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Did You Move Your UK Pension To Australia?

Did you move your UK pension to an Australian superannuation fund?  If so, here are some things you should know about your money- if you moved those funds over prior to 2015.

 

The ‘before times’ and what changed in 2015

 

Prior to 2015, migrants from the UK who moved to Australia could elect to move their UK pension money to a designated Australian superannuation fund.

However, in 2015 this all changed due to a UK government clampdown on pensions leaving the UK.  This was due to range of factors including resistance to financial capital leaving the UK and caution against these funds going to countries where withdrawal of retirement savings was considered too easy.

Under the new rules introduced in 2015- the UK government declared that overseas funds that had retirement rules at odds with the UK system, including any ability to access funds prior to UK retirement age were now no longer able to receive UK pension money. That includes Australian funds as our superannuation laws allow in exceptional circumstances for withdrawal of funds prior to retirement for financial hardship, compassionate grounds and permanent disability. This has made it virtually impossible to move new retirement pension money (under UK retirement age) to most regular Australian super funds including the major industry, corporate, government and retail super funds.

In 2017 the UK further clamped down on transfers to other countries with a 25% tax applied (overseas transfer charge) if funds are going to country where you are not a resident in retirement. This was designed to stop people sending funds to countries for tax planning that they never intended to live in.

 

Your funds are within the Australian system- firstly well done!

 

If you were lucky enough to have moved your UK pension to an Australian superannuation fund prior to 2015 (and beat the change of rules)- then your funds have now been in Australia for some time within the Australian superannuation system.

You are now enjoying greater flexibility with regard to the investment choice of your funds, the manner in which you withdraw funds later in life and depending on your situation- improved estate planning outcomes for funds within superannuation on death.

However, we find many ex-pats from the UK still have only a limited understanding of their ex UK funds and of the overall Australian superannuation system in general.

Here are some important considerations for those that moved UK pension funds over prior to 2015 to an Australian superannuation fund.

 

Check to ensure UK Reporting requirements have been strictly adhered to

 

Most importantly- you need to ensure that your funds from the UK have met all UK reporting requirements. This means that your Australian superannuation fund must continually report back to the UK government for a certain period of time- so that the UK can keep track of those funds and ensure they have not been used in an improper fashion.  Previously there was only an obligation for your Australian superannuation fund (holding your UK pension money) to report back to the UK Government for five years from the date you had arrived in Australia. They have now extended this to a 10 year reporting period which basically means you need to make sure your funds do not leave the original fund they went to for a 10 year period and that your Australian super fund has been correctly reporting back to the UK over that entire time.

In general- if your funds have been in Australia for more than 10 years- then you may have the opportunity to change the superannuation fund that you are using (this needs to be confirmed firstly with the original superannuation fund directly). If you can’t change your superannuation fund, however, as you are still within the 10-year reporting period – then a financial adviser can perform a review of your existing fund and make sure you are using the optimal mix of the available investment options within that fund that matches your goals and objectives.

 

Take care when viewing your superannuation on MyGov

 

Caution must be taken when looking at your superannuation on the Australian government myGov login under the Australian Taxation Office section, as it is possible to transfer money from one superannuation fund to another- including ex UK Pension funds.

If you are also using a different superannuation fund to where your UK pension funds sit – for instance where your employer is paying your mandatory superannuation contributions- then also take care (if logged in to your other fund’s website) that you don’t request to ‘look for other superannuation’, ‘conduct lost super search’ or ‘consolidate multiple super funds’.

In either of the above scenarios- if a superannuation fund containing UK pension funds is transferred to another super fund within the 10-year reporting period- then you may breach UK reporting rules which could lead to hefty penalties.

 

Check how your money is invested

 

You need to check how your ex-UK funds are invested in with your superannuation fund in Australia. Are they in a diversified portfolio? Are they invested in a way which minimises product costs? Does that mix of assets suit your needs and comfort levels? Are the funds still in cash or even in UK currency? You need to ask all of the above questions and ideally have an Australian financial adviser review this for you. We have seen clients who have previously moved over UK money and have had funds in Australian superannuation still remaining in UK currency, completely in cash, and on the sidelines from any real returns for years before we saw first them and corrected this with them.

