Australian Super - Leaving Oz Permanently

[dahkchang]

I was wondering if I(australian citizen) was leaving Australia permanently can I collect my Super ?

And what tax would i have to pay on it ?

I am 40 years old at the moment and would like to move to Thailand permanently in about 5 years.

Anyone who has any info on this would be greatly appreciated.

[neverdie]

There is information about that on the Australian Tax Office website, if you do a search in there.

Having said that, I believe it mainly relates to people who were temporary residents in the first place and that they are eligible to obtain their superannuation after leaving the country permanently.

There are very stict rules about who can and cannot access superannuation & if your an Aussie & have been all along, I believe the rules say something about, either suffering a permanent incapacity, severe financial hardship or compassionate grounds. (something like that).

[neverdie]

Here, take a look at this site.

http://www.asic.gov.au/fido/fido.nsf/byHeadline/Early%20release%20of%20superannuation%20funds

[dahkchang]

Thats acessing it if u are in australia but ive heard leaving the country on a permanent basis could be different.

Will see my accountant when I do my tax next but i was wondering if somebody here might know something.

[fred2007]

Well I left OZ about 5 years ago and ask for my super to get paid out and I had no probs at all

It took me one month to receice the money, the reason I stated was leaving OZ for good, to

an overseas country but all companies might have different rules and I was a bit

older than you are but now I have returned to OZ last year and joined a new super fund

and I had no questions ask, I do think you have no probs if you are an Australian I am not

sure about just being a PR

[neverdie]

Thats acessing it if u are in australia but ive heard leaving the country on a permanent basis could be different.

Will see my accountant when I do my tax next but i was wondering if somebody here might know something.

Yeah, thats probably your best course of action. Sorry, Ive got no personal experience with it but I remember reading something about it in the paper recently. I am aware they keep changing the rules and goal posts, so perhaps it is possible, but their guidelines on the website don't really specify that much. (probably for obvious reasons).

[dahkchang]

Well I left OZ about 5 years ago and ask for my super to get paid out and I had no probs at all

It took me one month to receice the money, the reason I stated was leaving OZ for good, to

an overseas country but all companies might have different rules and I was a bit

older than you are but now I have returned to OZ last year and joined a new super fund

and I had no questions ask, I do think you have no probs if you are an Australian I am not

sure about just being a PR

thanks, yes i am a citizen but just a little under the weather being new years.

All the best for 2011.

[fred2007]

Under the weather ? oops I know what you mean I am under the weather as

well but in different terms, forcast for the next 4 days is 40 all of you have a good new

year (including neverdie )

Edited December 31, 2010 by 7by7
Unnecessary full quote of preceding post removed.

[dahkchang]

Thanks again, Happy new year.

Edited December 31, 2010 by 7by7
As above

[gburns57au]

If you are a permanent resident of Australia or a New Zealand citizen, you cannot claim this payment because you have the option of retiring in Australia.

Theres your answer.

You can not touch it till your preservation age (about 60 in your case)even if you leave permanaetly.

Thats according to the ASIC website provided.

ATO may provide more answers

[TPI]

My experience is that you can't claim your super until your are 55 then you must have a disability and then the tax office will take 15%. On top of that you can't retire in Thailand until you're 50-55!

I'm afraid that you're stuck with your nose to the grindstone for a few years yet! Don't worry your time will come! The girls will still love you, the beer will stay cheap and the cigarettes under $2 a pack....don't tell anyone in Oz what your plans are, they will immeadiately brand you as a child molester....been there done that!

[Tolley]

As others have posted it will be almost impossible to get your super out unless you can prove some sort of hardship and even then you would only get a portion of it.

Saying you are going to go and retire in Thailand or anywhere else will not cut it at all.

Additionally i think it you get money out you will have to pay 15 percent tax on it.

It is more likely you will never get your hands on your super with the way the government keeps changing the rules.

It wouldn't surprise me if they increased the preservation even further or stopped people completely from taking lump sum payments and force them to take some sort of allocated pension.

Super in Australia is a political football and a huge money making for everyone except those putting their money into it.

I have put in over 300k into super over the years and my balance is sitting some 70k less than that. Super = gigantic rip off

[dahkchang]

My experience is that you can't claim your super until your are 55 then you must have a disability and then the tax office will take 15%. On top of that you can't retire in Thailand until you're 50-55!

I'm afraid that you're stuck with your nose to the grindstone for a few years yet! Don't worry your time will come! The girls will still love you, the beer will stay cheap and the cigarettes under $2 a pack....don't tell anyone in Oz what your plans are, they will immeadiately brand you as a child molester....been there done that!

Na <deleted> hanging around here, Im married dont need the girls, quit smoking 4 years ago today and the 2nd best thing ive done other than getting married.

I wont need the super but would prefer to have full control of all my finances. I believe i can get a spouse visa and a retirement visa wouldn't be needed.

no body has acused me of being child molester yet and doubt they will.. But thanks anyway.

[jdinasia]

Whatever the rules are now, you can only expect them to get tighter in the coming years. So, for all practical purposes .. 5 years off is a lifetime.

[Bluetongue]

Australian pollies and judges have fantastic superannuation. The public servants who write the taxation and superannuation rules have a scheme where there is an anomaly which allows them to resign the day before their 55th birthday and claim a vastly increased pension the following day. When they changed the rules for Australian Public Servants 20 years ago they gave people an option to stay in this generous anomaly but didn't widely publicise it around the country. Pretty much all the senior people in Canberra stayed in it and at various times since Departments have had to come up with strategies to deal with the brain drain or 54/11 syndrome. Some people have had their entitlements revoked in return for large 6 figure cheques, some people have been reemployed so they have 2 incomes.

I think it was Howard that decided the slaves should work for longer as per his example. Rudd backed him up. You see its a handy way to pay for promises now, tax something in the future or reduce some benefit in the future, that way at least on paper you have credit. Bracket creep is a fine example of this.

Anyway back to the present, you are 40 so you wont be able to touch anything the employer has put in until you are over 60 which I think is your minimum early retirement date. They started a sliding scale dropping this date back for people born after 1960. You may be able to access your own contributons depending on the rules of your fund, and this might also change the way in which they keep your preserved benefits. This would be taxed and I was told by a financial adviser at up to 21.7% Just consulted my notes and in my fund accessing this means they will no longer pay out a pension only a lump sum. If I take that before age 60 it is also taxed. So whilst I can still retire at age 55 I would be much worse off tax wise than at age 60. That was how Rudd and Swan changed the rules to try and keep people working longer.

The hardship thing would not work unless you could prove it to their satisfaction which I imagine would be pretty harrowing.

Happy New Year

[Goinghomesoon]

Ah but BlueTongue when the new public sector super scheme came in, the 54/11 problem was resolved as the loophole was closed under the new program. Only those who stayed with the old scheme still have access to that.... wish I'd stayed with the employer that gave me access to that scheme.

[Bluetongue]

Well going home soon, the Aussie Public Service currently has 3 schemes, the old old one which I was talking about was closed to new members in 1990, the newer old one which was closed to new members in about 2007 and the new scheme which is called the accumulation plan. Both the old schemes are "defined benefit" and completely unfunded by the employer( government). The benefits are accumulated on paper and paid out of consolidated revenue (read the bottomless bucket) when claimed. There is a small chance I suppose that a future government could renege but I think as they can see those schemes starting to die the amount of money will become less. The new scheme means that the Departments have to find the employer component out of their budgets and the member takes their chance with the fund investing on the open market like most other schemes. As you say it would not be wise to leave a defined benefit scheme, my current dilemma.