Macca78

Hello

I am a US permanent resident married to a US Citizen with a little baby girl too. I've been in the US for a while now and think i'll be there long term, so I'm looking for advice on following topics:
- how to access a UK company pension when living in US or things to do now to ease the process later
- I've heard inheritance tax is 'better' as a US citizen - any views? Does it differ across 'receiving' from UK parents v 'giving' to US kids?
- has anyone moved a parent across? How can that be done? My biggest concern is healthcare.

it would be great if someone could point me to any existing links etc. if not then ill post as separate questions

Thanks
Martin

old.sparkles

Hi Martin and welcome to BE

I've moved your questions over to the US section so you can get some answers.

penguinsix

Once you are a US citizen you can apply to sponsor your parents. It's relatively straight forward and I don't think it takes that long to get them in (i.e. under a year or so). HOWEVER, as you rightly pointed out, the healthcare situation is a serious problem.

You will need to buy insurance on the exchanges or through some other private party as they will not be eligible for the government's Medicare program like the vast majority of people > 60 years old. With so many people in the Medicare system, it leaves a very small number of people > 60 on the exchange / private sector system, which *can* result in very high prices.

You might take a look at one of the ACA exchanges in your state and do a hypothetical of what it might cost to buy insurance for your parents given their age and health history. Probably a good ballpark to get started.

Five years after they get permanent residency they can 'buy in' to Medicare coverage.

audi4t

I just started taking a pension from my former UK employer - very easy direct deposit into my US bank account - current exchange rate and no wire charges to me.

Not yet old enough for UK SS but I believe that can also be direct deposit into your US bank account.

dunroving

I'm curious - what does the above mean? In reality, when US or UK government send your pension, does your comment above equate to the mid-rate? Sounds too good to be true.

audi4t

I'm not sure I fully understand your question but here is a summary of a typical direct deposit.

My former employer uses Citibank in the UK - my bank here is Wells Fargo.

My pension is fixed in pounds and converted to US dollars it is paid in US dollars and is in my account on the 25th of each month.

The last deposit on 3/25 was made at the exchange rate that gave me 1.679 dollars for each pound of my pension which on 3/25 was pretty fair. I don't know when the banks lock in the rate for the conversion

I just checked today's quoted commercial market rate on Bloomberg it was 1.6742 - obviously this will change according to the currency market.

lansbury

As a guide the mid rate at 16:00 UTC on March 25th was $1.6513, from XE historical data.

dunroving

Thanks both, that answers the question. BE teamwork!

About 2-3 cents above the mid-rate seems fairly reasonable, I suppose - certainly in comparison to high street bank rates and tourist rates.

[Hang on, that can't be right - if the exchange was from GBP to USD, that means the OP was getting BETTER than mid-rate. ]

lansbury

It seemed odd to me they got above the mid rate so I went back and checked the mid rate, it is correct. There were only about 4 days preceding the 25th when in March the mid rate was as high as the low $1.67s

Pulaski

That was at 16.00 UTC, right? Which would be the London "closing" rate. There may have been (almost certainly was) intra-day volatility when the rate was higher (from a GBP perspective), and it may have taken several days for the wire to reach his US a/c, so the rates prevailing several days earlier would be the relevant ones. That said, it looks highly likely that the conversion was done at just a few 1/100ths of a cent below the mid rate.

lansbury

I did check back, out of personal interest, becasue the OPs comment made me wonder if I am receiving my pensions the correct way. That is paid into a UK bank and I convert when the rate is good. The $1.67 rates where at the beginning of the month. The rates in the 4 days preceding the 25th were in the $1.64/$1.65 range.

If indeed it is possible to get as close to the mid rate as you suggest, then using a personal account at a currency dealer and getting about 1 to 1.5 cents below the mid rate, amounts to quite a sum over the course of time. The advantage of having the money paid into a UK account is that if the rate is unfavorable there is an option not to convert it to dollars. Swings and roundabouts I guess.

MidAtlantic

I do the same - have mine paid into my UK account then move it over when the rates are good. At least I feel that I have some control over that. Now I'm beginning to wonder if it is worth the bother.

I did ask here some time back about the rates that are used for direct deposit to a US account but no one really answered. If others have direct deposit from the UK to the US I would be interested in their experience of the rates used.

audi4t

I didn't intend to make this so complicated.

I just intended to show that getting your UK pension paid in the US need not be a difficult process.

I have no control over the financials - my UK pension in pounds is fixed.

I don't have a UK bank account.

My former employer is willing to exchange it into dollars and direct deposit it to my US bank account - obviously there are exchange rate risks but I am happy with the arrangement.

lansbury

It isn't complicated or difficult however it is done. But there is more than one way of getting a UK pension in the US.

One of those ways gives the recipient control over the exchange rate and the possibility of maximizing the amount of dollars received. Your post highlighted a possibility that in fact it might not be as big an advantage as it was thought to be. However the figures you quoted being a one month snapshot, and not knowing on what day the exchange rate was locked in, makes Mid Atlantic's request for rates from others worthwhile.

Pulaski

Between the wire and/or FX fees, FX spreads, and the exchange rate risk (you pick less than the optimum time to move funds), I suspect that your approach is as good as any.

IMO The chances of you correctly guessing when to move money such that you make a material (worth your time, effort, and stress) gain, over just receiving it "directly", is slim to none.