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Been in the UK for years? or just arrived yesterday? Here's are a few key
things that you might not know.
Transferring Pensions Home And Contracting Out Of State Second Pension
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You may not know, but the UK tax rules provide excellent tax breaks for
people saving for their retirement. Contributions into UK pension funds are
tax-free. If you wanted to put say £1,000 into a pension fund, you may only
have to contribute personally £780 (or £600 if higher rate taxpayer) and the
Government puts in the rest. Furthermore contributions into an
employer-provided scheme may also mean savings in National Insurance.
Unfortunately the money must usually stay in the UK fund until you retire, and
is then taxable back in your home country when the funds are paid out in the
UK. However, if you move to New Zealand or Australia permanently your pension
fund can go with you. New Zealand rules allow certain pension funds to be
transferred for a small fee into a NZ scheme and withdrawn in full, tax-free,
as early as six months after returning. Australian Superannuation rules do not
allow this early withdrawal but you are able to transfer your UK pension to an
Australian super scheme when you return. It is advised that you do this within
six months of arriving in Australia so as to avoid potential tax charges on
any increase in value of the fund. Go to
www.hmrc.gov.uk and search for "Qualifying recognised Overseas Pension
Schemes or QROPS" to see which schemes are recognised in New Zealand and
Australia.
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Another thing you may not be aware of is that part of your National
Insurance goes towards the State Second Pension (S2P – formerly known as SERPS).
You can opt out of this S2P and ask for the contributions to be re-directed
into a private pension fund. As a New Zealander or Australian who will one day go home,
this is the only way to get back a portion of your National Insurance, plus
interest, and you will receive this when you retire, even if you are not
entitled to a British Old Age Pension. For most people this can be up to
£1,800 p.a for FREE.
There are various ways that you can Contract-out of the State Second
Pension. You may be able to join an employer’s occupational scheme if they
have one. Alternatively you can Contract-out through APP scheme or an APPSHP
scheme. The APP/APPSHP schemes are usually administered by insurance
companies, banks, building societies or friendly societies. You should contact
them direct for advice or speak to an independent Financial Adviser.
If you are in any doubt about whether you are a member of a Contracted-out
Pension Scheme, contact your employer or the Scheme Administrator direct. If
you are still unsure, contact the HM Revenue & Customs Contracted-out Helpline
on: 084591 50150.
This information comes directly from the website
www.dms-london.co.uk
& www.hmrc.gov.uk/
Getting Tickets to Royal Events
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Each year the Royal Household makes available to the High Commission a
limited number of tickets for New Zealanders to attend Royal Events. These
are:
* The Royal Garden Parties in London and Edinburgh
* The Trooping the Colour Events "The Colonels Review" and "The Queens
Birthday Parade"
* The Royal Enclosure at Royal Ascot Races
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Applications are limited only to bona fide New Zealand citizens who are
visiting or residing in the United Kingdom. Partners and spouses of New
Zealand citizens who hold residency permits for New Zealand may apply to
accompany a New Zealand citizen.
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Tickets are allocated on a first come first served basis for each of the
three events, with a restriction that applicants may apply for one event each
year. The Royal Garden Party can only be attended once.
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To get tickets to the Royal Garden Parties, check out the
http://www.nzembassy.com/home.cfm?c=14 website in early January of each
year. The actual events usually occur at Buckingham Palace and Holyroodhouse
in July of each year.
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To get tickets to the Trooping the Colour events, check out the
http://www.nzembassy.com/home.cfm?c=14 website in early March of each
year. The actual events usually occur in June of each year.
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To get tickets to the Royal Enclosure at Royal Ascot Races, check
out the
http://www.nzembassy.com/home.cfm?c=14 website in early April of each
year. The actual event usually occur at Ascot Racecourse in June of each year.
If you would like to make any suggestions for additions to this page, then
please contact Graeme
Bolin
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