Transferring NI payment to Australian Superannuation

[ozoverseas]

Hi,

I've been making phone calls to various private pension and financial advisors all day but am still not clear on this...

I'm an Australian working under an umbrella company and located in the UK. What do I have to do to ensure that when I leave the UK I can transfer my 'pension' contribution through NI payments to my Australian Superannuation account?

HMRC website wasn't that helpful - neither the private pension companies or financial advisors.

Thanks

[ASB]

Hi,

I've been making phone calls to various private pension and financial advisors all day but am still not clear on this...

I'm an Australian working under an umbrella company and located in the UK. What do I have to do to ensure that when I leave the UK I can transfer my 'pension' contribution through NI payments to my Australian Superannuation account?

HMRC website wasn't that helpful - neither the private pension companies or financial advisors.

Thanks

JFGI.

If you are referring to a personal pension then that is down to the scheme providers and the Aussie authorities - it will depend on a whole load of other factors specific to you and the size of the pot too.

If you are referring to your state pension I believe you simply cannot do it. But never mind, you'll be eligible for a UK pension as a result of your NI contributions (theres a good chance it could entitle you a pension of preceisely nil though).

[Little'Old Me]

JFGI.

If you are referring to a personal pension then that is down to the scheme providers and the Aussie authorities - it will depend on a whole load of other factors specific to you and the size of the pot too.

If you are referring to your state pension I believe you simply cannot do it. But never mind, you'll be eligible for a UK pension as a result of your NI contributions (theres a good chance it could entitle you a pension of preceisely nil though).

ASB is correct.

If you want to transfer a personal pension to a Australian qualifying recognised overseas pension schemes (QROPS) - this is the link for info: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/pensionscheme...wsletter36.htm

If you are referring to your NIC, I suggest you start with this link : http://www.dwp.gov.uk/international/index.asp

I do know people (my own father did it and wish he hadn't), who was asked when he left the UK (for what he thought was for good), if he wanted a refund of contributions he had paid and stupidly he said yes. He went to one of the countries with an agreement, so he could have received credits (Money is not transferred, but credits are given, if the pension is not taken at a later date.) if he had not returned to the UK. Of course he could have had a bigger pension when he retired in the UK if he had not taken the refund. It can be useful to receive pensions in other countries. (A good top-up, if things go wrong and it gives you choices). A friends' mother receives a small pension from the German Govt. which goes into a bank account in Germany. She goes to Germany on holiday and to do a lot of shopping every two years, just to spend the money collecting in the bank account!

[EchoSierra]

You should be able to do it

ozoverseas,

Check out this: http://www.1stcontactenews.co.uk/post/NI-Rebates.aspx

The part of your NIC which goes to State Pension cannot be diverted to a private Super/pension fund.
However, there is something called State Second Pension which can be put into a private Super/pension fund. This is the first step in being able to transfer it back to Oz.

On gross salary of £18000 approx £1,253 can be put into your private Super. As you're going through an umbrella company you'll probably have more money paid as salary.

You have to do it before 5th Apr 09 if you want to be able to claim for this FY.

It gets set up with AXA Super so you should be able to transfer it back to an AUS pension fund (although I'll cross that bridge when I come to it).

PS. It's free too. 1st Contact gets a trailing commission from AXA or whomever.

[Little'Old Me]

ozoverseas,

Check out this: http://www.1stcontactenews.co.uk/post/NI-Rebates.aspx

However, there is something called State Second Pension which can be put into a private Super/pension fund. This is the first step in being able to transfer it back to Oz.

On gross salary of £18000 approx £1,253 can be put into your private Super. As you're going through an umbrella company you'll probably have more money paid as salary.

You have to do it before 5th Apr 09 if you want to be able to claim for this FY.

It gets set up with AXA Super so you should be able to transfer it back to an AUS pension fund (although I'll cross that bridge when I come to it).

PS. It's free too. 1st Contact gets a trailing commission from AXA or whomever.

You can set it up with any Pension provider. You can even now have it paid into a SIPP. Its called a "Contracted out pension", as you contract out of the state second pension! (It was called SERPS before).

[EchoSierra]

You can set it up with any Pension provider. You can even now have it paid into a SIPP. Its called a "Contracted out pension", as you contract out of the state second pension! (It was called SERPS before).

Yeah, true but do they know how to send it out to Aust when you need it? Try cold calling a few pension funds and see if they have any idea. At least AXA is in Aust and here and the ppl there are dealing with this kind of thing on a greater frequency.

I'm not saying AXA is the only way to go, I just provided info on who it happened to be with and if ozoverseas is from Oz he'd know that AXA are there as well.

[ASB]

On gross salary of £18000 approx £1,253 can be put into your private Super. As you're going through an umbrella company you'll probably have more money paid as salary.

This does seem more benficial. It used to be the case that if you had contracted out then the NI rebate was paid to a pension provided and then this could be transferred, but if it was serps it couldn't. I guess this must have changed when it all got rolled into S2P.

In any event, with the changes to the amounts required and in particular years required to build up UK pension (it shortly becomes 30 not 44 and also each year counts rather than the minimum 10) then it might be the case that it is better left in the UK scheme. The DWP will provide a pension forecast, but of course there is always the risk of rules changing in the meantime - they do with alarming frequency.