What to expect when moving to Canada

What the UK government didn't tell me (that would have been useful for someone approaching retirement) is that once you start drawing your UK state Pension in Canada, you do not receive the annual increase, in fact your UK state pension is frozen for ever. There is at least one case here, and I am sure there are many more, where, over a twenty year period you could receive £25,000 less than if you had retired and stayed in the UK.

There are a number of lobby groups that are petitioning the UK government, sayoing how unfair and immoral this is. I joined the Canadian Alliance of British Pensioners (www.britishpensions.com). If you are in a similar position to me, I would recommend you do the same. The other thing I would recommend is to divest yourself of all UK assets, and extricate yourself from the UK tax system, otherwise you could still be liable for Capital Gains Tax or Inheritance Tax.

Other than that, life in Canada is wonderful! I have been here 9 years, and I now have dual citizenship.

Best wishes

Nigel