AndyWatson1970

Hi all, Not sure if this is the right forum, but I will give it a go. What happens to your state pension once you move to New Zealand, what forms aere required for you to complete. I have already started by informing my HMPS pension and Army Pension. Regards Andy

Kotare

Assuming you are getting the State pension you should be able to switch to NZ super (by giving up your UK state pension). I think you will find the NZ pension is marginally better and you regain annual increases which you lose on the uk one.

If not in receipt yet claim the nz pension as normal (using uk residence towards it).

Other govt pensions no change

Peter

AndyWatson1970

Hi Peter,
We don't get our pensions for some time, but we are starting to do our domestics now and as you can imagine that pensions are a major contributor when we move over.

Regards

Andy and Keryn

Kotare

Andy

You obviously need to register for tax in NZ, and deregister in UK. In my previous incarnation in NZ managed to get my Army pension paid tax free in UK, not sure if that is still possible (no real sweat just a pain doing the NZ tax return if not).

As I said you will get a NZ state pension at the normal nz age as there is a bilateral agreement with uk.

Peter

AndyWatson1970

Thanks for this, this is something that we would never of thought of doing.

Andy

Hazelnut

It's definitely worth speaking to a pensions adviser in NZ and reading the threads on here. We did that when we were on our fact finding trip and found out we would be better off as pensioners in NZ than in the UK.

One big difference is you can retire earlier in NZ (at the moment) than in the UK. My pension age advances on a regular basis in the UK to the extent I now think I'll never reach it. The number of years you have to contribute for to receive a full pension has also jumped from 30 to 35 in the UK

You can move your UK pension contributions over to NZ into the government scheme there.

Kotare

Yes but don't pay a 'pensionis advisor' if you are talking ' State Pension'. We made an appointment with the local Pensions Office by e-mail, went in the following week with the form and supporting docs, was phoned the next day to say it was approved and our first (partial pzyments) were in our account within a few weeks. .

How slick ks that :-)

LittleGreyCat

Retiring to New Zealand: what you need to know - Telegraph

This turned up via Google and seems to be relevant to the thread (as well as to broader issues).

The main message on pensions is that "It is complicated".

Kotare

You are confusing two different things. Old age pension (State pension/NZ super) which is this thread is absolutely straight forward and easy. If you want to transfer pension(s) from private schemes then yes it can be complicated eg on the tax front and you may need sn advisor.

Petet

Reylan

Not really thought about this before but this thread prompted the question. If you take the NZ Super and have your UK State Pension paid to the NZ government and bump along nicely like that....then, for some unexpected reason, have to move back to the UK, can you reverse the process and take the UK State Pension back with the yearly % increases?

Kotare

I would guess you would get your uk pension back without any indexation, but indexation would restart.
In reverse, by then at a guess you would be entitled to a nz pension in your own right (depending on your background). Could you retain your (better) NZ pension with nz indexation :-)

LittleGreyCat

My thoughts were along the same lines.
As I won't be working in NZ I wouldn't be entitled to any extra benefits from NZ (if that is what you meant).
My reading so far suggests you have to work in NZ for 10 years before you are entitled to any Super.
So one big question is can you move UK State Pension to Super then back to UKSP?

Did you mean that you might be able to transfer to NZ Super, have this indexed for a few years, then transfer the enhance pension back to the UK?
This assumes that if you transfer your UK State Pension to NZ then there is indexation.
Quite possibly NZ wouldn't want to fund the indexation, and the UK wouldn't either.

Another one is - if a woman is entitled to NZ Super at 65 but to UKSP at 66 can the pension be transferred to NZ then drawn from 65?

Hazelnut

The advice I had is a little old now but being able to retire at 65 in NZ, instead of 68 if I stay in UK, is one of the attractions for me.

Kotare

You have me confused now :-)

As I understand it, your uk residence counts towards your nz residence (contributions don't come into it). They then treat you as though you had been a kiwi throughout (pension at 65 and annual nz indexation).
My hypothetical query was if you then moved back to uk, once you were drawing a nz pension, could you continue to draw the nz pension incl nz indxation (which would seem a little too good to be true).

It isn't going to happen in my case so no need to research.

Reylan

Just found this on the CAB website....might clarify things a bit...



Will I still receive my Super if I go to another country to live?

If you're receiving a New Zealand Superannuation and want to live in another country, you may still be able to receive all or part of your NZ Superannuation (or Veteran's Pension). It will depend on where you plan to move to and how long you have lived in New Zealand. You will need to contact the Senior Services International team before you leave.

Moving to a country with whom New Zealand has a Social Security Agreement
New Zealand has social security agreements with several countries, which allow New Zealanders to receive certain benefits or pensions while living there, and also allow their residents to receive similar benefits while moving to New Zealand.

There are different rules about how you'll receive your pension while residing in these countries. Generally you can apply to receive a pension in these countries only if you plan to be away from New Zealand for more than 26 weeks.

If you are planning to reside in any of the following countries, click on the corresponding link for the appropriate information:

Australia - you’ll receive your NZ Superannuation payments for up to 26 weeks after you leave New Zealand. Within this period you can apply for the Australian Age Pension.
Canada, Denmark, Greece , Republic of Ireland , Jersey and Guernsey, The Netherlands - you may be able to continue receiving your NZ Superannuation and other income support, based on how long you’ve lived in New Zealand since the age of 20 years.
United Kingdom (UK) - you can’t be paid any New Zealand benefits or pensions - they’ll be stopped the day after you leave New Zealand. However you may qualify for UK benefits or pensions, and you can apply for these once you are in the UK.