# Moving to Australia, what to do with insurances, savings, investments



## pk63 (13 Jan 2010)

Hi, not sure if this is the correct forum but I think so, please move if not.
I’m moving to Australia with current global employer (under new contract) soon for minimum 2 years, maybe more. I’d like advice on what’s best to do with income protection cover, health cover, life cover, savings & investments I have. My salary there will be €53k & as long as I *don’t* buy property there only 60% of my salary will be taxed – if I buy property I’ll have to pay tax on it all - so I don’t envisage needing to bring a huge cash fund with me.
Age: 46
Spouse’s/Partner's age: 50

Annual gross income from employment or profession: €45,000
Annual gross income of spouse: €20,000

Type of employment: employed by consultancy 

In general are you: (b) saving

Rough estimate of value of home   €200k
Amount outstanding on your mortgage: Nil

Other borrowings – Nil

Do you pay off your full credit card balance each month? Yes

Savings and investments: 
about €50k in various deposits (Halifax flexi saver; Irish Nationwide regular saver; First Active e-saver/regular saver; Rabo)
about £40k on deposit with Alliance & Leicester in UK (not sure of legality of that account because I no longer live in UK)

Do you have a pension scheme? 1) 10% of income into Canada Life 100% equity prsa for last 2 years, plus AVCs (total about €8,900); 2) on-hold pension & AVCs in investment company employee’s staff fund (about €10k).
spouse has: 1) on-hold prsa (about €4k); 2) and pension bond (? a lump sum from previous employment’s pension) with Equitable Life – about €7k now.

Do you own any investment or other property? no property. 
about £50k investments in various UK funds via Edward Jones investment advisors. not sure how they’re doing because my original advisor has left the company.  

Ages of children: none

Life insurance: about €175k dual whole of life policy (Acorn Life) with 50% critical illness (premium €65 pm, level); 
Friends First Income Protection Plan – Individual since March 2008, guaranteed premium €235 pm (level), 13 week deferred period – payout €379 pw. 
Vivas health insurance


*What specific question do you have or what issues are of concern to you? *
1) euro cash deposits:  I’m thinking of consolidating most of this into one high-earning deposit account which I could dip into if I came here on hols, or for emergency – I don’t mind paying a little penalty for withdrawing out of allowed times. Any suggestions? Was thinking of An Post but if I’m not tax resident in Ireland I wouldn’t be subject to DIRT anyhow, right? Can you hold ordinary deposit accounts & not pay DIRT if you’re not liable to Irish tax?  What do you do about an address when you’re abroad – get a trusted sibling to look after it?
2) sterling cash deposit: like I said above I’m afraid that I maybe shouldn’t have this account so would like to legalise the situation. Any suggestions for sterling accounts to be held by non-residents? I’ve seen Anglo Irish Bank, Isle of Man recommended before, any others?  
3) Offhand does anyone know whether it’s better exchange rate for me to change sterling to Aus dollars, or euro to Aus dollars if I need to dip into emergency funds?
4) pension: what, if anything, should I do with those pensions on hold & prsas? I’ve been told by one financial advisor that management fees on on-hold pensions continue to eat into the fund – is there any way around that? Would I be better to consolidate them into one fund for me & one for spouse (damn that Equitable Life fund!)?  Should I move my current prsa into employer’s pension fund in Australia? Legally, employer in Aus must make pension contribution worth 9% of my salary. Should I aim to match that monthly?
5) sterling investments: I was told by original advisor that I must have a UK address to hold these – why is that? Surely people often move after buying investments. I’d like to update to an Australian address, or even Irish address, is that wise? I haven’t had an update on their progress for > 1 year, so probably should contact Edward Jones, huh?
6) life insurance: we hardly need dual life cover (two pay-outs) since we’ve no kids, but I doubt we’d get a better price on a joint life policy – true? Is this policy likely to be valid if I’m living in Australia, or should I abandon it & start a new one over there?
7) income protection: again, will this policy cover me if I’m in Australia (the blurb seems to indicate not long-term)? Should I try to put it on hold, or am I better to close it and start a new one in Australia, and another new one if I move back to Ireland/Europe?
8) health insurance: I’m obliged to buy health insurance in Australia as part of work contract; can I put health insurance here on hold until I return (maybe more than 2 years)? If not, will insurance companies here recognize Australian health insurance cover when considering pre-existing illnesses & waiting periods if I want  to get insured here again?
Woah, there really are lots of things to consider financially! I’d appreciate any help you can give, thanks.


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## ccraig (14 Jan 2010)

Health cover
Your vhi cover should cover you for at least your initial few weeks on the ground until you find a more suitable policy. You can also book 1 year policies.

Exchange rates: 
transferring from euro to aud or gbp to aud, no difference in expense. You just need to know how accessible these accounts are should you need to access funds.  The biggest issue is the transfer fee and exchange rate and you can call your bank as a test case now to find out how much aud your euro would buy you, call another bank and call transfermate to see who is cheapest.


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