Everything you need to know about moving to NZ

You can only transfer your UK pensions once you have permanently emigrated from the UK. Some UK pension providers will insist upon you having NZ residency before they will allow the transfer to proceed. 

You may have read that when Brits emigrate to Australia, they only have 6 months to complete their pension transfer in order to get the best tax savings. There is no such time limit when you transfer pension funds to New Zealand, so you can take your time to investigate your options and make the best decision for you.

Please note that once your pension is transferred to New Zealand, you cannot transfer it back to a UK pension fund. If you enter this investment before you have been outside the UK for 5 complete tax years, then return to live in the UK before you have been outside the UK for 5 years, you will need to leave your pension in a QROPS pension fund until you reach retirement age or be liable for a hefty UK tax charge.

Keen to get started?

We recommend that you do not apply to your pension administrator for transfer values and paperwork for benefits you hold in UK company schemes until you arrive in New Zealand. In most cases they will only be valid for 3 months, so could almost be out of date before you arrive. Many UK pension schemes will not provide a second transfer value until a further year has passed, and they are likely to charge you a fee of around £300.

You can however request the transfer value and paperwork to transfer to an overseas scheme for benefits you hold in Personal Pensions, Stakeholder Pensions and pensions used for contracting out of SERPS before you arrive in New Zealand if you would like to, or we are happy to help you do this once you have arrived.

Besides residence in New Zealand, the general conditions for pension transfers are:

• Many pensions can be transferred once drawdown has commenced, but not once an annuity has been purchased.

• The transfer payment must be made direct to the receiving scheme in New Zealand, which must be a Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme (QROPS).

• Controlling directors of UK companies and high earners may need to apply to the UK Inland Revenue for permission to transfer their pension funds.

• If your pension fund is worth more than ₤1.5 million, you may need to apply for protected rights. Please contact us for more information if this is the case.

Read on to find out more about how long pension transfers take from start to finish, and what the process entails.