UK Pension- Tax Q

I'm still confused about what happens if I start a UK pension with my employer here in the UK.

I add additional contributions to it now while i'm in the UK, and I leave the UK in a few years to move back to the US....never to live here again.  (let's say)

What happens to that money for the 35 years i'm back in the states......i know it can stay invested in my UK pension plan......BUT what happens when it's time to take out a withdrawl or use the ££ to buy a pension and i'm living in the states?  Would that money be taxed as foreign income?  At the tax rate we'll be at when we retire?

Essentially i'm debating on adding more ££ to it every month, as i can't contribute to my 401K back in the states while i'm here.......will i be sure of getting that money? (unless my investments go down?)

I've not had my coffee and i'm not entirely sure i'm making sense here!

My dad gets a pension from the UK government and his old UK employer every month.  There was a minimum amount of time he had to work for his UK employer to get his company pension.  He gets it direct debited to his US checking account every month.  The income is taxable by the IRS.

He was also contributing to his UK pension after he moved to the US until the age of 65, so you can do the same thing if you want to when you move back.

bvamin

but is he a UK citizen bvamin?

If that's the case, that's great.  I know i have to be here 2 years to get anything from the company and that's fine at the moment.  i'd just hate to take a bit out of my paycheck and never ever see it.

nope, my dad is a US citizen and when he was working in the UK, he was an Indian citizen.

bvamin

thanks!!!!!!!  that's interesting to know....now off to send my forms into HR!

My dad gets a pension from the UK government and his old UK employer every month.  There was a minimum amount of time he had to work for his UK employer to get his company pension.  He gets it direct debited to his US checking account every month.  The income is taxable by the IRS.

Intersting that it is taxable by the IRS.  I would have guessed that had he stayed in the UK to retirement age and took the money out that he wouldn't have been taxed by the UK gov't, or is that a bad assumption?  You'd think there'd be a tax treaty.  I'm not too hot on pension tax law, so I could be way off base.
Matt

Intersting that it is taxable by the IRS.  I would have guessed that had he stayed in the UK to retirement age and took the money out that he wouldn't have been taxed by the UK gov't, or is that a bad assumption?  You'd think there'd be a tax treaty.  I'm not too hot on pension tax law, so I could be way off base.
Matt

There is a tax treaty.  If my dad had stayed in the UK till retirement age, he would have been taxed by the UK as he would have been over the threshold.  Since he didn't, and left much earlier than retirement age, he didn't pass that threshold, so he is not taxed by the UK, but as he is a US citizen, he has to report it to the IRS.

bvamin