vox populia

As you are all probably aware the Halifax currently has no monthly charges on Pension Transfers from UK to Spain, the question is if Lloyds / TSB Bank are successful with their takeover bid will they charge for the same transfer service? Currently I am informed they Lloyds charge for european monthly T/Fs £7:00 unfortunately, any advice appreciated.

cymruambyth

Can you not get your pension paid straight into a Spanish bank without it having to go to a UK bank first? I know you can with a public service pension (military, police etc).

Mitzyboy

Yes you can





Oh ..... that sounds like a good catch phrase for a political party

cymruambyth

But "No you Can't" is probably more apt!

ForHotspot

I know the UK private pension can be paid directly to any bank abroad.

mikelincs

Our pensions, UK government retirement and NHS pensions are paid direct here, no charges.

vox populia

Sorry Guys, but the pension I am referring to is a private pension and they do not do direct transfer to Spain!!!!

lic

Can you open a Nationwide fex account?
If you can, have the pension paid into that account. They issue free debit cards, which they allow you to use free worldwide, including at ATM's. They give you the Visa Corporate rate of exchange, which is slightly higher than most of the other banks/finance houses I have used.
If you use the above method, it could make your pension go further.

anna58

Teachers pensions charge £1.

vox populia

I'am surprised having checked different banks of how much they vary on charges for transfers but what I can now confirm is that providing you use Halifax to Halifax Espania there will no charges but any future takeover by another bank cannot gurantee a change!! Thanks for the replies

jjh

My retirement pension is paid into my UK bank account because I´m rather worried that I won´t get a good exchange rate if I have it paid in €´s. I then transfer it to my stirling account here (and pay for it of course) and then change it when we need it. My question Mike is, is the exchange rate good /better if I decide to have it paid here in €´s ? I should add that OH works here and is paid in €´s

Many thanks JJ

Fred James

They don't make a charge but they make it up by giving a lower exchange rate.

If the takeover does go through it may well change and it is entirely possible that they may not wish to continue with foreign branches.

anna58

Th last few months I don't think I've got less than €1.27 to £1 on my state pension.

Fred James

If you have a government pension or State retirement pension the rate you will get is the very best on offer and, by EU law, the banks in Spain cannot charge any commission for accepting the transfer.

Many private pension schemes do allow transfers to Spanish accounts but usually with a small charge (typically £3 or £4 per transfer)

These are mainly done through the TAPS system(Transcontinental Automated Payment Service) which is run by the Bank of Scotland and like the state system, offer very good exchange rates as they buy foreign currency in bulk at the best commercial rate.

vox populia

Well Fred James tapping into TAPS sounds good to me I wonder if I can do this with Halifax as it is part of BOS???