 

Review the fund where your money sits

 

You also need to check into the overall superannuation fund where your UK pension money sits. Some of the superannuation plans that were previously able to receive UK pension money are now considered older ‘legacy’ superannuation products which may no longer be available for new members. Also, some of these superannuation funds we have encountered have very high fees compared to other options now available in the market. Others are very sophisticated investment platforms with higher fees- whereas a member might only require a simple superannuation solution. So, if your funds have been in Australia for at least 10 years you should consider whether the current fund is still the right one to hold this money.

 

Check on any life insurance within superannuation

 

You also need to check for withdrawals or rollovers coming out of the superannuation fund where UK pension money sits, and this can include payments to external life insurance providers. A life insurance policy premium paid from superannuation-  but owned by a different provider than your Australian superannuation fund (where UK pension funds sit) may be deemed a withdrawal that may fall foul of the UK reporting rules if under 10 years in Australia. This differs from a life insurance policy that is also owned by your superannuation fund (where UK pension funds sit). This can be a complex area to distinguish between, and a financial adviser can guide you to ensure you have appropriate life insurance protection while adhering to all UK pension reporting rules.

 

How do your ex-UK funds interact with other Australian Superannuation/ retirement income sources?

 

You also need to think about how does my UK pension money interact with any other funds I have within Australia? Is your superannuation all in one place in one fund or do you have another fund where you have your current employer superannuation contributions paid into- and what is right for your situation? Later in life you also need to think about how these funds can work together and be organised into a cohesive retirement income strategy, along with other income sources such as UK State Pension and an Australian Age Pension (if eligible), cash savings or income/ proceeds from other investments including investment properties.

 

Your UK Pension funds- let us help you!

 

At Chapters Retirement Partners we perform a health check of our client’s Australian superannuation funds as part of our broader valuable planning. If funds were previously moved over from a UK pension – we can ensure that you meet all UK requirements, are in a low cost and correctly invested fund and that your funds from the UK form part of a cohesive retirement savings strategy involving your total superannuation to help you Finish Strong!

Click here to book an initial call with a qualified Australian Financial Adviser today.

 

Advice Disclaimer-the information published here is general in nature & has been prepared without considering your objectives, financial situation or needs. You should, before acting on any advice, consider its appropriateness to your circumstances (including your objectives, financial situation & needs). You should also consider the relevant product disclosure statement before making any decision about any product.

 

 

 

 

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Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

1.1 Count Limited and its related bodies corporate (collectively ‘Count’, ‘we’, ‘us’, ‘our’) respect your privacy and are committed to protecting your privacy. We understand the importance you attach to information that identifies you (your ‘personal information’) and we want to help you protect it.

1.2 We are bound by, and committed to supporting, applicable privacy legislation including the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs). This Privacy Policy (‘Policy’) explains how we collect, hold, use, and disclose your personal information that we may obtain when you submit information to us in person, by mail or email, or by visiting our website.


2. How do we collect and hold personal information about you?

2.1 We collect personal information from you in a variety of methods. Examples of how we collect personal information include: 

  • Through communications between you and our representatives or your adviser or accountant;
  • Your use of our website;
  • Completing application forms in relation to products and services;
  • Other avenues, where required to meet regulatory requirements and comply with the law;
  • When you apply for employment with us;
  • Through marketing activities which request information from you, such as surveys.

2.2 Because our products and services are often offered by intermediaries such as financial planners, solicitors, or accountants, we may collect personal information about you from these third parties.

2.3 You can deal with us anonymously or by pseudonym unless it is impractical for us to deal with you where you have not identified yourself or have used a pseudonym. We require certain personal information to provide you with services and information. If you do not provide us with certain personal information, we may not be able to provide you with access to those services or respond to your request for information.

2.4 We will only collect personal information from you where it is reasonably necessary for us to provide our services to you or to perform our functions or activities.

