coolcat

Hi everyone. We currently live in Canada, British Columbia. We have lived here for nearly 20 years. We are both originally from the UK. We are planning our return to the UK and are hoping to get some advice on UK based financial advisors. If someone could recommend one?. We are hoping to get some advice on the best investment options available in the UK. Can anyone recommend UK based financial advisor ?

We have recently opened a UK bank account from Canada, and we noticed that the guaranteed amounts in the bank are now only approximately 85,000 pounds. We will be transferring funds from the sale of our house, and it will be far in excess of this amount…not sure how other expats have dealt with this?

We are also looking for advice on transferring funds out of a RRIF here in Canada, and bringing it back to the UK. My husband’s pension will be converted into a RRIF, and our understanding is if we take the whole sum out at once, we will be taxed at 30%. Anyone had any experience of this?

Any advice greatly received, it’s a bit of a financial minefield moving back. I’m sure it wasn’t this complicated moving out here. lol

WCott

Will be eagerly awaiting any advice to you - as we are also in BC and planning a similar move shortly. Can you tell us how you opened a UK bank account from Canada?

coolcat

Hi…we did it with HSBC UK. Just select the option for people living abroad and that’s it. You upload your ID then they do a zoom call to verify your ID… we are now waiting for our ATM card which they are mailing to us in Canada. Pretty simple process really …which is good because everything else seems super complicated 😊

WCott

Thanks so much!
We asked HSBC here in Vernon. We were told that we had to open up some kind of “British Pound’ account, which we thought was kinda BS, as our daughters had both opened up UK bank accountS from here. Very helpful, thanks.
Whereabouts are you thinking of relocating when you get over?

coolcat

We are not sure yet. We are from Essex but we definitely won’t be going back there 😂… we are leaning towards Scottish Highlands but we might travel a bit around the UK when we first return so we can sample several locations. How about you guys? Where are you heading?

WCott

We’re leaning towards someplace near the Peaks in Derbyshire. We like the Belper/Derby area. Figured we’d rent a place for a while and look around. I could totally live in Scotland, but the point of us relocating to the UK is to be nearer our 2 daughters who both live in the London area. We know we won’t be able to afford much in that area…but if we’re 2-odd hours away, it’s a world of difference, price-wise. We’re hoping to spend £325k-400k on a house eventually.
PS, my wife has already found the appropriate HSBC link. Thanks!

durham_lad

As regards the £85k bank insurance. Once you are resident you can open an NS&I account which is fully backed by the UK Treasury and is “insured” up to £1m. Useful for somewhere to park the proceeds of a house sale while buying a UK house.

rates currently around 3.6%, but easy to access, and secure.

https://www.nsandi.com/interest-rates

Reidies

Non residents can open an NS&I account, but you have to have a UK bank account. It’s relatively easy to open over the telephone, some products are not available to non residents - ISA’s for example.

durham_lad

excellent, I had forgotten that.

DVG

I will be anxiously checking in for an answer re RRIF...as we plan to retire in Belfast Northern Ireland from Canada down the road. I have been trying to find out if we have to claim our monthly income from RRSPs (or RRIF), CPP and OAS in a UK tax return, or if we can just claim in a Canadian income tax return. I did contact an accountant in Belfast to ask 3 questions related to this and they wanted 7,000 pounds to answer those questions. I was in a bit of shock at that, but trying to find this answer has been tough. I would love to be able to just claim on a Canadian tax return and then just bring money over when needed and if I can do that, how much can we bring without being taxed in the UK.

WCott

I’m thinking that if you’re getting a monthly income from your RRSP (or any gov’t source), you’ve already paid the taxes before the money even gets to you, right? So all I would do is file a Canadian income tax return (we did the online one this year - so you should be able to do it anywhere in the world), and claim the income - and since you’ve paid the tax already, you shouldn’t pay any more on the UK side of things.
Call the CRA with questions, instead of a Dublin lawyer. CRA is a simple FREE call. You’re a Canadian citizen, so ask away.

DVG

Good suggestion WCott...doesn't hurt...thank you!

gbart951

Has anyone had any official advice on taxes yet?

