pension transfer

[Guest kiltedscot]

Been here over 3 years now. Looking for any feed back on wither it is a good idea to move my pension from the u.k. over just now the way the rate exchange is??????? Avyone out there moved theirs over in the past year or so???????

[R & H]

Been here over 3 years now. Looking for any feed back on wither it is a good idea to move my pension from the u.k. over just now the way the rate exchange is??????? Avyone out there moved theirs over in the past year or so???????

 

First of all I must make it clear that I AM NOT A FINANCIAL ADVISOR, just the owner of a medium sized business in the UK. I have the same issue coming up as we plan to move to Adelaide within the next 12 months. However, I personally believe that the Oz Dollar is heading for real correction in the next 12 months or so. The economy is too focused on the commodities whilst other businesses suffer badly due to the high dollar and exports other than commodities aren't doing to well. The UK / Europe will start to move agian and interest rates will move all across Europe and the dollar will have to correct itself. At the moment they are making hay whilst the sun shines. As sure as eggs are eggs there are clouds over the horizon. I have been monitoring this for three years now. What goes around comes around. But I AM NOT A FINANCIAL ADVISOR, just someone waiting to move to Oz and start up a business etc.

[Guest kiltedscot]

thanks for your in-put

[Andrew from Vista Financial]

Been here over 3 years now. Looking for any feed back on wither it is a good idea to move my pension from the u.k. over just now the way the rate exchange is??????? Avyone out there moved theirs over in the past year or so???????

 

 

 

Hi

 

Transferring a UK Pension depends on a number of factors not just the exchange rate, many factors are dependant on individual situations also.

 

I am running a UK Pension Transfer Seminar in August whereby you will be able to understand most of the factors that play a part in the process, feel free to come along if you like. I will post a link to the thread I put on here about it.

 

 

 

First of all I must make it clear that I AM NOT A FINANCIAL ADVISOR, just the owner of a medium sized business in the UK. I have the same issue coming up as we plan to move to Adelaide within the next 12 months. However, I personally believe that the Oz Dollar is heading for real correction in the next 12 months or so. The economy is too focused on the commodities whilst other businesses suffer badly due to the high dollar and exports other than commodities aren't doing to well. The UK / Europe will start to move agian and interest rates will move all across Europe and the dollar will have to correct itself. At the moment they are making hay whilst the sun shines. As sure as eggs are eggs there are clouds over the horizon. I have been monitoring this for three years now. What goes around comes around. But I AM NOT A FINANCIAL ADVISOR, just someone waiting to move to Oz and start up a business etc.

 

 

Hey R & H

 

You don't have to be a Financial Adviser to have an opinion and in any event Financial Advisers certainly can not nor should not give advice on exchange rates.

 

What you should understand however is that it is not all down to just the exchange rate, a lot more comes into play when it comes to UK Pension Transfers.

 

 

Regards

 

Andy

[Andrew from Vista Financial]

As promised http://www.pomsinadelaide.com/forum/money-finance/24754-pia-uk-pension-transfer-seminar-state-pension.html

[Guest Swisstony]

Before you jump in and transfer to an Australian QROPS, which will inevitably tie your funds in for longer than your existing UK scheme!, you need to consider transferring to an NZ QROPS. One scheme we use has no lock in period after the five year ex-UK rule expires - the only one in the world that we know of. It is accessible to anyone, no matter where you live - even the UK and can pay out the proceeds in virtually any currencey - even sterling!

Also, don't try and second guess the exchange rate - it will be what it will be. Although a consideration, the forex issue should not be your major one. It will take 4 to 6 months to transfer from the UK to any other scheme, so if the rate is good when you start the process, you have no idea what it will be when it lands in the QROPS many months later. What you might therefore, find better, is to transfer ASAP into a QROPS that can hold your money in sterling indefinitely so that when the rate improves, whenever that is, you can convert within a matter of hours, thereby getting, almost, the rate you have seen in the market. Many NZ schemes have this facility - most UK schemes don't.

