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UK state pension and USA social security

UK state pension and USA social security

Old Apr 17th 2018, 9:19 pm
  #1531  
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Default Re: UK state pension and USA social security

Thanks Midatlantic. Does anyone else on here know if Transferwise + their fee is a better deal than the citi route. For pension transfers I doubt I’d be looking at much more than £1,000 held in a transferwise account before making a transfer. I just looked at Transferwise and they are at $1.429 today, netting down to $1.422 after their fee.

Even if the citi exchange rate was only one cent worse at 1.41, Transferwise are the better deal.

Edit: I just looked at a citi exchange rate it says 1.405

Last edited by nearpost1; Apr 17th 2018 at 9:22 pm.
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Old Apr 19th 2018, 9:21 am
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Default Re: UK state pension and USA social security

It is an imprecise comparison as you would need to do a conversation on both at exactly the same time. Citibank pay it on the agreed date, TransferWise you get to pick when the rate suits you. The other consideration is the rate Citibank give the DWP, which I assume is better than the rate you see as a individual.
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Old Apr 19th 2018, 3:05 pm
  #1533  
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Default Re: UK state pension and USA social security

O.k. Lansbury, I was just wondering if anyone had done a more scientific comparison than my effort. Anyway, you seem to be saying that the rate dwp will obtain for me from Citi would be better than the one I fished out of some citi online currency site the other day. It’s starting to look as though there is nothing between the two options, other of course than the delay transfer option with a Transferwise account.
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Old Apr 19th 2018, 3:09 pm
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Default Re: UK state pension and USA social security

Originally Posted by nearpost1
O.k. Lansbury, I was just wondering if anyone had done a more scientific comparison than my effort. Anyway, you seem to be saying that the rate dwp will obtain for me from Citi would be better than the one I fished out of some citi online currency site the other day. It’s starting to look as though there is nothing between the two options, other of course than the delay transfer option with a Transferwise account.

I have only a small UK pension, so take it quarterly -- however, there's something very pleasant about it just showing up in one's US bank account with no effort expended!
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Old Apr 19th 2018, 9:02 pm
  #1535  
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Default Re: UK state pension and USA social security

If anyone would be kind enough to post in here the exchange rate they got from their dwp/citi pension payment conversion along with the date that conversion occurred I would be most appreciative.

Thanks
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Old Apr 20th 2018, 7:31 am
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Default Re: UK state pension and USA social security

Originally Posted by nearpost1
If anyone would be kind enough to post in here the exchange rate they got from their dwp/citi pension payment conversion along with the date that conversion occurred I would be most appreciative.

Thanks
They will not know the date the conversion was done. All they will get is a sum of dollars credited to their bank account. They will have no idea when Citibank did the conversion.

On any given day at the moment the dollar is moving against the pound a fair bit. 1.5 cents high to low the other day. It is an exercise in frustration to try and workout which method would give you the best rate, especially for a small amount such as a UK pension. Choose the method which makes life easier for you.

If like myself you have a number of pensions paid in the UK and a sizeable chunk of income coming from UK sources it might be worth doing your own conversion. But having been doing so for 11 years now it is swings and roundabouts and I can't say one way is better than the other. Unless you can afford to leave your money in the UK when the rate is low, and wait until it goes up again.
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Old Apr 20th 2018, 6:59 pm
  #1537  
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Default Re: UK state pension and USA social security

So anyway, I was in U.K. last week using my atm to withdraw cash and my citi Costco visa in restaurants etc. I have compared the exchange rate citi used in order to bill my account here in the U.S. where I reside, in U.S. dollars. They exchange rate was slightly higher than Transferwises rate for the same day. Obviously I’d have preferred it to be slightly lower so less dollars have to be taken from my account. I have just deposited a check in Gbp, drawn on a U.K. bank with citi, by mail since there are no branches where I live and my citi mobile app won’t take a scan of a check to in foreign currency.

I am looking forward to seeing what exchange rate citi use now that gbp are being credited to my account instead of debited. I will again compare the citi rate to the Transferwise rate of the day.

As an aside I was reading some favorable reviews of HiFX as they compare to Transferwise for large exchanges, say Gbp100,000. Having opened an account with Transferwise and set the wheels in motion to use them in the near future I was dismayed to read that HiFX are the better option for large one off exchanges since they have no fee. I had to go to the trouble of opening an account with HiFX (very easy online) to find out how their rate compares to Transferwise. On gbp100k Transferwise was about gbp800 better, which netted down to Gbp 400
better after T wise took their gbp400 fee.
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Old Apr 20th 2018, 7:06 pm
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Default Re: UK state pension and USA social security

Originally Posted by nearpost1
So anyway, I was in U.K. last week using my atm to withdraw cash and my citi Costco visa in restaurants etc. I have compared the exchange rate citi used in order to bill my account here in the U.S. where I reside, in U.S. dollars. They exchange rate was slightly higher than Transferwises rate for the same day. Obviously I’d have preferred it to be slightly lower so less dollars have to be taken from my account. I have just deposited a check in Gbp, drawn on a U.K. bank with citi, by mail since there are no branches where I live and my citi mobile app won’t take a scan of a check to in foreign currency.

I am looking forward to seeing what exchange rate citi use now that gbp are being credited to my account instead of debited. I will again compare the citi rate to the Transferwise rate of the day.

