It is more important than ever that a UK resident, moving across Australia on certain types of temporary visa, takes unbiased pre-migration advice from Anglo-Australian financial advice specialists. If you have been granted a temporary visa and you are considering a UK pension transfer to Australia, you will need to know all of the facts.
Since the Australian Tax Office’s (ATO’s) consultation paper in May 2008, temporary residents who have funds in their Australian Superannuation schemes, face a dilemma should they leave Australia and return home. In these circumstances, any Australian superannuation funds will be paid to the Australian Government.
The reasoning for this drastic measure is the amount money sitting, unclaimed, in the Australian Superannuation system, over the years – mainly as a result temporary and working resident visa holder returning home.
A former-temporary visa holder, once they have permanently left Australia, can claim their superannuation by applying for a ‘departing Australian superannuation payment’ as an alternative but they are taxed on this payment by the ATO.
For temporary residents that completed a UK pension transfer to Australia, a ‘departing Australian Superannuation payment’ would incur tax from Australia and could have implications with the UK QROPS legislation incurring an unauthorized payments charge.
Global QROPS Ltd can advise people, before they leave the UK for Australia, on the best course of action for their UK pension. There are many cases where a UK pension transfer to Australia is not a suitable option.
