Retire US to UK

nun- my wife got a small pension when she went through a divorce. I went in with her before we left the UK to talk to the Standard Life guy that was in charge of her account. I was a bit shocked to find that she could NOT take her money out if she wanted. The most she could do is to remove up to 25% when she hits 60. I can't remember what the expenses are (but they weren't good), but in my effort to change things.....I was shot down. Seems like I read something recently that the costs of UK mutual funds were coming down......no idea where I read that.

I would caution anyone NOT to have US funds (like a pension or social security) automatically sent to a UK bank. That UK bank - any retail bank - will exchange the dollars for pounds at ridiculously low rates. And there are often exorbitant rates for the transfer, receipt, exchange, etc of the funds. There are better ways of accessing your dollars - credit cards, currency dealers, etc. Since these are long term payments, it's worth it to research your options.
If you are a UK resident and have a US pension sent to your US bank, the way you let HMRC know about is that you're obliged to file a UK tax return every year. You declare 90% of your US/foreign pensions including social security (they give you a 10% break since they don't recognize a basis in the pension in the event that there is one)

Yes if it's anything like my MA state pension it will be free of state tax. Of course if you stay resident in NY you will have to pay NY state tax on the rest of your income, so make sure you understand your situation. Having addresses, bank accounts, close relatives etc somewhere do not help in you in becoming non-resident. I don't know the NY rules, but some states are a lot more difficult than others when it comes to letting you out of state taxes.

Yes, the pension is free of NY state tax & I do know about paying NY tax on other income  I see no way around for me not having addresses/bank accounts, etc... in the US, especially the close relatives! 

I would caution anyone NOT to have US funds (like a pension or social security) automatically sent to a UK bank. That UK bank - any retail bank - will exchange the dollars for pounds at ridiculously low rates. And there are often exorbitant rates for the transfer, receipt, exchange, etc of the funds. There are better ways of accessing your dollars - credit cards, currency dealers, etc. Since these are long term payments, it's worth it to research your options.
If you are a UK resident and have a US pension sent to your US bank, the way you let HMRC know about is that you're obliged to file a UK tax return every year. You declare 90% of your US/foreign pensions including social security (they give you a 10% break since they don't recognize a basis in the pension in the event that there is one)

That is another reason why I like having my $$$ in a US bank! There are so many different ways to get access to your money nowadays, it doesn't necessarily have to be in a bank in the same country as you.
Also, since I will be on a spouse visa for the next 5 years & I have zilch credit in the UK, there is no point in me keeping my pension in a UK bank, I am not going to be qualifying for a car loan, mortgage or even a credit card at any time in the near future either in the UK. I will just transfer the money from the US to a UK bank as needed.
There is also a possibility that I might be applying  for a mortgage in the US in the next couple of years, I also have my son's US college to pay for, so it just makes sense for me to keep it in the US.
Marty, thanks for explaining how to notify HMRC too! 

Marty - Social security direct deposit goes into UK banks in a special arrangement, and the exchange rate is NOT a tourist rate and incurs no fees; we get the going bank rate on the day of the deposit, which is the best rate you can get. It's simple to set up with SSA - all done through the FBU at the US Embassy in London.

Also remember that when filing the SA you have to convert USD to GBP - saves the math because whatever you get each month in GBP is a definitive number - no playing around with average rates, or looking up the bank rate on the day. Made filing my SA a piece of cake this year.

thanks that's really interesting. there are several different bank rates but i'll call the SSA to find out more. Not that the office here ever mentioned it.

Marty - As an example, the Fx rate applied to our SS deposits for this month (03/09/2013) was $1.5523/£; my husband's $989 = a £637.11 deposit; xe.com shows a 'mid-market rate" for that day of $1.5544/£.

Also, our SS for the prior month is deposited a few days ahead of the US - on the 3rd, or before if the 3rd falls on a holiday. That's another minor benefit.

It was a simple matter to set up, and since we live on our SS and DH's miniscule UK state pension, I wouldn't have it any other way. We do have accounts in the US, but everything has our UK address.

Vadio -
you're absolutely right! this is the very best exchange rate you'll ever get. It's the rate from the New York Fed. Your monthly payment is exchanged at the prevailing rate on the day your monthly payment is made. And the SSA pays for the wire fees, etc.