Checked cables. The problem is always identical in the way it goes.
Faint and very fast flash of lock screen. The flash of the photo lengthening and the interval between gradually shortening until it finally stays on. Cable trouble is generally more random than that or can be made so by wiggling them about.
I’ve now cleaned the old driver out and done a clean instal from Intel’s driver site.
Mind you, I’m not averse to getting a nice IPS screen from one of the ex-corporate sellers - 24 pouces Dells for +/- €70. This screen is old enough I can find no trace of buying it in my AMZ/eBay/PayPal folders
Yes. I’ve got one in my ‘faves’ folder on eBay. I s’pose it would be too indulgent to pension off this one for a sprauncier model if this one has got over it’s nervy turn …
Down the dechet I was mildly appalled to see the contents of the ‘ecran’ bins. I s’pose there’s many a plasma screen being turfed out these days.
— Summary —
Here’s a summary of what I’ve gained from the forum … …
Thanks a billion - lots of great info here!
Visa – for Brits with French wives - there’s a link in thread.
Healthcare – PHI vs Opting into State System + Mutuelle – decision based on whether Social charges exceed PHI. Playing with cover/excess alters how much PHI costs.
Pension – 25% lump sum vs 6.75% on converting it all however need to split pension to keep under E250k
Supplementing income as French resident and retaining S1 – can work in UK and pay tax there but must declare income in France when a French resident.
Assurance vie – many choices of Euro fonds vs Stocks/Shares + Luxembourg/France/Eire + held in £/$/E + held in bank/Fintech (lower fees with Fintech) but there’s a protected limit so we’ll need many. Great for inheritance planning (not losing all of our money upon death to the tax man). Assurance vie like UK pensions ie choose a risk rating not actual investments.
Bank accounts – credit card/debit card/account itself can be free with Fintechs and an Irish bank.
Interest – if money is in £ then can get a higher interest rate eg Trading212 than in France (Euro equivalent accounts appear lower than UK accounts). Taxable in France.
Passive income – doesn’t jeopardise S1.
Medical/Dental treatment – if PHI then use cheap suppliers in Turkey, Spain, Hungary, Poland.
Spain is renowned for its dentistry.
Phone – landline + mobile – Bouygues offer incredible rates.
Taxe d/habitation/fonciere – dependent on house characteristics (avoid pools + bathroom(s))
TV – VPN allows access to sites requiring a UK IP for free
Cars – France rapidly becoming the centre of the affordable e-car (Dacia + Citroen latest offerings).
— Next stop ––
[1] Have to study a French tax form and work out how Social charges meld with standard tax ie whether they’re reported in the same place and then displayed in the same place on some type of annual Tax statement. Still struggling a little with the relationship between Social charges and standard Tax in terms of knowing how much to pay, paying and correcting when the wrong amounts are paid.
[2] Work out whether my local tax office in France will sign the required forms to allow the pension transfer (as described by George) from UK.
[3] Practicalities re: assurance vie – to follow the upcoming podcast with Cat/Dave
Just 1 final question (about to read: Tax ruling on taking 2 pension lump sums/7.5% tax rate)
– do you think slicing your private pension into eg 2 lots – one at Aviva, one at Scottish Widows and transferring 1 pot one year and then the next pot the next year would work to keep income low – such that the threshold you guys have just mentioned isn’t breached, would work.
That is (and this does sound a bit silly as I type it) – but can they insist that you can only perform this ‘basic’ transfer once.
I do struggle with the logic of tax and so that may be a really stupid question.
You submit your tax declaration in which you note all your worldwide income and bank a counts, assurance vie etc. You get back an avis which show how they have calculated your social charges. If you disagree then you dispute it with your tax office.
You’ve already been advised (see Larkswood12’s post around 192), that the limit for married couples is 500€k before you hit the higher charges etc.Unless your lump sum(s) will exceed this in a given tax year, it’s hard to understand your concerns about splitting pensions etc.
Hey! I think we might go above the limit of 500Ek … … that’s the reason.
We’re not sure yet but will definitely go over if we’re allowed to convert our DB pensions into DC pensions.
So - I’m thinking of splitting our uncrystallized pensions in half just to be sure ie popping half of my and my wife’s DC in Aviva into Scottish Widows before our 2 x DBs come in … … if they come in!
The PFA can refuse - but they charge (£5-10k) whether or not they agree.
Not a good system.
Please forgive me for offering some unsolicited advice. If I was in your shoes, and was considering making lump cross-border withdrawals of +/- 500€k from various UK pension schemes, having to navigate around potential French legislation that is in flux (eg the proposed minimum 20% tax charge on income above 500k), together with considering the CEHR, along with seeking to understand any social charges exposure, I would be seeking proper professional tax, pensions and social charges advice. Exchanges on forums are no substitutes for considered professional advice, based on a full assessment of the facts. In my view, you proceed entirely at your own risk if you don’t take appropriate advice. I assume you are also required to take UK independent financial advice on switching from DB to DC schemes.
