In addition to expert visa advice from Thames Migration, there will be a range of service providers exhibiting and available to speak to in aspects such as recruitment, job opportunities, banking, currency exchange and removals. As stated, Global QROPS will be there to provide information on pension transfers to Australia as well as other important financial advice relevant for a UK resident considering migrating to Australia.
This comprehensive seminar will be held in Richmond, on Saturday 12th February 2011, from 11am to 2pm at:

NAB
Richmond Financial Solutions Centre
4th Floor, Gateway House
The Quadrant
Richmond TW9 1DN

In attendance are:

Global QROPS – experts in financial advice and pension transfers to Australia
Thames Migration – Registered Migration Agent Hannibal Khoury
IELTS – International English Language Testing System
NAB – Migrant and Expatriate Banking
Anglo Pacific – Removals and World Movers
Hays – Job Placement Specialists
Flight Centre – Flights and fares to Australia
Moneycorp – Currency Exchange specialists

To secure your place at this FREE event please visit www.thamesmigration.com and complete your details before 31st January 2011

The Thames Migration Team will be in touch shortly to confirm that your attendance has been booked.
Please feel free to contact Global QROPS for more information regarding this Seminar, advice on pension transfers to Australia or any other aspect of financial advice.

Free Australian Immigration Seminar – Attended by Global QROPS is a post from: Global Qrops

http://www.ftadviser.com/FinancialAdviser/Pensions/Personal/News/article/20100812/8d9d855c-a3a5-11df-ae7f-00144f2af8e8/Close-Intl-advice-is-critical-for-Brits-retiring-abroad.jsp

In the majority of cases, for UK pension members seeking to retire in Australia, it would be far more tax advantageous to have their benefits paid from an Australian Superannuation scheme (that has been approved as a QROPS), then have their benefits paid directly from a UK scheme – where any income would be taxed at the individual’s highest marginal rate of tax in Australia (if the individual is a permanent resident of Australia).

The removal of the FIF legislation has not changed the basic premise that a tax free retirement, for a permanent resident of Australia, would be best achieved with a pension transfer to Australia. However, now allowing pension funds outside of Australia to grow free from FIF tax, means that getting the best advice on the correct timing of a potential pension transfer to Australia has never been more important.

Simply holding UK pension funds, because they can grow free from FIF, and transferring them closer to retirement in Australia, may not be the answer. The type of UK pension (ie final salary scheme) the exchange rate, the annual Australian cap on overseas pension transfers in and the tax that applies on transfers into Australia after 6 months of the member’s arrival, are just some of the other main considerations that would form part of the advice as to the timing of a UK pension transfer to Australia.

UK Pension Transfer to Australia – Change in FIF Legislation is a post from: Global Qrops

The Australian treasury originally announced plans to abolish the FIF regime back in May 2009. However, it is only recently that the draft replacement legislation has been published.

It is proposed that the FIF rules will be replaced with an ‘anti-roll-up’ regime, which is targeted at a very narrow type of foreign accumulation fund.

It appears from the draft legislation, that it will be possible for Australian residents to hold funds in certain overseas pension funds, without paying tax on the annual growth.

Income drawn from a foreign pension fund will generally be assessable to Australian tax, whilst income from an Australian Superannuation fund is tax free. Therefore individuals should still look at the possibility of transferring their funds to an Australian Superannuation Plan. Advice on whether a pension transfer to Australia is in client’s best interests may not be as clear cut as under the previous regime and factors such as the exchange rate, visa status and the individuals long term intentions need to be taken into consideration.

Australian Foreign Investment Fund Rules Abolished is a post from: Global Qrops

The Governments of Queensland and Western Australia, will be discussing, first-hand, the new State Migration Plans. New and relevant information will also be presented on the state sponsorships that these governments have to offer.

There will be a range of service providers in job placement, banking/currency transfer and removals exhibiting and available to speak on vital aspects of both a successful migration and settling in Australia. As stated, Global QROPS Ltd will be there to provide information on pension transfers to Australia as well as other important financial advice relevant to someone migrating to Australia.

This comprehensive seminar will be held in London, on Saturday 4th September from 11am to 2pm at: Westpac Banking Corporation
63 Saint Mary Axe
City of London, London EC3A8LE
020 7621 7000

In Attendance:
Global QROPS Ltd – experts in financial advice and pension transfers to Australia
Government of Queensland
Government of Western Australia
Thames Migration – Registered Migration Agents Hannibal Khoury and Greg Veal – the Thames team
Westpac – Expatriate Banking
PSS – Removals and World Movers
Hays – Job Placement Specialists

The seminar will begin with a presentation, at 11am, from the attending State Governments and Registered Migration Agent Hannibal Khoury. At the end, ample opportunity exists to individually speak with ourselves, a Registered Migration Agents, the states and a range of other settlement service providers about your visa situation and migration plans.

To secure your place at this FREE event please complete the online registration form at – http://www.thamesmigration.com/contactus/

The Thames Migration Team will be in touch shortly to confirm that your attendance has been booked.

Please feel free to contact Global QROPS Ltd for more information regarding this Seminar, Australian financial advice or pension transfers to Australia.

Global QROPS Ltd attending the FREE London Seminar on Australian Immigration is a post from: Global Qrops

For  the past 8 years a battle has been fought by the many UK state pensioners living abroad in countries such as Australia, Canada, South Africa, Nigeria and New Zealand, over the fact that their UK state pension benefits are not indexed whereas people retiring in EEA countries or the USA (for example) still receive indexation on their UK state pension.

