Re: This may interest you?

[John Feltham]

G'day Folks,

 From an Aussie politician who I have known for many many years.

And having read it I think that at the age of 87 there is not much chance of getting anything worthwhile out of the UK Government. Ans Why shouldd I have to pay someone to get my pension? 

It sounds to me like  a con job?

How Britain’s state pension can be paid to millions living outside UK

Anthony Keane

2 hours ago

More than a million people living in Australia with ties to Britain risk missing out on tens of thousands of dollars in retirement because of a looming UK state pension change.

On April 5 the British Government will remove the ability for expats and people who have worked at least three years in Britain to boost their pension entitlement by buying back up to 18 years of National Insurance contributions.

For most Australians it costs $350 to buy back one year, which then pays about $700 extra pension annually, and Ireland-based company XtraPension says a UK pension is worth up to $480,000 over a 20-year retirement.

“It’s a bit crazy that no one actually knows about this,” said XtraPension operations director John Ring.

“There’s about two million people we reckon in Australia who are eligible for this – even those 200,000 who are already in receipt of their UK pension,” he said.

“But because they’re so happy to be getting anything, they don’t realise that they are able to boost what they can get.

“There’s about six million people globally who are eligible for this, and the vast majority of them have absolutely no idea what their entitlements are. You are looking at anyone who has worked in the UK going all the way back to the early seventies, which is an enormous amount of people.”

 

The Department of Home Affairs says 1.1 million people born in Britain were living in Australia as of July 2022, while the UK Institute for Public Policy Research says there are now 1.3 million British expats living here – making Australia the most popular place in the world for them.

Registered charity British Pensions in Australia says the UK state pension is paid worldwide regardless of the recipient’s nationality, and is not means tested.

It says people living in Australia may make voluntary contributions to the scheme if they have paid a minimum of three years contributions while working in the UK. Contributions to the British National Insurance Scheme are compulsory for workers in the UK and provide a lifetime pension to anyone who has paid the required number of contributions, it says.

British Pensions in Australia president Patrick Edwards said: “I urge anyone who has worked in the UK to investigate if they have an entitlement to British state pension without delay”.

“They may be able to pay voluntary contributions to lock in that entitlement or to increase the rate of pension they will receive,” he said.

XtraPension’s Mr Ring said after April 5 people would still be able to buy back six past years, plus future years, but the 18-year opportunity would disappear.

“The process of maximising the UK State Pension is quite convoluted,” he said.

There also are potential pitfalls, including its impact on the Centrelink income test for Australia’s age pension.

And, similar to many defined benefit superannuation schemes in Australia, if you die early in retirement the UK state pension payments cease.

“It’s game over,” Mr Ring said. “If you go, it goes, so to speak.”

XtraPension charges a service fee of $1500 to help people through the British pension process.

“Effectively, for a lot of people they can get a 40-to-one return over a 20-year retirement, which is nuts, basically,” Mr Ring said.

“Essentially it’s free money, but if you say that everyone thinks it’s a scam, which is the number one thing that we hear on the phone. But it’s not – it comes about because of a change to the system in 2016 in the UK from the old system to the new one.”

 ooroo   🦘

[JO ODDIE]

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On 20 Mar 2025, at 22:06, 'John Feltham' via BAPA <bapa...@googlegroups.com> wrote:



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[JO ODDIE]

Hallo John

I had no idea I could be eligible, thank you for this. I immediately registered an interest. I understand that it might take a long time to get a response from the DWP due to heavy applications load, but I have at least been able to register an interest before the April deadline. 

Many thanks. 

Jo

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On 20 Mar 2025, at 22:06, 'John Feltham' via BAPA <bapa...@googlegroups.com> wrote:



[Ian Smith]

Yup. It's a sales pitch. Just contact the Dept of Works and Pensions direct and instead of 'paying' a 1500 service fee for the advice and assistance put the money into your pension. 

Cheers mate 👍 

Yahoo Mail: Search, organise, conquer

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[mary barber]

I'd rather keep my money .Our pension is frozen & at 81 could die & not benefit from

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[Michael Goodall]

Hi Be very cautious this is an Irish Company and they are ripping people off. If you are over 75 you are already too old to make any back payments under the 'special provisions'. if you approach them do not pay anything upfront.

