Hoping we can get many thousands of frozen pensioners to vote for a party whose manifesto includes annual uprating for all pensioners worldwide.

Re: UK Pensions
 

I guess that's what happens if you live in Canada. :rofl:

Re: UK Pensions
 

Just need advice as to the fees / commissions charged by those holding your QROP accounts that you transferred over from UK to Canada and if any other third parties were involved.
I have a private pension in the UK that I need to desperately transfer, but the Pension Company stated that I may have to involve another organization within the UK to aid in the transfer into QROP.
Any advice to this effect?

Re: UK Pensions
 

Desperation rarely needs to good decision making, and IMO pensions are invarably better left where they are. I don't think any country in the world has better protections for pension investors than the UK, espectially to protect people from themselves by prohibting premature withdrawal of savings that were supposed to maintain you during your retirement (and it's this stipulation that makes moving a UK pension investment into a QROPS outside the UK, tricky). Also having part of your pension investments with a different manager in a different country provides additional diversification, which also has very real value.

Re: UK Pensions
 

DON'T DO IT. Just move your pension into drawdown, invest in global stocks to mitigate currency risk and transfer monies via WISE when you need it.

Re: UK Pensions
 

Hi, I transferred a couple of Aviva personal pensions from the UK into a Canadian RRSP account but as there are (were?) time limits on it the RRSP was new, I could not roll it into an existing RRSP. I believe the UK Inland Revenue had to be informed if I withdrew from that fund witin a certain time, I think 5 years. I had RRSPs and TFSA at Hollis Wealth in Ottawa and they handled it for me once I gave them the signed paperwork that I completed after getting it from Aviva. I think it too about 6 months. There was no-one involved and no fees, though there may have been acount closing fees from Aviva but nothing drastic. I did the transfer back in 2015ish.

Re: UK Pensions
 

As per Canadian Regulations when you hit the age of 71 you are required to access the pension whether it is the RRSP or a foreign private pension. But with the UK Pound plummeting it is useless just letting your investments including the pension devalue in the UK. I remember that when I came to Canada in 1992 the value of the GBP Pound was around C$2.40. The only alternatives for me now are transfer into a QROP or SIPP. SIPP seems to be very complicated and by all accounts are not recommended at this stage for me.

Re: UK Pensions
 

Thanks, will have to look into it. But is it legal for a non-UK resident to move Private Pensions into a Drawdown in the UK? But then once again if you are going to access this amount it could be complicated when you are 71 years old. Does it then have to be transferred into a RRIF via a QROP, or is it possible to keep it in the Drawdown?

Re: UK Pensions
 

Those were the good times before 2017 when the UK Govt. ended the direct transfer into the RRSP. Should have transferred all those Funds into my RRSP then.