Unfortunately for the pensioners that do not receive indexation, the ECHR has ruled that the UK’s decision not to index their pension is ‘not discriminatory’. The EHCR have argued that migrants moved to economies and societies outside of the UK by choice. Furthermore, it is not the ECHR place to interfere in a political decision as to the redeployment of public funds.

This is a blow to many migrants and Global QROPS Ltd clients, who will continue to see their UK state pension paid at a flat rate throughout their retirement, but no doubt a relief for the UK Government who would have had to pay an estimated £500 million extra each year had the EHCR ruled in favour of the appeal.

The current UK pension is £95.25 a week with pensioners who retired as far back as the 1970’s receiving as little as £6 per week, without the increase.

UK State Pension Blow for Global QROPS Ltd’s Clients is a post from: Global Qrops

However, as with many other issues with migration to Australia, just because a friend or work colleague in Australia has transferred their final salary scheme to Australia does not mean that you should follow suit. Not all benefits from final salary schemes are calculated the same way for each employer – indeed, even within the scheme the factors determining your retirement benefits can change depending on when membership of the scheme commenced.

The first main factor determining your benefits is the question of what defines a final salary? Final salary or final remuneration can be defined in several different ways. This can be an individual’s last year’s earnings in the year of their retirement or date of leaving employment or the best salary in the last 5 years of employment but more commonly it is an  average of the final 3 years salary when leaving employment.

The next factor is years of service. Again, each scheme can vary in this definition. This can be based on years of service in the scheme. It could also be based on the years of service with the employer (if the member joined the pension scheme at a later date of joining employment). A member would also need to be aware how their scheme defines a ‘year’ of service – are part years counted? Are whole years only counted?

The final main factor is the accrual rate. This is the ‘fraction’ applied to each year of service, for example 1/60ths or 1/80ths, to determine the final pension. Each final salary scheme can apply a different fraction.

Putting this altogether, if an individual retires with a final salary of £90,000 and has worked for 40 years, a scheme with an accrual rate of 1/60th would provide a pension of £60,000 pa (£90,000 x 40/60ths).

The above example is a basic calculation to illustrate – and would not be the calculation used for all final salary schemes – and assessing whether a pension transfer to Australia should occur in these circumstances would largely depend on what the scheme offers as a transfer value.

Global QROPS Ltd advisers have both the experience, and importantly, the permissions from the UK financial services authority (FSA) to provide advice on pension transfers from UK final salary schemes.

A UK Final Salary Pension Transfer to Australia – What are the factors? is a post from: Global Qrops

Global QROPS Ltd at the Down Under Live Exhibition is a post from: Global Qrops

Members of a UK pension scheme are allowed to transfer their benefits to an overseas pension scheme at anytime – providing the overseas scheme has been approved by the UK’s HMRC (Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs) as a QROPS. However, a member of a scheme can not take advantage of the possible flexible pension benefits that the QROPS provides until after Reporting Period.

The Reporting Period is the time period in which the QROPS has to report to HMRC any payments (death benefits, lump sums or income) to the member (or member’s beneficiaries).

How Long is the QROPS Reporting Period?

The QROPS reporting period is 5 complete tax years of the pension member’s overseas residency.

For example, if an individual migrated to Australia on 1st July 2006, then the reporting period would last for the rest of that UK tax year (ending 5th April 2007) and for the 5 following completed UK tax years. Therefore, in this example, the reporting period would finish on 5th April 2012.

This may affect an individual’s retirement planning when considering a pension transfer to Australia (or any other overseas scheme). An individual pension member needs to be aware that their QROPS scheme will follow the same rules as a UK scheme for the reporting period and that they would not get the full flexible benefits from the Australian scheme before then.

How does the QROPS Reporting Period Affect a UK Pension Transfer to Australia? is a post from: Global Qrops

UK Lifetime Allowance’s Effect on a Pension Transfer to Australia is a post from: Global Qrops

With that in mind, will a pension transfer to Australia (to an Australian QROPS) increase an individual’s death benefits or would a UK pension member be better off leaving funds in the UK (if the death benefit was the primary concern)?

The first point to ascertain is what are the death benefits available from a UK scheme?

The death benefits from a UK scheme depend on several factors, for example, the type of scheme. If an individual is a member of a UK employer sponsored scheme, the death benefits may be very different from that of a member of a UK personal pension. Typically, the death benefit for someone who is a current member of an employer’s scheme is a lump sum based on multiple of their salary (sometimes written under a separate cover) whereas a member of a UK personal pension would receive a return of fund.

If a UK pension member no longer works for the employer that the employer sponsored scheme relates to, the death benefits available may be paid in the form spouses/dependents pensions as opposed to a lump sum. If an individual leaves an employer and has a personal pension, then a return of fund would still apply on death.

Where an individual has already taken benefits from a scheme, the death benefits start to get a bit more restrictive. From an employer’s pension scheme, that is a final salary scheme, it is mainly widow’s and dependent’s pensions that are paid. From a personal pension in drawdown, a lump sum can be paid on death – less 35% tax. If an annuity is purchased, with UK pension funds, death benefits depend on the terms of the annuity at outset ie were dependents pensions or a guaranteed period included?

Australian superannuation schemes usually pay out lump sums on death (based on the value of balance of the fund at the time) regardless of whether a pension is payment or not.

If a UK migrant to Australia, is concerned about death benefits and looking at Australian QROPS (Qualifying Recognized Overseas Pension Schemes) as a scheme to transfer their UK pension funds to, then the individual should take pre-migration advice from a specialist adviser that understands BOTH the UK and the Australian systems. Global QROPS Ltd has the experience to provide this advice.

Will a Pension Transfer to Australia Improve my Death Benefits? is a post from: Global Qrops