Turned 65 years
 

Hi all
I am turning 65 in March and have Been in NZ now for the past 3 years and qualified for residency under the Parent Category, I do not qualify for my UK State Pension until I am 66. Does any one know if I am eligible for anything in NZ upon reaching 65 or do I only get what I am allowed from the UK Pension when I reach 66, or can any one put me in touch to ask this to.

Michael

Re: Turned 65 years
 

Hi,
Great news - you will qualify for a full NZ state pension, called NZ Superannuation. You should visit the Work & Income website and follow the instructions. Its best to start early as there might be additional information you need to supply.
Notes:
- It is assumed that you previously lived in the UK for an appropriate amount of time. Therefore you qualify for a NZ Superannuation payment under the Reciprocal Agreement
- You can only collect one state pension (ie you can not collect a NZ pension at age 65 and then at age 66 also collect a UK state pension)
- The NZ Government will be paid your UK state pension, but pay you a full NZ Superannuation amount. This offsets the NZ Govt costs.

Hope that helps.

Re: Turned 65 years
 

Hi
Many thanks for responding so quickly. I looked online as suggested, it looks very daunting to me. would you know if I got in touch with work and income someone would be able to run through it with me and help fill in the relevant forms etc.

Re: Turned 65 years
 

It’s actually very easy. We are in our 70's and came here whilst receiving our UK pension, which we then had to bring over from time to time, the ER varying and sometimes causing us quite a theoretical (and actual!) loss.

You need to make an appointment with a local Work and Pensions office, who I’m sure you will find are extremely helpful - the Auckland one certainly was. Our case officer was really surprised that we had taken over 18 months to contact them! She filled in the information on her PC and that same evening (it was a Monday) we received our first payment! (Wouldn’t get that in the UK!!) For a short time we received both UK and NZ Super but, quite naturally, once NZ Super had the figures and agreement from UK pensions we had a fortnightly deduction for the overpayment. You can pay that as a lump sum if you wish.

The other thing about NZ Super is that you get the annual uplift, a winter fuel allowance and a Gold discount card! Your UK pension gets frozen at the rate you either first get it whilst in NZ, or at the rate it was when you left the UK, which is what happened to us.

Re: Turned 65 years
 

Sorry it has been a while for me to reply to your kind advice, Could you tell me when claiming the NZ Super what was the difference in the payment as by my working out NZ Super is a lot lower than my UK would be.

Kind regards

Michael

Re: Turned 65 years
 

For a person turning 65 in 2020, the full State Pension in the UK is £175.20, this works out as $18,676 per year in NZD and is before tax (i've used an exchange rate of 2.05). The NZ Superannuation Amount is $19,358 per year before tax. (I've used the rate that applies to only one person qualifying and partner is not included in payments, ie $744.54 per fortnight). If you are single, the amount will be higher. If you include your partner in the payments, the amount will be lower. You can read about this on the Work & Income website.

Tax is deducted automatically from a NZ Super payment. If you decide to collect the UK state pension instead, you will need to complete a NZ tax return each year and pay the appropriate tax. If you decided to collect the UK state pension, the amounts will be locked in and will not increase after your first payment, i.e no inflation increases.

There is excellent information on the UK state pension including how to obtain an estimate of your UK state pension amount: go to Citizens Advice UK,

Best wishes (and happy birthday!)

Re: Turned 65 years
 

I logged on to see what UK Pension i would receive and according to that I would get £177.28 and as part of my Pension was opted out I would get a further £27.78 so would be £205.06 a week less tax at 11.89% I presume, My NZ is $720.84 a fortnight or ($632.54 after tax). as I would not qualify for UK Pension until I am 66. As I started claiming the NZ Super now does that mean that is the one I am on for good now.

Could you help me on this, Since being in NZ which will be 4 years in August this year my wife has been receiving 2 private pensions should she have been paying tax on the amounts,Also I am also able to claim a private pension which would be a lump sum and a monthly payment would tax be on that. I presume the monthly amount would go onto the NZ Pension amount.

Kind Regards

Michael

Re: Turned 65 years
 

If you are receiving $632.50 then that is the Couples rate for when you are both over the age of 65, meaning you are both receiving this amount. Is that correct? Also $632.50 after tax is the 2019 rate, there has been a 3% increase from 1st of April 2020 now $652.04 after tax per fortnight. Now that you are on the NZ Super, that is the one you will remain on. You will also benefit from any NZ Superannuation increases which usually occur in April each year.

Regarding tax, you will need to consult with an accountant to determine any liabilities, but in general yes, all worldwide income is required to be declared to the NZ IRD. It might be worth checking to see if she qualifies for the four year tax free Transitional Resident tax exemption. If she is paying tax in the UK, then she should be able to claim that tax back.

Private Pensions are separate to State pensions and have no effect on State Pensions, providing you are both over the age of 65. A private pension is paid independently and yes you will need to declare lump sums and income payments to the NZ IRD (but check that Transitional Tax exemption).

Re: Turned 65 years
 

It is only me claiming NZ Super as my wife is not 65, So she does not get UK Pension just 2 private pensions. I get $632.54 every fortnight, Also a Gold card.

Who do we see regarding this Transitional Resident tax, and paying tax on pension monthly payments,no tax is being paid in UK as far as i am aware. Bit worried now maybe going to have a big tax bill. Would the lump some of money we moved over here be taxed on as well.Is there any one to see to sort this all out for us.

Re: Turned 65 years
 

Try Mike Williams of Taxbridge. He is an expat with a wealth of experience in these matters. Highly recommended.

https://taxbridge.co.nz

Re: Turned 65 years
 

Many thanks for all your help and advice

Kind regards

Michael