I was an Independant Financial Adviser in the UK for most of my 18 years in the industry there, have the internationally recognised CFP denomination and am one of the first Authorised Financial Advisers under the New Zealand regulatory regime that commenced 1st July 2011. I can also help with issues around UK schemes that only 18 years of experience can offer (for example avoiding exit penalties, drawdown and phased retirement for UK schemes) and the tansfer of non-UK schemes as well. We have our own internal international tax specialist ex-HMRC, PWC and EY from IOM and Caribbean. If we can't do it, then it usually cannot be done!

[Burke Clan]

Before you jump in and transfer to an Australian QROPS, which will inevitably tie your funds in for longer than your existing UK scheme!, you need to consider transferring to an NZ QROPS. One scheme we use has no lock in period after the five year ex-UK rule expires - the only one in the world that we know of. It is accessible to anyone, no matter where you live - even the UK and can pay out the proceeds in virtually any currencey - even sterling!

Also, don't try and second guess the exchange rate - it will be what it will be. Although a consideration, the forex issue should not be your major one. It will take 4 to 6 months to transfer from the UK to any other scheme, so if the rate is good when you start the process, you have no idea what it will be when it lands in the QROPS many months later. What you might therefore, find better, is to transfer ASAP into a QROPS that can hold your money in sterling indefinitely so that when the rate improves, whenever that is, you can convert within a matter of hours, thereby getting, almost, the rate you have seen in the market. Many NZ schemes have this facility - most UK schemes don't.

I was an Independant Financial Adviser in the UK for most of my 18 years in the industry there, have the internationally recognised CFP denomination and am one of the first Authorised Financial Advisers under the New Zealand regulatory regime that commenced 1st July 2011. I can also help with issues around UK schemes that only 18 years of experience can offer (for example avoiding exit penalties, drawdown and phased retirement for UK schemes) and the tansfer of non-UK schemes as well. We have our own internal international tax specialist ex-HMRC, PWC and EY from IOM and Caribbean. If we can't do it, then it usually cannot be done!

 

Hi Tony,

Thanks for your input. I have 2 UK Steakholder Pensions and am not too sure what to do with them. One has a transfer value just short of £8k and the other one is very small. If I don't transfer them and leave them, what will happen to them and I would obviously have to change my contact details. Will they still pay out eventually even though I might not be in the UK???

Absolutely clueless, I am

[Guest Swisstony]

Seems I am amongst the Celts in a thread involving a Kilted Scott, a Mr Williams and the Burke Clan. I hope you can understand my English accent!

 

However, there is no need to do anything with a Stakeholder Pension, but I believe there are additional tax implications by being Aus resident. You will need to clarify this with your revenue there. I believe there is also a set window of time after arriving in Aus, that you have to transfer a scheme, if this is what you decide to do. So in summary, you may have to declare the scheme to the Aus Revenue in order for them to tax you on it (even though you already pay an element of tax on the scheme automatically within the funds, whilst it sits in the UK, that you willl not be able to offset against any overseas or Aus tax). You also need to determine if there is a time period that you have to complete the process by, in oder to get the funds into an Aus scheme by transferring. If you miss any deadline, then you will be left having to pay tax twice - once, automatically as above and twice when you declare the scheme to the Aus revenue.

 

The advantages of transfering to an Aus scheme are the tax issue (you avoid paying the double tax as above) and the fact that the entire fund proceeds from many schemes can be withdrawn in their entirety as tax free lump sums from the age of 60 with no need to provide an income or purchase an annuity.

 

The advantages of transferring to an NZ scheme are that although there may be the double tax issue to consider above (you will pay an automatic tax on funds whilst held in an NZ scheme just like a UK scheme and also pay an Aus tax when you declare it as an offshore investment), depending on which NZ scheme you use, you could access your entire fund proceeds as a tax free lump sum at ANY AGE, so long as you have been ex-UK for five full UK tax years. You don't have to wait the five years to transfer either. Because the transfer process can take months, it often makes sense to get the funds into the NZ scheme ASAP so that it is sitting there ready for you to convert from sterling into a currency of your choice when you deem the rate to be favourable, even if the five years are not yet finished. Most UK schemes do not have currency conversion facilities, but many of the NZ ones I use do.