Best regards,

Mike Goodall

Tel:-     +61 8 6364 0859

Mob:- +61 403 909 865

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[Michael Goodall]

Hi Be very cautious this is an Irish Company and they are ripping people off. If you are over 75 you are already too old to make any back payments under the 'special provisions'. if you approach them do not pay anything upfront.

Best regards,

Mike Goodall

Tel:-     +61 8 6364 0859

Mob:- +61 403 909 865

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Sent: Friday, 21 March 2025 1:23 AM
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[JO ODDIE]

Thanks Mike

I rang the international pension centre & they said they don’t deal with these enquiries there (of which there are many). 

They sent a message to the department who organise this, said that the dept would deal with my Enquiry in date order of applications, & I would be contacted when my name came to the top of the list & tell me IF I had a case, & let me know my options & how much. 

Do you think this is OK?  From what you say I am already too old to make any back payments anyway. Shame. 

Thank you for your caution. 

Regards

Jo

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On 21 Mar 2025, at 10:19, Michael Goodall <mikecg...@btconnect.com> wrote:



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[Steve Symmons]

I did it when first announced.

1 Register a gov.uk identity 

2 Check your NI contributions record (Really easy - if you have your NI number on hand)

3 Note any gaps and calculate how many you can fill (you can only go back to 2006 and can't fill any past your UK pension age)

4 Contact DWP International by phone and talk to some there for advice

5 Follow up with an official  *letter* (I recommend international registered Mail) stating that you wish to make 

Voluntary Class 2 contributions 

and providing the information you will be advised to provide.

Probably:

 as complete a UK work history as you can 

 your work history in Australia with dates plus names and addresses of employers.

a list of every time you returned to UK from overseas. (Check your old passports for departure/return to Australia stamps).

I believe you must have been employed and paying NI contributions just before your departure from UK.

And then commenced employment over here.

I also had extensive periods of self employment both there and here.

I acknowledged that my schedules were only as perfect as my memory, but stated that it was the best I could provide.

It took a while, working with computer created old calendars going back to when I was in school (you get NI credits for time in full-time education post 16th birthday).

5 After DWP assessment that you qualify they will send you a letter including a schedule of all outstanding NI contribution years you can make Voluntary Class 2 payments towards and the cost for each year (In my case they averaged about GBP120 for each NIC year - of course NI rates vary). If you have not yet attained UK pension age they will continue to send a letter every year with information for NIC Class 2 contributions each relevant UK tax year.

There is no point making any contributions in the year that you reach your UK pension age as you CANNOT make any meaningful contributions for weeks after that date (were you in UK and still working your NI rate would reduce accordingly). And partial NIC years do not count towards your UK pension.

6 It is up to you when you claim the UK pension once you have reached your UK pension age and there is an uplift for every nine (9) weeks that you defer your claim. However, as we well know, it is then fixed at that rate.

I claimed (you can do that via gov.uk) once I qualified.

I got my entire Voluntary Class 2 contributions back within six (6) months and have been in front ever since. Arguably, the best return of any investment I have ever made  (It is giving money away - but who are we to complain?)

7 It may likely affect your Australian pension - if you receive one. However, in a beautiful irony, it provides a natural hedge via currency movements: The UK pension has actually increased by close to 10% over the last 9 months as a direct result of the AUD falling under Trump/China related trade worries. Meanwhile the amount of income you can receive before it affects your AU pension keeps rising with inflation - twice a year. To the point that my AU pension has been increasing despite my UK pension increasing due to currency (Services Australia automatically adjust the amount according to rates that are slightly beneficial).

It is important to remember that AU pensions, while means tested, have an income figure below which a pension is not altered regardless of how/where the income is derived. On top of that is the "Work Bonus" amount that permits you to ear (from personal labour) $300 per fortnight before affecting a AU pension. The former figure is constantly adjusted for inflation. The latter "Work Bonus" amount has not been altered since its inception (and has fallen about A$65 in value in this time).

So, in conclusion:

Yes it's definitely worth making Voluntary Class 2 Contributions. But you can only go back to 2006; and only until the point at which you reached UK Age pension age.

The ability to make retrospective contributions to 2006 ceases on April 5, 2025. After that you will only be able to make a maximum of six years retrospective contributions.

And no, you don't need the outfit whose thinly-veiled sales pitch was the basis of the article to do it. It took me a couple of evenings.

Even if it took you a week, you would be way in front.

Regards

Steve Symmons

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