2.5 We will only collect sensitive information from you with your consent, except in permitted general situations which include:

  • The collection of the information is required or authorised by or under an Australian law or a court/tribunal order;
  • The collection is necessary to address a threat to an individual’s life, health, or safety; and
  • Permitted health situations.

2.6 We may hold your information electronically or physically and have in place appropriate data and physical security measures and protocols to protect that information from loss or from disclosure not contemplated by this Policy.


3. What type of personal information do we collect?

3.1 The type of personal information we may collect from you includes (but is not limited to):

  • Names, address, email, phone numbers, and job titles;
  • Information in identification documents such as your passport or driver’s licence;
  • Tax file numbers (TFNs) and other identification numbers such as Medicare number;
  • Date of birth and gender;
  • Financial information;
  • Details of superannuation and insurance arrangements;
  • Sensitive information (with your consent), such as health information or membership details of professional or trade associations or political parties;
  • Bank account details, shareholdings, and details of investments;
  • Educational qualifications, employment history, and salary;
  • Visa or work permit status;
  • Personal information about your spouse and dependants.


4. How do we use your personal information?

4.1 We will use the information you supply for the purpose of providing you with the service(s) agreed under our engagement and related services, such as accounting or business advisory services, or to meet obligations we may have at law, including in relation to health and safety.

4.2 We may also use the information we collect for our internal business and management processes (for example, accounting or auditing purposes), monitoring and improving our website, keeping you informed about our services and company news, and for any other purposes that would be reasonably expected by you and to allow us to comply with our obligations under the law.

4.3 We may also use personal information we have collected from you for the purpose of marketing our services. If you do not want to receive marketing material from us, you can unsubscribe by contacting us as detailed below:

  • For electronic communications, you can click on the unsubscribe function in the communication;
  • For hard copy communications, you can email us using the details in the ‘How to contact us’ section of our website informing us that you wish to unsubscribe http://www.count.au/Contact-Us.


5. How do we disclose your personal information?

5.1 Your personal information will only be disclosed:

  • To our employees, contractors, consultants, dealers, agents, or advisors as required to provide our services to you or for related purposes;
  • To suppliers and service providers (for example, accounting or auditing service providers or our website hosting service providers) in connection with our provision of services to you;
  • Where you have consented to the disclosure;
  • Where required or authorised to do so under an Australian law, court or tribunal order, or other governmental or regulatory body or agency;
  • In permitted health situations;
  • If we believe that the use or disclosure of the information is reasonably necessary for enforcement-related activities conducted by, or on behalf of, an enforcement body; or
  • In connection with an actual or proposed sale, reorganisation, or transfer of all or part of our business, including as set out in clause 16.1.

5.2 We may use, store, process, or back-up your personal information on servers that are located overseas (including through third-party service providers). The privacy laws in other countries might not be the same as in Australia. However, where we provide your personal information to third parties overseas, we will take such steps as are reasonable to ensure that your information is handled and stored in accordance with Australian privacy laws and this Policy. Currently, we use outsourced service providers in the Philippines, India, and Serbia.


6. Access to your personal information

6.1 You can request us to provide you with access to personal information we hold about you by sending us an email: privacy@count.au (no spam please) or writing to us at Level 1, 45 Clarence Street, Sydney NSW 2000.

6.2 We may allow an inspection of your personal information in person, or provide copies or a summary of relevant documents, depending on what is the most appropriate in the circumstances. Any charge we make for providing access will be reasonable and will not apply to lodging a request for access. Your request to access your personal information will be dealt with in a reasonable time.

6.3 Note that we need not provide access to personal information if a request is frivolous, or where to provide access would pose a threat to health or public safety, unreasonable interference with another person’s privacy, or be a breach of the law. If we refuse access, we will provide you with reasons for doing so.


7. Accuracy and correction

7.1 To enable us to keep our records properly, please notify us if you believe that any information we hold about you is inaccurate, incomplete, or out of date and we will take reasonable steps, in the circumstances, to ensure that it is corrected. You can notify us by sending us an email: privacy@count.au (no spam please) or writing to us at Level 1, 45 Clarence Street, Sydney NSW 2000.