 

I do this every day for clients all over the world. They transfer their funds from the UK, via NZ and have the proceeds paid out to them in their bank account in whichever country they wish, all perfectly legitimately using some of the biggest NZ registered superannuation schemes available. For more info http://www.gbpensions.co.nz

 

All our advisers are POMES so we speak from experience!

 

TC.

[ladycasper]

Seems I am amongst the Celts in a thread involving a Kilted Scott, a Mr Williams and the Burke Clan. I hope you can understand my English accent!

 

However, there is no need to do anything with a Stakeholder Pension, but I believe there are additional tax implications by being Aus resident. You will need to clarify this with your revenue there. I believe there is also a set window of time after arriving in Aus, that you have to transfer a scheme, if this is what you decide to do. So in summary, you may have to declare the scheme to the Aus Revenue in order for them to tax you on it (even though you already pay an element of tax on the scheme automatically within the funds, whilst it sits in the UK, that you willl not be able to offset against any overseas or Aus tax). You also need to determine if there is a time period that you have to complete the process by, in oder to get the funds into an Aus scheme by transferring. If you miss any deadline, then you will be left having to pay tax twice - once, automatically as above and twice when you declare the scheme to the Aus revenue.

 

The advantages of transfering to an Aus scheme are the tax issue (you avoid paying the double tax as above) and the fact that the entire fund proceeds from many schemes can be withdrawn in their entirety as tax free lump sums from the age of 60 with no need to provide an income or purchase an annuity.

 

The advantages of transferring to an NZ scheme are that although there may be the double tax issue to consider above (you will pay an automatic tax on funds whilst held in an NZ scheme just like a UK scheme and also pay an Aus tax when you declare it as an offshore investment), depending on which NZ scheme you use, you could access your entire fund proceeds as a tax free lump sum at ANY AGE, so long as you have been ex-UK for five full UK tax years. You don't have to wait the five years to transfer either. Because the transfer process can take months, it often makes sense to get the funds into the NZ scheme ASAP so that it is sitting there ready for you to convert from sterling into a currency of your choice when you deem the rate to be favourable, even if the five years are not yet finished. Most UK schemes do not have currency conversion facilities, but many of the NZ ones I use do.

 

I do this every day for clients all over the world. They transfer their funds from the UK, via NZ and have the proceeds paid out to them in their bank account in whichever country they wish, all perfectly legitimately using some of the biggest NZ registered superannuation schemes available. For more info www.gbpensions.co.nz

 

All our advisers are POMES so we speak from experience!

 

TC.

 

 

I find all this very enlightening !!

 

I too have 1 small private pension which contained some serps and a stakeholder from an emplyer, all worth about 30,000 pounds only.

Left UK 3 years ago. I am 48

Not feeling urgent about moving them due to exchange rate and also dragging feet abot paying a couple thousand dollars to a financial adviser to do the job. Whilst I understand that for advice we have to pay and we may recoup that money. I still have the desire to do it my self ?? !!

 

I had heeard only recently about the new Zealand option.

 

So Im guesing that I can fill in a form to get my paultry penions brougt from UK to NZ in sterling ?

That I can exchange that sterling at any time into Aus dollars ?

That I can also access those funds say in 5 years time ? to perhaps put into an investment property ?

 

I think that if we pool all our knowledge and experience that we acn all save money !

 

[Guest Swisstony]

Yes on all counts.

[ladycasper]

Bumping this up...does anyone have any actual experience of transferring pensions ? was it good ?

Or are you left feeling that you dont understand or paid a lot to get this sorted out ?

