UK Pensions to New Zealand

Do you have money in a UK pension scheme that you would like to bring to New Zealand?

"Our pension transfer service is free. It is outrageous that so many people moving here or coming back from the UK are getting ripped off simply to have their money transferred from one scheme to another - what kind of welcome to NZ is that?"  - Gareth Morgan.

If you want to move your UK pension to New Zealand, we can handle it for you. Unlike some in the business, we don't charge you anything to arrange UK pension transfers.

Too good to be true? The money will be invested in your Gareth Morgan KiwiSaver Scheme or GMI Superannuation Scheme* member account, which we charge a fee for managing and administering. We think arranging the transfer of your UK pension funds is part of administering your savings. A commission on top of that would be double charging and we don't do that. 

Join up with Gareth Morgan Investments. You can start the process right away by filling out this  authority to transfer form. Or read on if you want more details about the process and rules:

What are the advantages and disadvantages?

Advantages:

  • Your UK pension funds will be available to you as a lump sum when you become eligible to withdraw them.*
  • If you die before withdrawing your funds, your entire account balance will be paid to your estate. 
  • Greater access to information about how your money is performing and where your money is invested, without the hassle of dealing with an overseas company.
  • Regular contributions can be made to your transferred pension funds.
  • Consolidation of your UK and NZ retirement savings.
  • You can better manage your risk tolerance - for example if you are nearing retirement and need a more conservative approach to investing, you can easily stipulate that you would like a conservative investment direction.

Disadvantages:

  • You can only transfer your UK pension to a NZ scheme that has QROPS (Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme) status. You will then be subject to any lock in provisions set by the scheme, even if under UK pension rules you may have been able to access the funds earlier. The Gareth Morgan KiwiSaver Scheme and the GMI Superannuation Scheme have QROPS status.*
  • You lose any guarantees that are built into your UK pension such as minimum pensions, spouse or dependants pensions, or inflation linked increases. 
  • Once you have transferred your pension funds to NZ you cannot transfer your funds back to the UK.
  • HM Customs and Revenue may impose additional taxes on your UK pension funds (of up to 55% of the transfer value) if you return to live in the UK after transferring your pension to NZ; transfer your funds to a scheme that doesn't have QROPS status, or withdraw your UK pension funds from your scheme early.1
     

What is the process for transferring a UK pension?

Just follow these steps. The process generally takes around three months to complete.

  • Complete an authority to transfer form, giving us details about the pension scheme you wish to transfer. If you are not already a member, you will also need to join one of our QROPS  schemes - either the Gareth Morgan KiwiSaver Scheme or the GMI Superannuation Scheme.*
  • We will contact your UK pension scheme provider for you and request the appropriate transfer forms and a current transfer value quote, and send these to you to complete.
  • You may want to seek specialist advice about whether to proceed with the transfer based on the transfer quote provided.
  • Once you have returned the completed transfer forms to us, we will complete our part and send these back to the UK pension provider along with proof of our QROPS status. 
  • Your UK pension provider will pay the transfer payment as a lump sum in Great British Pounds (GBP) directly to one of our schemes, which will be converted to NZ dollars when it is received. As a Portfolio Investment Entity (PIE), our schemes are unable to hold your UK pension funds as GBP.


What is the cost to transfer?

We won't charge you anything to transfer. 

Your UK pension funds will be deposited to your Gareth Morgan KiwiSaver Scheme or GMI Superannuation Scheme* account and invested. We charge one fee for administering and managing members' savings in that Scheme; we don't charge any commissions or extra fees on top of that.2

Although we won't charge you a fee to transfer, we can't guarantee that your UK pension provider won't.
 

What happens to the money?

Your UK pension funds will be deposited in the scheme you choose, and you can choose how you want it to be invested. You can choose a Conservative, Balanced or Growth investment direction, or a combination of these, in either the Gareth Morgan KiwiSaver Scheme or the GMI Superannuation Scheme.*

Your UK pension funds will be locked in until you become eligible to withdraw from the scheme. At that time you will be able to make lump sum or regular withdrawals, or withdraw the full amount. Under current legislation, there is no further tax payable on withdrawal.

The implications of transferring UK pension funds to the Schemes are based on our understanding of UK pension rules at 14 June 2011. Future changes to those rules could subsequently adversely affect the treatments of UK pension funds transfers to the Schemes and payment from the Schemes. 
 

 

1Subject to Trustee approval

2Full details of fees, expenses, costs and charges payable to members of the Scheme are available in the Investment Statement for the Scheme. 

*From 6 April 2012, the rules around having QROPS status for non-KiwiSaver schemes will change. We are amending the Scheme rules for the GMI Superannuation Scheme to ensure we comply. Until those amendments are finalised, we will not be accepting UK Pension transfers.