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Opportunities – NHS and Public Sector Pension Transfers to Australia – You Need to Act Now!

The UK Government have issued a notice that with effect from 6^th April 2015,  it will no longer be possible to transfer pension benefits retained within an unfunded public sector final salary scheme.  This affects the majority of public sector schemes but not all of them.

At the time of writing, the legislation required to enact the transfer ban is still being reviewed and has not passed through parliament.

The NHS and other public sector bodies have recently issued guidance confirming that they will honor the transfer of an individual’s pension benefits provided the request for a transfer value is received by the end of March 2015. This not the same as having all completed option forms back to the UK by the end of March.

Therefore provided the request for a transfer value is received on time, the NHS will still provide you three months to consider your options and make an informed decision as to whether to transfer the funds or not. However, once the three-month period has expired, your ability to transfer your benefits will have expired indefinitely.

Why would you transfer your UK benefits to Australia? If you intend to retire in Australia then you could benefit from:

• Tax-free income in retirement
• Access to your entire fund when you retire
• No fluctuations in exchange rates
• Pass all of your funds to your family on death
• Use UK funds to invest in SMSF and other growth prospects within super

Should you wish to have a free initial report and consultation please contact us on 08 9233 92

written by:

McKinley Plowman