Where to retire Australia or UK

[Kerry987]

For tax purposes where will it be better to retire Australia or the UK. Also costs of living and quality of life and will we get UK state pension savings pension if we move to Australia? DH is Australian so we have the option of moving there.

you might have more luck with these answers on pomsinoz forum. your questions re; cost and quality of life - would be very much determined by where in Aus you live - A regional city would be a very different lifestyle/costs compared to harbour side sydney or bayside brisbane. As far as i know there are implications to pensions when migrating and limitations on accessing services in Aus if you have not been a resident and paying tax, medicare contributions etc for a number of years prior to arriving. perhaps a consult with a migration agent might be good - might be good to get spouse visa rolling as with covid visa application timelines are getting longer and longer.

Be realistic about cost of living in Oz. I know your DH is Australian, but costs have ramped up massively in the last 10-15 years.

Thank you. I don’t think I can get a spouse visa unless I live there.

I have been there a few times and am aware is a expensive country but was thinking more of taxes. I need to investigate further and read more about it.

Do you have children?

No inheritance tax in Oz

Australia!

Yes, we do have children. I think inheritance tax is one of the advantages of retiring there

You can still claim your UK state pension but it's 'frozen' at same rate as when you leave UK - ie, if it pays 150 GBP per week today and you leave tomorrow and stay in Aus for the rest of your life, you won't receive any increases (if there were to be such a thing!).

Also visa - takes quite a while to get this processed and isn't cheap - but if you're not in a rush, shouldn't be a problem. You need to look at the Partner Visa (subclass 309 or 100). Easy to find more info on this via Aus government immigration website.

Can't answer about taxes, apart from what I pay on my earnings (too much of course!).

Cost of living is more expensive (depends on where you are exactly), and quality of life - to me - is what you make it.

Note that domestic and international travel isn't cheap - factor this into your plans if you're using to lots of breaks or long holidays.

Also check on how health expenses will be covered if you move here. Most people have private health cover and the cost of things work differently here - ie, some GPs will charge you and you'll get some of the cost back via Medicare, prescription prices can vary, etc. I find it confusing still, and non-urgent specialist treatment can get pricey. But again depends on whether it's covered by your insurance, or by Medicare, or solely out of your own pocket. I don't know how it would work if you were retired, or you wouldn't be treated as "retirees" as such.

How can you make a decision on where to live the last portion of your life based on taxes? Neither are tax havens.

The answer to your question will depend on your wealth and your retired income is. Its impossible to advise on the info you have given, it would frankly be too involved. Is it income tax, inheritance tax, stamp duty, consumer tax, capital gains tax, what are you specifically doing that will generate tax that is concerning you?

UK there are lots of ways to reduce tax burdens in both countries but either way it involves tax planning, don't think mumsnet will be tbr place for that.

My sis in Oz told me they have nice retirement homes - with tennis courts, pool, etc. Nothing like that here ime except maybe the SE where people have the money to afford them.

Surely it depends on your capital how you'd be taxed. I know many parents of my friends who now live in Australia decided against because of the cost implications, affects to pensions and healthcare considerations. Travelling a few times each year worked out more doable.

Quality of life would be Australia for the warmth and outdoor lifestyle but it comes at a cost.

Climate change is wreaking havoc in oz. remember the terrible fires? The drought? The extreme temperatures? Only going to get worse.

Personally I'd retire close to my children - my mum retired to Australia and me and
Y brother line in the UK - I rarely saw her, she didn't meet my children before she died and I didn't see her to say goodbye because my youngest was newborn when she because very ill and died - I miss her still even though we had a very tempestuous relationship

I agree, sadly climate change is affecting Australia quite badly. I hope things improve somehow, not only there but the rest of the world.

Reg taxes, pension, healthcare I definitely need to investigate more. I would be good to have some opinions from people who have moved there to see what the implications are.

It is true about not living too far from your children. My children don't see the grandparents often enough as they are both in different continents and I think is very sad; but when you move overseas you make sacrifices. Not sure whether our kids will end staying in UK or move somewhere else either.

I would probably base the decision on where my children lived, what sort of weather I liked and the kind of retirement lifestyle I wanted. I live in Australia and my parents are retired here. They live in a desirable regional area near gorgeous beaches and have a large amount of land, a great swimming pool and views to the sea. They travel overseas every year for a few months. But they are quite wealthy and are able to live the ideal version of an Australian retirement. A lot of my friends parents also live that life but they all had substantial private pensions. Some people who retire here and end up in a small home in suburbia a long way from the beach with little money. In the long hot summer that isn’t much fun. It is true that there are some good retirement homes (very different from the nursing homes here, I hasten to add, which are similar to the uk) but again they cost a lot of money and are effectively over-55s neighbourhoods with decent shared facilities.

Do you have to make a final decision, OP? Couldn't you go out there for a year, and see what you think? Living in another country is very different from visiting. You might find yourself very homesick, or you might love it, Either way, you would have a clearer idea of what you want to do.

Once you are retired, there is nothing to stop you spending 6 months of the year in each country. I have some friends who do this. They have an apartment in Melbourne that they rent out when not there, which covers a lot of the costs of having 2 homes.

When thinking about where to be domiciled, don't forget healthcare. There are reciprocal arrangements between Oz and the UK but they don't cover everything. And, if you are not UK-domiciled, you are not entitled to NHS care, even if you have paid taxes here all your life (NB I am not saying this is right, I'm just stating the rules!). GPs are forced by NHS England to remove patients from their lists if they are thought to be non-domiciled, and this can make it very difficult to access healthcare. Some people get away with it, but you can't assume that you will.

Australia when you have the ability to hop in a plane and go and see family and friends in Europe is one thing, when the borders are shut close to anyone wanting to leave is another.
It feels like North Korea right now

Thank you. This is very useful

Thank you very much All. There are lots of good points here and lots of things to take into consideration. It is always good to have other people's views as there are things to consider that we may not have thought of.

I think 6 months in each country is ideal if we can afford it. I do prefer sunnier weather but I know there is not perfect and there is always a compromise. I do find Australia too far from the rest of the world so that part does put me off a bit. We would love to live closer to the beach/coast.

I think living there for awhile and see if we like it or not is a good idea too.