What are the benefits?

You may be able to access a large part of your pension now, or well before your UK retirement age, tax free, subject to UK tax regulations effective from 6 April 2006.  There are new UK regulations proposed for 6 April 2012 which may change this.

New Zealand's retirement options are more flexible than those in the UK, where legislation requires you to purchase an annuity at retirement age. By transferring your pension to New Zealand you no longer have to buy an annuity at retirement, and you can usually draw down your retirement income in any way you wish, by way of an initial lump sum and regular retirement payments.

Your Pension assets become yours to own and control now. You get to decide how your funds are invested and whether you wish to continue adding savings to it or not, and in the event of your death your pension will go to your estate.

You can consolidate all your pensions into one – this makes it a lot easier to keep track of your retirement savings, and it makes it a lot easier to control and manage your funds when they are with one New Zealand pension provider.

You no longer need to worry about your UK Pension Provider – who is it with, is it safe, funded adequately, investing your funds wisely, or merging with another provider? Your NZ Fund Provider is readily accessible by telephone and internet, and you also have a local New Zealand adviser as a point of contact.

UK Pensions are usually transferred with no tax deductions, provided they are transferred to a Qualified Registered Overseas Pension Scheme (QROPS), and New Zealand Personal Superannuation Pensions are paid tax-free.

Exchange rate issues won’t be a problem – your pension will already be in NZ dollars for you to enjoy in retirement. No need to worry about transaction charges and exchange rate fluctuations when your pension is payable.