I read through the CRA and HMRC sites, as well as the tax treaty between Canada and the UK, regarding taxes on pensions. RRSP’s, RIFF’s, CPP, OAS, private pensions are all included in the definition of pension income. If I understand it correctly then, after applying to CRA and getting approval, there is no tax deducted in Canada on periodic payments from these sources and tax is all deducted on the UK side after filing a return to HMRC. They specifically state “periodic” payments in the tax treaty so I presume then that a lump sum, like taking out your whole RRSP, would incur withholding tax in Canada. Without CRA approval a 25% withholding tax is applied in Canada on pensions.

I’ve yet to call CRA to confirm this, but if this is the case then it is more advantageous to go this route and file a return with HMRC because the UK personal allowance is higher than Canada, and the tax % per bracket is also lower than Canada.

As far as bank accounts go. Just as “coolcat” did, I opened a current account online with HSBC UK and after uploading ID, and a return phone call from them to check information, my bank card is on the way and I’m able to start making deposits. It was all relatively easy and straightforward.

WCott

I’m going to assume that all appropriate taxes have been deducted on my OAS and my pension before it even gets to me. As far as my RRSP goes…I don’t know yet. That‘s still 7-odd years away before I can touch it. Probably just find a way to put a few hundred in my bank account monthly to supplement my pension.
HSBC is this week’s mission.
Thanks….

getoutofbritainquick

We moved back to the UK in July 2021 from BC to Cornwall having lived in BC for 15 years. Firstly check out this site on the CRA web site - https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-age...ts-canada.html
You will need to fill out the non resident tax form and send it to the CRA and they will decide if you qualify for Canadian tax purposes. This takes some time so do this in advance and use the date you actually leave Canada. They will confirm you no longer have to pay Canadian tax. Inform the UK tax office as soon as you are resident in the UK. You will need to submit a final Canadian tax return for the part of the Canadian tax year. Canadian pensions etc will then be subject to UK tax only. You will have to sign up for UK self assessment if receiving future Canadian income like pensions etc.
My wife has a substantial sum in a Spousal RSP and we have a similar issue if we cash it in and would have to pay 30% withholding tax in Canada but that can be offset against any tax paid in the UK if taken once you arrive in the UK as this would be considered income.

Other issues to think about if not already done so:-

- Transferring regular Canadian income to the UK. We had a HSBC account set up in both countries and used this to transfer Canadian funds. We opened a Canadian $$ account in the UK and they have recently introduced a "Money Card" where you can transfer currencies on line at excellent rates of exchange. The problem now is that HSBC has pulled out of Canada and sold to RBC so not sure this option still exists.
- Transferring large sums. We had considerable funds to transfer to the UK. We exchanged our Canadian funds with HSBC in Canada but were only allowed to move the equivalent ( if I remember correctly) of US $250k using e-transfer between HSBC Canada and UK. This was a pain as it took nearly 2 weeks to transfer all of our funds!
- Make sure your Canadian bank(s) have your UK details especially new mobile number. It's very difficult to change details once in the UK.
- Make sure you take your Canadian driving licenses with you so you can exchange for a UK one. The UK will only issue you with a license for an automatic vehicle. If you still have you old UK ones then just use that to renew when you come back to the UK and you will get a full license.
- Credit history will be a nightmare once back in the UK because basically you won't have any! We had to use cash for most things, house purchase, car, and anything else which requires a credit check. Even though I had my UK pension paid into HSBC UK before we left the UK they would not give me a credit card despite having substantial finds in my account. We even struggled to get a SIM card let alone a phone contract.
- If you have grown up children coming with you and wanting to go to University they will be considered international students for 3 years from the date of their return to the UK. This basically means you will be paying double the UK rate and will not be able to acquire a student loan.
- adjusting to the UK roads! This was a challenge especially as we had moved to Cornwall and took a long time to re-adjust.
- Make sure any Canadian institutions have your UK details e.g mobile number, address etc and especially make sure the CRA have you UK details. You will also need your T4's etc to submit your final Canadian tax return.
- Settle any Canadian bills/debts before you leave. Best to keep Canadian bank accounts open until you no longer need them. You can have money paid directly into a UK Canadian $$ account from Canada. The advantage of this is are the fees charged in Canada if you have them paid in pounds. I have a pension from BC Hydro and they charge $30 every month to have them paid in pounds on top of exchange rates etc.
- Transferring pets to the UK can be very expensive and stressful. I won't go into this now but pm me if you have any pets you will be bringing with you.
- Bringing goods back to the UK including the dreaded 'TOR'. Thats a subject in its own right!

If you have any other questions re returning to the UK please pm me and I will do my best answer them.