As an aside I was reading some favorable reviews of HiFX as they compare to Transferwise for large exchanges, say Gbp100,000. Having opened an account with Transferwise and set the wheels in motion to use them in the near future I was dismayed to read that HiFX are the better option for large one off exchanges since they have no fee. I had to go to the trouble of opening an account with HiFX (very easy online) to find out how their rate compares to Transferwise. On gbp100k Transferwise was about gbp800 better, which netted down to Gbp 400
better after T wise took their gbp400 fee.
I used to use HiFx and was very happy with them and the rates I got but a few years ago I got an email from them apologizing that they had made a business decision to terminate all accounts for US residents. Sounds like they have changed their policy again.
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Old Jul 2nd 2018, 5:04 pm
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Default Re: UK state pension and USA social security

I have 34 years US SS contributions but only 6 in the UK.

A. Can I use any of my US years to make my UK up to the minimum 10 years?
B. If not, and I pay 4 years of NI contributions to bring my UK serviceeup to 10, will this effect my US SS payment?

Thanks
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Old Jul 2nd 2018, 6:19 pm
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Default Re: UK state pension and USA social security

Originally Posted by pwgraves11
I have 34 years US SS contributions but only 6 in the UK.

A. Can I use any of my US years to make my UK up to the minimum 10 years?
B. If not, and I pay 4 years of NI contributions to bring my UK serviceeup to 10, will this effect my US SS payment?

Thanks
A. My understanding of the rules is if you qualify for a pension in one country you cannot top up the other pension using it. But I'm not 100% sure on that.

B. You have over 30 years SS contributions so are protected from WEP. So the answer is no.
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Old Jul 3rd 2018, 3:35 pm
  #1541  
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Default Re: UK state pension and USA social security

A. The Totalization Agreement between the UK and USA will enable you to qualify for a UK State Pension. Your 34 yrs of US SS contributions makes you eligible. However it will be for an amount based on 6 yrs of NI contributions. My spouse is in exactly the same position, she has only 5 yrs of NI contributions. It has been confirmed by UK state pension representatives.
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Old Jul 3rd 2018, 4:17 pm
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Default Re: UK state pension and USA social security

Originally Posted by retman
A. The Totalization Agreement between the UK and USA will enable you to qualify for a UK State Pension. Your 34 yrs of US SS contributions makes you eligible. However it will be for an amount based on 6 yrs of NI contributions. My spouse is in exactly the same position, she has only 5 yrs of NI contributions. It has been confirmed by UK state pension representatives.
Indeed, which is why it would be beneficial for that poster to pay as many years of voluntary contributions as they can in order to increase the size of their UK pension.
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Old Jul 9th 2018, 9:42 pm
  #1543  
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Default Re: UK state pension and USA social security

Wow, the last time I visited this site was almost exactly 10 years ago when I was researching applying for our daughter's dual citizenship. Which she got, thank you very much!

Next hurdle. My husbands UK state pension, which he's been holding off on but would not like to begin collecting. He's 68. He has received his official letter from the UK state pension department and he has his ID number.

We have both been receiving our SSA payments for over a year. We are both 68.

I am a US citizen, and he has been been told that I will be able to collect a UK State Pension as his wife. This is despite the fact that I have never worked there, and only lived there for 9 months as a student in 1969. The local SS office here has told me that my portion will not be taxable against my own Social Security income, because it is not based on "earned income". (The British system appears to be almost as odd as the US system).

My husband is currently having retina issues,, so I'm having to research this topic for him. We'd like to ensure that he receives as much of his UK pension as is possible. After reading over 100 pages of questions and answers on this thread, besides a headache, I think I have the gist?

1. He worked in the UK from 1966 (assuming apprenticeships are included and the state pension existed at that time?) until 1986.
Therefore:
This is all pension based on earned wages, and would be taxable by the SSA, against the SS payments he is currently receiving?

2. He worked in the US for a US corporation from 1986 until 1994, and has paid Self Employment tax into Social Security tax since then.

3, Since beginning work here, in 1986, he continued paying voluntary maximal payments to the UK State Pension until they finally told him he'd paid as much as he needed to. ( I need to find the letter he received that explained this, and get the date he stopped).
Therefore:
All of his voluntary payments from 1986 and beyond,would be based on NON-earned income and should not be subject to SSA taxes?

----DOES anybody know if the Baltimore SSA office phone number that addresses these complicated matters is still the same? And the British UK office as well? I'm trying to get our ducks lined up in a row.

THANKS!

Thanks!
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Old Jul 9th 2018, 10:21 pm
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Default Re: UK state pension and USA social security

If you husband has been paying SS contributions since 1986, has he paid in 30 years of contributions. He should have done so. If so his SS payment will not be subject to WEP (what I think you are calling SSA taxes) regardless of how his UK pension was earned.
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Old Jul 10th 2018, 11:56 am
  #1545  
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Default Re: UK state pension and USA social security

Originally Posted by Nelbelmom
I am a US citizen, and he has been been told that I will be able to collect a UK State Pension as his wife. This is despite the fact that I have never worked there, and only lived there for 9 months as a student in 1969.
I believe this all changed recently and that it is no longer the case. UK state pensions are now paid based solely on contributions by the individual. Happy to be corrected as our household would benefit if what you state was still the case!
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