[andy and lindsey]

I have moved 2 pensions over - one NHS pension and one small private pension. Andrew Williams sorted mine out. I certainly dont feel that I have been ripped off or over charged for this service. I regulary meet with Andy to look at how my pension is performing, look at management costs that are incurred and at any time have the opportunity to transfer to a scheme with more or less risk or if need be lower management costs. Andrew just helped us to sort out top up payments for our state pensions too - which for a relatively small sum will provide us with great benfit at retirement. I would encourage anyone to speak to Andy he will only give advice (you choose whether you take that advice or not) and may well advise that you leave your pensions in the UK which he has done with friends of mine. For us the benefit of having them here far outweighed leaving them in the UK. We are now regularly adding to that sum as well as having the benefit of life insurance/income protection linked in. The other strong decider was the fact that if anything should or happen to you that your spouse gets what is left in that pension pot rather than the taxman taking a percentage. Speak to Andy you will get honest and sound advice from a great guy

[andy and lindsey]

I thought I best add to Im not in the finance industry but was given information pitched at a level that I could understand and i never felt under any pressure to commit.

Lindsey

[Guest Swisstony]

You NEED to understand what you stand to lose by leaving your UK scheme and gain by joining another. If you do not understand, then do not do it. Find an adviser who knows what they are talking about (probably one who has lived and worked in the UK and was/is authorised and regulated by the UK's Financial Services Authority. Despite what Australia thinks, the UK regulatory regime for advisers is amongst the most rigorous in the world). Many advisers come up with spurious reasons to make you think you should transfer, including lower charges, better perfomance, enhanced tax treatment, ease of service, in a new scheme. I do not see any of these reasons as being of signifigance enough to warrant a transfer - they are minimal, subjective and can be argued for and against. What cannot be doubted however are the facts. The argument for using NZ schemes to transfer to is that some allow the complete and total release of pension funds after the five year ex-UK qualifying period has been completed. Thus you can have your fund, in cash at any age, UK and NZ tax free to do with exactly as you please - there is no arguing that this is ultimate choice and flexibilty.

 

The arguments in favour of leaving a scheme in the UK are reducing on almost a daily basis. The vast majority of defined benefit / final salary (so called 'golden' or 'guaranteed') schemes are falling into deficit and being wound up. Depending on which report you choose to read and believe, upto 90% of these schemes will be gone in the next ten years. The likes of even the biggest banks and financial institutions (Barclays, AMEX, Standard Life, etc) have already closed their staff schemes, for precisely the reasons that the UK government's actions provoked the protest marches a few weeks ago - they simply cannot afford to put money into the schemes anymore. Any guarantees are only applicable if there are the funds to provide them - and in many cases there are not!

 

 

 

 

Bumping this up...does anyone have any actual experience of transferring pensions ? was it good ?

Or are you left feeling that you dont understand or paid a lot to get this sorted out ?

[Guest Swisstony]

As I have said before, the forex issue should not figure so prominently in the decision whether or not to transfer. Nobody wants to exchange when the rate is bad and therefore when the rate is in their favour they are going to want to act quickly in getting their funds into the currency of their new home. However, you need to understand that most UK pension schemes do not have multi-currency facilities and that it will take many months to complete the transfer from the UK to the new scheme, by which time the exchange rate could have gone anywhere. I have known it take a year just to get the appropriate documentation from the UK scheme for a client to sign in order to request the transfer, which can take a further number of months to finalise. Perhaps the ideal solution is to use a QROPS that has a sterling holding facility which allows the funds to be transferred to it in sterling and be held indefinitely. Even if the point in time comes where you are able to withdraw all the proceeds from the QROPS, which are still held in sterling, you can make the withdrawal in sterling and have it paid into a sterling bank account, which ironically could be an old one you left behind in Blighty. More positively though, if the forex rate does go in your favour and your funds are sitting in a sterling holding QROPS, it is likely, because most of these schemes have foreign currency facilities, that you could exchange within a matter of hours and not a matter of months. Thus, it is adviseable to get the funds into the QROPS asap because from there you can convert the funds into your chosen currency a lot sooner than you can if the funds are still in the UK scheme - furthermore, it is my understanding that transfers to Aus QROPS have to be made within 6 months of arriving in the country (I would appreciate it if someone could clarify this please). However, NZ schemes have no such restrictions. http://gbpensions.co.nz/pension-transfer-to-nz-faqs/