melaniee

Is there anyone in Aus that is or was a copper in the UK and can recommend or say what they did with their pension. Unsure at the moment to leave it where it is or transfer.
Cheers.

Mandy&Cliff

If you do a search you will find many an answer. It has to be your choice. I had 15 yrs UK now been in OZ 6 yrs. I am moving mine over at the moment, the reasons are dependant on your personal scenario. For me it meant my pension sat there frozen until i could claim it, if I died the wife would only get a reduced pension, if she re married then she lost the lot. When retired I could have a large lump sum and a monthly pension.
By moving it to OZ I pay 15% tax on the growth since I left the UK (if moved in 1st 6 months you dont pay the tax), this is OZ tax, I am moving it into a Qualifying Recognized Overseas Pension Scheme (QROPS) so the UK can not tax it, I will move the money to Qsuper (Qld Police Super). I am unable to move it direct to Qsuper as they are not QROPS. Because I have been here longer than 5 years the original Qrops super should not inform the UK that I am withdrawing my super.
If i was here less than 5 years and tried moving out of a QROPS super then UK will tax me 40%
Over here dependant on age you can withdraw your super as a lump sum and invest it how you see fit, if I die the wife or beneficiary get the whole sum.
You do have to work out what is best for yourself.

If I have any of this wrong then I apologize and stand to be corrected.