8. Our security procedures

8.1 We take your privacy and the privacy of our associated entities and their clients very seriously. We will take reasonable steps in the circumstances to protect any personal information you provide to us from misuse, interference, or loss and unauthorised access, modification, and disclosure.

8.2 We will also deidentify and destroy the personal information we hold about you once our legal obligations cease. Our security procedures are reviewed from time to time and we update them when relevant.

8.3 Please be aware that the transmission of data over the internet is never guaranteed to be completely secure. It is possible that third parties not under our control may be able to access or intercept transmissions or private communications without our permission or knowledge. We take all reasonable steps, in the circumstances, to protect your personal information. However, we cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to us. Such transmissions are done at your own risk.


9. Data breach notification

9.1 We are required to give notice to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) and affected individuals of an “eligible data breach”. This means that if we hold personal information about you, and there is unauthorised access to or disclosure of your personal information, and if you, as the “affected individual” would be likely to suffer serious harm from this access or disclosure, we must notify both you and the OAIC.

9.2 “Serious harm” could include identity theft, threats to physical safety, economic and financial harm, harm to reputation, embarrassment, discrimination, or harassment. The test is whether a “reasonable person” would expect you to suffer serious harm.

9.3 If you are likely to suffer serious harm from a data breach, we will notify you of:

  • The nature of the eligible data breach (i.e., how the information was accessed or disclosed);
  • The type of information that was accessed or disclosed;
  • The steps that we have taken to control or reduce the harm, and those that we plan to take;
  • Any assistance we can offer you, such as arranging for credit monitoring;
  • Anything that we can suggest you can do to assist yourself or mitigate the harm;
  • Whether the breach has also been notified to the OAIC;
  • How you can contact us for information or to complain; and
  • How to make a complaint with the OAIC.

9.4 We will notify you using the same method that we usually use to communicate with you. If it is not practicable for us to notify you personally, we will publish the notification on our website.

9.5 There are some circumstances in which we do not have to notify you of a data breach. These include:

  • Where we have taken remedial action before any serious harm has been caused by the breach;
  • If you have been notified of the breach by another entity;
  • If notification would be inconsistent with Commonwealth secrecy laws; or
  • Where the OAIC declares that notification does not have to be given.

9.6 Depending on the nature of the breach and the harm, we may voluntarily inform other third parties such as the police or other regulators or professional bodies.


10. Identifiers

10.1 We will not adopt as our own any government identifiers you may provide to us such as TFNs and will not store these identifiers on any information.


11. Links to other sites

11.1 We may provide links to other sites for you to access. You should be aware that these other sites are not subject to this Policy or our privacy standards and procedures. You will need to contact them directly to ascertain their privacy standards.


12. Cookies

12.1 Our website may deposit “cookies” on a visitor’s computer. Cookies are pieces of information that a website transfers to an individual’s hard drive for record-keeping purposes. Cookies are only sent back to the website that deposited them when a visitor returns to that site.

12.2 Cookies make it easier for you by saving your preferences while you are at our site. We never save personal identifiable information in cookies. Most web browsers are initially set up to accept cookies. You can, however, reset your browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent.


13. Changes to our Privacy Policy

13.1 From time to time, we may vary this Policy for any reason. We will publish any changes on this website.

13.2 By continuing to use our website and continuing to provide us with your information, you confirm your acceptance of these changes.


14. Complaints resolution

14.1 We are committed to providing a fair and responsible system for the handling of complaints from parties whose personal information we hold. If you have any concerns regarding the way we have handled your privacy, please send us an email at privacy@count.au or write to us at Level 1, 45 Clarence Street, Sydney NSW 2000. We will address any concerns you have through our complaints handling process and we will inform you of the outcome of your complaint within a reasonable timeframe.

14.2 If after receiving our response, you still consider that your privacy complaint has not been resolved, you may refer your concerns to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at www.oaic.gov.au.