Transfer Your UK Pensions to Australia

Australia’s NUMBER ONE Retail Super Fund for UK Pension
Transfers to Australia.

As one of the leading offshore QROPS Superannuation providers, our team has a wealth of experience when helping expats transfer their UK Pension to Australia. We offer a FREE initial consultation service to help you understand what pensions you have in the UK, and the options available to you.

Our job is to make the transfer process as easy as possible for you and will provide guidance to ensure that you do not pay any unnecessary tax charges or penalties when transferring your funds.

Our Australian Expatriate Superannuation Fund is Australia’s ONLY Retail Super Fund that is registered with HMRC as a Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme (QROPS)

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Benefits

QUICK & SIMPLE TRANSFER PROCESS

Unlike the complex set up process with a Self Managed Super Fund, we handle ALL of the administration involved with moving your money from the UK to Australia, so you don’t have to.

INVESTMENT OPTIONS IN MULTI-CURRENCY

We offer access to a wide range of world-leading investment options so you have the chance to maximise growth potential. We also offer investments in multi-currency so you can minimize currency exchange risk and also take advantage of favourable rates to make you money.

MANAGE YOUR ACCOUNT ONLINE

Once your funds have been transferred to us, you have 24/7 access to view and manage your account online using the online client portal. This includes investment switches and regular withdrawals, giving you control over the management of your fund.

EXPERT SUPPORT & GUIDANCE

You are not on your own – Our experienced team of retirement solution specialists can help you get started and are always on hand to answer your questions through every step of the transfer journey.

Transferring your UK pension to Australia with AESF is a process that we make easy for you and a less complex alternative to a Self-Managed Super Fund.

Book your FREE consultation today and find out how we can help you transfer your UK Pension – The simple way!

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Feedback From Our Clients

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

The charges we would apply for administering the transfer of your UK pension to our Australian Expatriate Superannuation fund would be:

Establishment (Set up) Fee – $595

Transfer in Fee – $195 per transfer

A full list of the Fees and charges can be found in our Product Disclosure Statement and Member Guide. You can also see a full summary of our fees here.

Some UK Pension providers do impose a charge upon transferring your funds out of their scheme and so this is a point you should always check.

We would always recommend that you seek financial advice if you are unsure of the implications involved with transferring a pension. However, in some cases, you may be able to transfer your UK pension without the involvement of a Financial Adviser. This would depend on a few scenarios.

Firstly, it would be compulsory to involve a Financial Adviser where you are transferring a UK Defined Benefit Pension (i.e. Final Salary) with a value greater than £30,000. Due to the nature of these plans and the guarantees they hold, it is a regulatory requirement from the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to obtain a Transfer Value Analysis (TVAS) report from a UK Qualified Financial Adviser. Your UK scheme would not allow funds to be transferred out of the scheme without this report.

If you are transferring a standard UK Personal Pension, you may do this yourself but we would not recommend this unless you are comfortable with the transfer process and you have a firm knowledge of the investment markets. For many people, their pension is their largest asset for providing income when they retire so it’s important to ensure its managed correctly and the correct decisions are made, tailored to your financial circumstances and investment objectives.

You may transfer the following types of UK pension arrangements to an Australian QROPS:

  • An Occupational Pension Scheme – A pension offered by your employer, typically a Group Personal Pension.
  • A Defined Benefit Scheme – These are schemes offered by your employer which offer a guaranteed benefit in retirement. Also known as Final Salary Schemes.
  • A Defined Contribution Scheme – These are Personal or Group Personal Pension Plans. A Self Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) is a Defined Contribution Scheme.
  • A Small Self Administered Scheme (SSAS) – This is also a Defined Contribution Scheme, however, the set-up of them is a bit more complex.

The following types of UK Pensions are not permitted to transfer:

  • UK State Pension
  • Unfunded Civil Service Pensions which include NHS, Teachers, Fire Fighters, Police and Armed Forces.

When transferring your UK Pension to Australia, you may be subject to a tax charge upon transfer. Tax is based on the investment growth achieved within your UK pension plan, from the date you became an Australian resident, to the date you transferred your UK pension into Australia. It is the growth achieved during this period which would be subject to tax.

If transferring to our Australian Expatriate Superannuation Fund, then you can opt for the tax to be charged at a fixed concessional rate of 15% and we would pay this to the Australian Tax Office, on your behalf, once we receive the transfer of your UK funds.

Overseas pension transfers are classed as ‘non-concessional’ contributions and you are permitted to transfer up to $110,000 plus investment growth, without an excess contribution charge of 45% being applied. In year one, you can bring forward to years of allowance meaning that the initial transfer allowance is $330,000.

QROPS stands for ‘Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme’. A QROPS is an HMRC registered pension scheme which can accept a transfer of UK pension funds. 

In order for an overseas scheme to qualify for ‘QROPS status’, it must meet certain strict criteria set by HMRC. If you transfer your pension to a plan that is not a registered QROPS, you will face a significant penalty so be sure to check that the pension scheme you are intending on transferring to is listed on the HMRC ROPS list.

A full QROPS approved list of schemes can be found here.

If you set up a Self Managed Super Fund, you can apply to HMRC for QROPS registration in order for your fund to accept a transfer of your UK Pension monies but this is a complex and time-consuming process. Alternatively, you can transfer your UK Pension to our Australian Expatriate Superannuation Fund which is Australia’s ONLY Retail Superannuation that is registered with HMRC as a QROPS. This would mean that you can completely avoid the complex registration process as this is all in place with our fund.

Under current rules you cannot transfer your UK Pension to a QROPS Super Fund until you age 55. The reason being is that in Australia you are permitted, under certain circumstances, to withdraw funds before age 55 which goes against UK law.

However, you can transfer your UK Pension to a SIPP. This can be used to set up a future transfer and easy transition into Australian Superannuation when you reach age 55.

Are you ready to transfer your pension?

Call us today and take the next step to building a secure future for you and your family

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