Has anyone transferred Aus pension to Irish pension?

F

finny

Registered User
Messages
79
Hi there,

My husband and I are both 36. We both spent 2011-2016 living and working in Australia. We are both Australian and Irish citizens. We have relocated to Ireland with no current intention to return to live in Australia.

As you might know, pension contributions are mandatory there. I have built up a fund of approx AUD$27k (approx 18,200 euro). My husband's balance is likely similar. I can't access this until I am 65 but I understand it might be possible to transfer it to an Irish pension under the reciprocal agreement. I do not currently have an Irish pension.

I can see from the online account that fees and insurance premium are slowly reducing the balance of my Aus pension.

Has anyone done this, transferred the balance to Irish pension? The fees, consultant costs etc might make it not worth it but it seems a shame to lose the pension altogether/have it reduced to nothing in fees over the next 30 years.

Any input/experience most welcome thanks.
 
Update... I emailed Australian Super today with the initial query so I'll update what happens but... in the meantime, all and any input/advice most welcome!
 
First thing would be to cancel any insurances linked to the Super, probably not much use in Ireland. You may have to ring the Super fund to do this but it can be done. Change your Super Investment to one of the Vanguard ETF Funds which have very low fees. You can normally have a choice of different funds within your super account. It is very easy to move your Super to another provider if necessary if you cannnot access Vanguard in your existing fund. Normally if you leave permanently you can cash out of your Super but I think you pay tax using this route. Best option might be to do above (ETF Funds) and leave the Super. Get the lowest fees possible. Leave it invested you will need it later in life try to resist the temptation to cash it out. You have started a pension do not give it up now. Fees and exchange rate will negate any benefit if moving it. Never say never you may return at some point.
 
Thanks Gimp. I had actually logged in and cancelled my insurances last week - as you correctly guessed, they're no longer relevant.

You can't access if you leave permanently once you're a citizen.

I have queried moving both funds to Ireland and Aus Super referred me to the ATO after saying the only overseas fund I can transfer to would be in New Zealand.

We definitely want to leave it invested. At present, I just don't trust the political atmosphere in terms of laws regarding access and transfer. In other words, what if changes in law make it impossible to transfer/access in the future? Australia is becoming even more insular these days.
 
You could try one of the better super funds... like REST and ask for their suggestions. I know in the past they had a product which allowed you to 'park' your superannuation while you were outside of Australia. I used the product when I returned to live in Ireland some years ago and the fees were quite low.

http://www.rest.com.au/member


I have no affiliation with REST ....
 
"At present, I just don't trust the political atmosphere in terms of laws regarding access and transfer. In other words, what if changes in law make it impossible to transfer/access in the future? Australia is becoming even more insular these days."
Cant see anything happening re pensions in that respect if you are a citizen it is your money same as bank acc. once you get to retirment age you just get it paid to an AU bank account and withdraw and transfer as needed if you are still in Ireland.........
 
I’ve lived in Australia for five years. I am an Irish and Australian dual citizen. I have returned to Ireland where I plan to live and retire. I am a PAYE earner in Ireland in the public service and will have a small pension from this along with a private pension (PRSA) I have been contributing to.

I have an Australian Superannuation (state pension approved) account, where I paid tax on any contributions I made into the superannuation.
I read the Citizens Information website, which states: “With regards to transferring of accumulated Superannuation funds from Australia to Ireland and based on the Double Taxation Agreement between countries, all pensions and annuities paid to an Irish resident shall be taxable in Ireland.”

The revenue.ie website states that “Foreign occupational and social security pensions that would not be taxable if the recipient lived in the country that granted the pension.”
Considering the above from revenue.ie, if I continued to reside in Australia I would have been able to access the superannuation tax free (up to certain amounts).

When it comes “preservation age”, which will be 60 and I want to transfer that money back to Ireland via a lump sum will it be subject to tax in Ireland? And is the tax rate just standard Irish income tax rates?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top