Readers’ forum: Application of the term ‘reckonable service’

I am trying to decide the best way to deal with a lump sum from an Australian superannuation scheme.

My client worked in Australia for nine years (1992 to 2001) and was a contributor to a state authority superannuation scheme (SASS) in New South Wales (she was a non-resident in the UK for this period). She resigned in 2001 and returned to the UK and became UK resident. Now aged 60 she is entitled to withdraw a lump sum tax free in Australia but taxable in the UK.

From what we can ascertain from HMRC and other online sources it would seem there is a possibility of foreign service relief on the portion of the lump sum that has grown over the years prior to 6 April 2017. It is the calculations I am having problems with – in particular the definition of ‘reckonable service’.

Since...