George Soros famously said that there are 3 things in life that you should never economise on. Firstly always choose the most expensive open heart surgeon, not the cheapest, given the risks involved. Secondly choose the best quality parachute, not necessarily the cheapest, given the obvious risks involved. Thirdly always take the best, most expensive tax advice, since cutting corners and either not taking advice or going for a cheaper option could be very, very costly if it goes wrong.
The potential costs of proper French tax/social charges/pensions advice would probably be very modest indeed as compared to the sums, and potential downside liabilities involved in your proposed pension planning.
Great advice … … just struggling with knowing who to believe.
Every financial advisor I’ve talked to so far has had an ulterior motive.
The DB to DC legislation in the UK means that a PFA personally benefits from preventing the switch. And costs are incredible - they apply a minimum charge which is maybe the fair amount for £250k transfers - but on piddling transfers such as ours … … years of pension contributions to get what’s in effect a signature.
Luckily there’s an ‘Insistent client’ process - and I’m just now trying to work out if the PFA charges for this process and whether they can subsequently refuse it.
All in all - just a little too difficult to know who to trust apart from here - where nobody asks for money for advice.
I’ll give the pension splitting a go (phoned up SW yesterday and it’s free as long as the transfer amount is >£10k however Aviva allow a SIPP without precondition)
… … the prospect of CEHR + additional charge + Social charges at 9.1% (advice on the Internet suggests it may be payable but for the most part isn’t claimed) even on a pension are horrendous.
If the second pension transfer looks like it’s going to fail - then I’ll just sacrifice the 25% lump sum on it (which’ll be lost then as French residents) and get it however we can in order to convert it into Assurance Vie.
As all of the guys have said and for instance with this new 20% rule - things change so rapidly that correct advice today, may be out of date tomorrow.
Have to admit that a bit of me’s being pushed back into that original system we had in mind and that you used … … of taking the 25% lump sum whilst in the UK and then drawdown.
Firstly always choose the most expensive open heart surgeon, not the cheapest, given the risks involved. Secondly choose the best quality parachute, not necessarily the cheapest, given the obvious risks involved. Thirdly always take the best, most expensive tax advice, since cutting corners and either not taking advice or going for a cheaper option could be very, very costly if it goes wrong.
So I’d advocate a heart healthy diet, not jumping out a plane (though for some reason I did choose to back in '87 but was prevented from by inclement weather - beginners can’t jump out of a plane if the wind speed exceeds a certain level) … … … and to be so well informed through talking to people that we know exactly what we’re doing.
It does seem a bit complex, but having worked through this thread - in all honesty, it’s all just a bit annoying!
I prefer (I think) to talk to our actual tax office (in France) more so than a paid advisor because I believe that they’ve no vested interest and if there’s any chance that there’s scope in the system for subjective decisions to be made (this idea comes up regularly on threads in this forum - of each tax office intrepreting the rules, to some extent as they choose) - then having their ruling should be of greater worth than any paid financial advisor. I think??
Tried Blevins Franks but did not enjoy the experience.
Be aware that few of them have much experience in international matters. Many of us have regular hiccups that we have to fix.
There is an international division, but I don’t think they talk to punters just advise their fellow tax colleagues. They do talk to non-residents, so since that’ what you are right now you could try
Just because something is free doesn’t mean it’s not biased in some way.
I’ve seen many comments on many forums over the years that are posted in good faith but are incorrect, sometimes dangerously so (my own area of expertise is electricity so you can see why I say that). Often this is because rules, regulations & laws have changed since the time when the poster gained/needed that knowledge & they haven’t bothered or needed to access that knowledge since.
I am not suggesting that any advice given thus far on this thread is necessarily wrong, but no contributor here has to follow any professional guidelines, nor do they have to carry any form of insurance to make things right if their advice goes wrong.
Given the large (to me) sums that you are trying to manipulate in a tax efficient manner you really should focus your efforts on finding a professional adviser that you can trust.
I fear that the barrage of questions that you have been asking of the (at best) retired experts & (at worst) rank amateurs on this forum are no substitute for proper advice from someone whose current & regulated job is to give accurate financial advice.
@SBcamsci I would be most grateful for a recap of your financial situation to allow me to fully understand your needs. This will permit me to reach a considered opinion and advise you where best to access the holy grail you seek.
Read @Badger’s post above mine one more time - and then again a third time.
People on SF can only offer advice based on their experience - which may or may not be fully relevant to your situation.
And just because we don’t charge doesn’t mean we don’t have individual biases, are up to date with the latest rules or are not inadvertently incorrect in what we say.
Your situation is complicated and there is a lot of money at stake.
Pay a proper professional tax advisor and get the right advice for your situation.
