Calling former UK Residents...

[ap999]

What did you do with your tax/pensions when you departed the uk?
Is it possible to claim anything back from the IR? What about your state pensions, can this be transferred or cashed in?

I have permanently reallocated to HK and was seeking some guidance on this matter.

I am also waiting for IR to write back and will post here for others ppl's reference.

Thanks

[PDLM]

For the year you leave you may be able to get a rebate of tax paid under PAYE. That should happen automatically when you submit your UK tax return for that year.

For the state pension, you can't transfer it, but you retain an entitlement which is (roughly, from memory) one fortieth of the state pension for each year that you have contributed the necessary NI payments (or had years credited, as you do when in full time study). This will be payable at the normal UK retirement age.

[HKLozzo]

My information from the IR when i told them i was leaving, was that you can continue to make payments to your state pension by means of a yearly lump sum payment to them. Effectively making all your payments for 1 tax year in one go. The guy quoted me a figure (from memory it was like 1500pounds or something). You don't have to pay every year either, just whenever you can afford it. I'd give them a call and find out more details.

Personal pensions of course are different again. Mine is currently deferred (frozen) within my old company pension scheme and will remain so until i get more settled here.

[Sazzy]

Yes, write to your local IR - tell them that you are leaving. You should receive an income tax refund.

Sorry dont know about pension.

[PDLM]

Yes - that's true about the voluntary contribution of NI, but when I looked at it several years ago the return on that investment was pretty poor (depending on your assumptions about what will happen to the UK state pension, how long you will live, when you actually want to retire, and so on), so I reckoned I would be better off putting the money into some other type of investment/savings plan.

[larac]

I remember investigating the pension and being told I could get it at the standard retirment age but I guess that assumes they still have the scheme in another 30 years time and I can find the paperwork for it as a result I don't have high hopes in it setting me up for my old age.

[nemrac]

hum... good point, I didn't do anything to mine when I left... may be should write to my IR.