# British pension transfer to Canada



## floyd1965 (Aug 6, 2012)

Hi Folks..

Looking to see if anyone can help... My mother has moved to Ontario from Scotland (82) she is receiving a British pension and could anyone advise as to how she goes about getting DWP in UK to pay it to her Canadian account. 

.( I know she should've sorted it before coming...! She was advised to leave it as it was..?)

Anyway she wants to sort it properly... I tried emailing DWP to no avail ..yet.. 

I'm in Canada so I'm not calling them. Fed up hanging on the phone..! . The website doesn't seem to clarify anything.. Or am I not looking in the right place....

Any advice would be gratefully appreciated..

Thank you in advance,,,,,


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## Auld Yin (Mar 10, 2009)

Does your mother have a visa allowing her to live here? Without that she is ineligible for free healthcare in Canada. 
She'll need to write to UK Authorities advising them of her move and provide Canadian bank details for DirectDeposit or a Canadian address if she wants to receive a cheque. The last time I contacted them I think they were in Newcastle. 
Is she aware that her UK pension amount is locked at the amount being paid at date of her re-location?


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## floyd1965 (Aug 6, 2012)

Hi.. Thnx.. She is a Canadian citizen.. So no problems there... Suppose we will have to write again...!


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## OldPro (Feb 18, 2015)

I find your comment re not phoning ridiculous. Have you heard of Skype?

It is not difficult at all to phone and discuss it with someone at the Pension Office. 

Who advised her to leave it as it was? I suspect it was someone who realizes that once she transfers it to Canada, it will be frozen forevermore. No index linking will be done. Some people chose to maintain payment to a UK bank account and illegally report having a UK residence in order to maintain the index linking of the pension. 

Legally, she is required to report her change of address and can choose to report the income either in Canada or in the UK for the purposes of paying income tax in one country or the other. It is her choice in that regard.

If choosing to report the income for income tax purposes in Canada, she will have to get a letter from Revenue Canada to send to Inland Revenue stating that she will be reporting the income in Canada. That is required to get Inland Revenue to change her status to 'nil tax' so that they don't look to withhold tax from her pension.

It sounds like you don't really understand the ins and outs involved and definitely need to talk to someone about it. Doing it by letter will be an absolute nightmare. Make the phone calls, go through the hassle, there is no short cut or easy answer.


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## floyd1965 (Aug 6, 2012)

Hi Oldpro. Thank you. . 

In response to not phoning. I'm not hanging on a phone from Canada like has happened before.!, yes. I use Skype ...I did post this thread for assistance ...not criticism..!,

UK is seven hours ahead of me.. So there is a small window for me to call or Skype...!

She got bad advice... Clear to see ! I'm trying to see if anyone went thro this lately and can advise me of easiest procedure.... Because I don't know..! 

But feel free to try and belittle someone who doesn't understand the ins and outs ...!,,,, if this makes you feel better... 

This has now come to my attention and I just want it dealt with properly..

So. Thank you in advance for any advice that expedites this process.....


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## colchar (Oct 25, 2011)

OldPro said:


> I find your comment re not phoning ridiculous. Have you heard of Skype?



Not everyone uses Skype - and would a government office use it?.


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## OldPro (Feb 18, 2015)

Colchar, do you use Skype? You can call any phone in the world using Skype. The only difference is you pay to call a phone vs. a Skype to Skype call being free. 
Cheap International Calls | Skype

It costs something like 2 cents a minute to phone a landline using Skype. My wife recently had to call the British Pension Office to arrange the start of payment of her pension to her here in Canada. She made 4-5 calls to ask questions as she went through filling out the necessary application forms which she had downloaded online and printed out. Each time she called, she was not on hold for more than a couple of minutes. Each time she spoke with someone who was knowledgeable about getting payment made into her Canadian bank account. They were quite happy to walk her through the process step by step, question by question on the application. No real problems at all.

The answer to floyd's question of the 'easiest' way to get this done is in fact quite simple Colchar. The answer is PHONE.


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## colchar (Oct 25, 2011)

OldPro said:


> Colchar, do you use Skype?



No, I do not as I have no reason to.





> You can call any phone in the world using Skype.



Which doesn't change the fact that not everyone uses Skype so suggesting that the OP do so is rather silly.





> The answer to floyd's question of the 'easiest' way to get this done is in fact quite simple Colchar. The answer is PHONE.



If you had read the OP you would realize that he has done so and, as he said, he is "Fed up hanging on the phone..!".


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## GOFORTH (Apr 7, 2015)

Hello. I am new to the forum and for that reason do not want to post any links. I do know that it can be a complex issue for many reasons and circumstances. I suggest you just Google (UK pensions transfers to Canada- advisory) That should lead you on your way. I also suggest you get an advisory that specializes in such matters as they know (all) the in's and outs and may also get her more than she even expects in the long run and also combine those benefits with others that she may or may not access hear in Canada. Good luck to you and yours.


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