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Oz and Brit expats can get UK pensions retirement bonuses due to Brexit chaos
| Published: | 17 Dec at 6 PM |
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Britain’s Brexit chaos has opened up a loophole which will give anyone who’s worked in the UK for over three years a useful retirement windfall.
The loophole will exist until the end of the current financial year, and will apply both to expatriate Britons as well as to Australian and expatriate workers of other nationalities. Basically, the British government in its Brexit chaos has neglected to shut down a pensions purchase discount scheme originally intended for low-income earners, thus creating a useful loophole for savvy expat pensioners.
The ‘Class 2’ loophole allows those who’ve already paid enough contributions to qualify for a government retirement pension to buy extra entitlements at a vastly discounted price when compared with the amounts paid by Britons still working in the UK and Northern Ireland. The scheme is a bargain-basement chance for former expats in the UK as well as UK expats overseas to qualify for a pension even if they haven’t paid the minimum of 10 years’ national insurance contributions.
British residents would be obliged to pay £762 under Class 2 contributions in this financial year to receive just £4.72 a week extra, whereby expatriate workers need only come up with £153 to get the same expat payment. According to pension advisers, it makes sense to buy an extra £246 a year by making a single payment of £153 to the UK government, especially as up to six past years’ contributions can be topped up in this manner. Future contributions whilst the rules are still on the books can also be made until the 35-year limit is met.
The loophole will exist until the end of the current financial year, and will apply both to expatriate Britons as well as to Australian and expatriate workers of other nationalities. Basically, the British government in its Brexit chaos has neglected to shut down a pensions purchase discount scheme originally intended for low-income earners, thus creating a useful loophole for savvy expat pensioners.
The ‘Class 2’ loophole allows those who’ve already paid enough contributions to qualify for a government retirement pension to buy extra entitlements at a vastly discounted price when compared with the amounts paid by Britons still working in the UK and Northern Ireland. The scheme is a bargain-basement chance for former expats in the UK as well as UK expats overseas to qualify for a pension even if they haven’t paid the minimum of 10 years’ national insurance contributions.
British residents would be obliged to pay £762 under Class 2 contributions in this financial year to receive just £4.72 a week extra, whereby expatriate workers need only come up with £153 to get the same expat payment. According to pension advisers, it makes sense to buy an extra £246 a year by making a single payment of £153 to the UK government, especially as up to six past years’ contributions can be topped up in this manner. Future contributions whilst the rules are still on the books can also be made until the 35-year limit is met.
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