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When transferring your UK Pension to New Zealand, it’s important to understand both the benefits and potential risks. Read on for what to be aware of and our helpful list of FAQs.

Benefits

From Tax and Estate Planning confidence through to clarity on retirement savings, transferring your UK Pension can deliver numerous benefits, including:

Tax: Under current rules, if completed within four years from the first day you become a tax resident in New Zealand, you can transfer your UK Pension without any NZ tax obligations.

Estate Planning: Once your funds are transferred to a ROPS, you can have confidence that your Pension will remain in your Estate for your family and loved ones.

Investment oversight: Regain control of your retirement planning; you can manage the investment of your funds through your chosen ROPS, and even in combination with your KiwiSaver plans.

This is just a quick overview of some of the common benefits. Like to find out more and assess the benefits for your personal circumstances? Click here to request a free, personalised report from Pension Transfers.

Risks

Timing, tax obligations, and exchange rates: here are some of the common risks to be aware of when transferring your UK Pension to New Zealand.

Timing is crucial: Under current rules, you have four years from the day you become a NZ tax resident to transfer your UK Pension tax-free. After this four-year exemption period, the taxable income on the transfer can range between 4.76% and 100% of your pension value.

Currency exchange: A common mistake is to do the transfer and currency exchange in one step, losing control over when your funds convert from GBP to NZD. By managing this process in two or multiple steps (using Dollar Cost Averaging), you can choose to transfer your UK Pension to New Zealand in GBP, and wait until the exchange rate is favourable to convert to NZD.

While these are some of the more common risks to be aware of, individual risks vary depending on personal circumstances. It's important to get a comprehensive understanding of your UK Pension transfer options upfront. Like to get started? Request a free, personalised report from Pension Transfers here.

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FAQs

  • What exchange rate will I get?

    The ROPS use the bank currency conversion rate that applies on the day your transfer is processed.

  • When can I access my funds and what are the tax rules around access?

    Clients who transferred their UK Pension funds AFTER 6th April 2017

     

    Clients age 55 and over can access their funds - UK Tax Rules

    • 25% of the funds be available to withdraw immediately
    • The remaining 75% of the funds are available for withdrawal
    • However, if you access more than 25% of the funds, then any amount in excess of 25% will be subject to UK tax if you return to the UK within 10 years of leaving the UK

     

    Overseas Transfer Charge

    • If you leave New Zealand to live in another country (e.g. Australia) within 5 full consecutive tax years from the date of the transfer, an Overseas Transfer Charge of 25% of the original amount transferred is payable

     

    In Summary

    • If you remain in New Zealand, you may access all the funds
    • If you return to the UK within 10 years from when you left the UK, then you will have to pay UK tax on any amount taken above 25%
    • If you move to another country within 5 years from the date of the transfer, an Overseas Transfer Charge of 25% will apply

     

    The New Zealand ROPS must report to the HMRC if you make a withdrawal or transfer from the Scheme until you have been a Non UK Tax Resident for 10 full UK tax years and ten years from the date the transfer.

  • What are the Possible Tax Charges?

    It is essential that you have a good understanding of your tax obligations. The basic points are:

    • If you transfer your pension within the first four years that you become a New Zealand tax resident, you will not have a tax liability.
    • If you leave New Zealand within five years of transferring your pension funds, an Overseas Tax Charge (OTC) of 25% will be applied to your funds.

    The IRD Tax Increments Table (found here) shows that your tax liability will increase every year (after the first four ‘free’ years). The increases start at 4.76% in the first year and increase to 100% in year 26. If you are planning to transfer your pension, it’s best to do so within the first four years.

    Tax in the UK is based on contributions into a pension scheme are Exempt, growth on the scheme is Exempt, the pension is Taxable. This is referred to as EET.

    In New Zealand, it’s the reverse. Contributions are made from Taxed income, investment growth is Taxable, income in retirement is Exempt. This is referred to as TTE.

  • What other services can you provide?

    Our financial advisers have the skills and expertise needed to assist you with a wide range of financial planning services. Talk to us about KiwiSaver, insurance, investments, mortgages, or any other financial services needs you may have.

  • What happens if I move back to the UK, or go elsewhere?

    Once you have converted you pension into a QROPS, you have accepted a transfer value and moved to another scheme in another country. The deal has been done. If you decide to move back to the UK, your previous pension provider will regard you as a new client. You can set up a new scheme, but you cannot re-join the one you left.

  • What happens if I die?

    If you die while invested in a ROPS scheme the full value of your investment will be paid to your estate. If you’d like the funds to go directly to your spouse/partner, we recommend specifying this in your will to help speed up the process.

  • Can I access my money now?

    In most cases you can’t access your money until you’re at least 55. However, withdrawals before then are permitted in some limited special circumstances, such as if you suffer from a terminal illness.

  • Can I transfer my UK Pension into my KiwiSaver?

    Unfortunately not, none of the NZ KiwiSavers have ROPS Status.

  • Do I need to pay tax?

    Possibly, but generally speaking if you’ve been in New Zealand for less than four years you won’t need to.

  • What information do I need to provide?

    All we need are a few easily gathered personal details. Your National Insurance number, the name of your UK pension scheme(s), your last UK address, the date you left the UK, and your IRD number. Simple.

  • How long will it take?

    The time varies, generally taking anywhere from a few weeks up to six months. We are unable to guarantee times as each UK provider has different requirements.

  • Where, and how, do you invest my money?

    Your UK Pension Funds are placed into a Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme (ROPS) here in NZ.  Because we are independent, we have a range of ROPS that we can chose from.

  • What is a ROPS?

    A ROPS is a Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme. In New Zealand this is an HRMC approved Superannuation fund with strict rules around withdrawals that comply with the UK rules. UK pension legislation was changed on 6th April 2006 bringing in QROPS. This enables a member in a UK pension scheme to transfer to an overseas pension which is recognised by the HMRC.

  • What happens when I transfer my pension?

    Your money will be invested in a ROPS here in NZ.

  • How much will it cost me to transfer?

    This will depend on a of range factors, including what services you use and the type of UK Pension that you have. We’re more than happy to chat and let you know the different costs involved.

    Give us a call or fill out the free assessment form.

  • What happens if I can’t find my National Insurance number?

    You can access a form on the HMRC website via this link, https://www.gov.uk/lost-national-insurance-number. You will need to fill out the form and send it to them. It usually takes around six weeks to sort.

  • How do I find out what pensions I have?

    Find out by taking a quick look at this link, https://www.gov.uk/find-pension-contact-details.

    Alternatively, your former employer should be able to tell you.

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