Guides
Money that crosses a border stops fitting either country's rules. These pages answer one question at a time, from the legislation and the agencies that administer it, with every source named and dated so you can check it yourself.
14 guides involve New Zealand. Guides covering more than one country appear under each.
Can I get a pension?
Can I get the Australian Age Pension as a New Zealander?
Usually yes, but not by the route most people assume. Under Australia's ordinary rules only a 'protected' Special Category visa holder counts as an Australian resident, and whether you are protected depends on where you were living back in February 2001. The Social Security Agreement between the two countries gets around that. For the purposes of the Agreement, every New Zealand citizen lawfully living in Australia on a Special Category visa counts as an Australian resident, protected or not, and can claim the Age Pension that way. You still need ten years of Australian residence, and your New Zealand years can be counted towards it.
Do my years in Australia count towards NZ Superannuation?
Yes, they can. New Zealand Superannuation normally asks you to have lived here for a set number of years, which depends on when you were born and now runs as high as twenty. The Social Security Agreement between New Zealand and Australia lets your Australian working age years be treated as New Zealand years for the purpose of qualifying. You need at least one year of working age residence in Australia, six months of it unbroken.
How does the Social Security Agreement between New Zealand and Australia work?
It lets each country count the years you spent living in the other, so that moving across the Tasman does not leave you short of the residence either country's pension requires. It covers NZ Superannuation, the Veteran's Pension and Supported Living Payment on the New Zealand side, and the Age Pension, the Disability Support Pension and Carer Payment on the Australian side. It also treats every New Zealand citizen lawfully living in Australia on a Special Category visa as an Australian resident for these payments. If you end up with payments from both countries, New Zealand counts the Australian one against your New Zealand payment.
How long do I need to have lived in New Zealand to get NZ Super?
Between ten and twenty years since you turned 20, depending on when you were born, and at least five of them since you turned 50. The requirement used to be ten years for everyone. It is rising by a year for every two years of birth dates, and reaches twenty for anyone born on or after 1 July 1977. You also need to be 65, a citizen, permanent resident or residence class visa holder, and ordinarily resident here when you apply. The years do not have to be in a row, but they only count when you were both living here and physically here.
Does one affect the other?
Does my Australian super affect my NZ Super?
Usually not directly, but there is no single published ruling that covers every fund, so it depends on yours. New Zealand Superannuation is only reduced by an overseas pension that comes from a programme run by or for a foreign government, and not by anything built from voluntary contributions. The Ministry of Social Development's own list of Australian payments it does not deduct includes several superannuation schemes. The Australian Age Pension is a different matter, and is deducted in full.
Does my NZ KiwiSaver affect the Australian Age Pension?
Yes, but only once you can actually get at the money. Australia does not count KiwiSaver as superannuation, because it is an overseas fund. That means it is not set aside and ignored until you reach Age Pension age, the way an Australian super balance would be. It is assessed as an ordinary managed investment from the day you can withdraw it, which is your 65th birthday. The Age Pension does not start until 67, so there are two years where your KiwiSaver counts against a payment and the same money in an Australian fund would not.
Does my NZ Super reduce my US Social Security?
Not any more. It used to. The Windfall Elimination Provision cut US Social Security for people who also drew a pension from work that never paid into the US system, and a foreign pension such as New Zealand Superannuation counted. The Social Security Fairness Act of 2023 repealed it, and the repeal reaches back to benefits payable from January 2024. Note the direction of travel though, because it only runs one way. New Zealand still reduces New Zealand Superannuation by the amount of a US Social Security payment.
Will my Australian Age Pension be deducted from my NZ Super?
Yes. If you live in New Zealand and receive an Australian Age Pension, New Zealand treats it as an overseas pension and reduces your New Zealand Superannuation by the amount of it, dollar for dollar. Two things soften that. Your own New Zealand Superannuation is not reduced because your husband, wife or partner receives an overseas pension, only because you do. And the deduction does not apply to New Zealand Superannuation that is being paid to you while you live overseas.
Moving money between countries
Can I transfer my Australian super to my NZ KiwiSaver?
Yes, once you have permanently moved to New Zealand, as long as your super is in an APRA regulated fund and both providers take part in the scheme. It has to be the whole balance, and New Zealand does not tax the transfer. Inside KiwiSaver the Australian money keeps some of its Australian character. You can take it out at 60 if you have retired, five years before the rest of your KiwiSaver unlocks, but it cannot go towards a first home or come out if you later emigrate somewhere else.
Can I transfer my KiwiSaver to an Australian super fund?
Yes, if you have permanently emigrated to Australia and both providers take part in the scheme, which is voluntary for them. It has to be the whole balance, it can only go into an APRA regulated fund and never a self managed one, and the transfer itself is not taxed. The catch people miss is that moving the money does not unlock it. Your New Zealand sourced savings stay locked until 65 even after they are sitting in an Australian fund.
How is my US 401(k) or IRA taxed if I move to New Zealand?
New Zealand taxes a foreign retirement scheme in two different ways depending on how you take the money. Regular pension or annuity payments are simply income and go in your tax return. A lump sum withdrawal or transfer is taxed under special rules, using either the schedule method or the formula method, which tax a portion of the lump sum rather than the whole thing. New arrivals get a four year window in which lump sums are exempt entirely, and that window is the single most valuable thing to understand before you touch the money.
When can I access my KiwiSaver if I live in Australia?
At 65, the same as if you had stayed. Moving to Australia does not let you cash out early, and this is where people get caught. Emigrating anywhere else in the world lets you withdraw your KiwiSaver a year after leaving. Emigrating to Australia does not. The KiwiSaver Act removes that option for Australia and replaces it with a transfer into an Australian complying superannuation fund, so your choice is to move the money across the Tasman or leave it where it is until you turn 65.
Paying in and taking out
At what age can I get my retirement money in New Zealand, Australia and the US?
In New Zealand, 65 for both KiwiSaver and NZ Superannuation. In Australia, super opens at your preservation age of 60 if you have retired, or at 65 even if you are still working, while the Age Pension starts at 67. In the United States, 401(k) and IRA money can come out without the extra 10% tax from 59 and a half, and Social Security can start at 62 at a reduced rate or in full at 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later. Money that has moved between New Zealand and Australia keeps the age of the country it came from.
Can I keep contributing to my US 401(k) or IRA while living in New Zealand?
For an IRA, it depends on how you treat your New Zealand wages on your US tax return. You can only contribute up to the amount of your taxable compensation, and the IRS says compensation does not include foreign earned income you exclude from income. Exclude all your New Zealand wages and there is nothing to contribute from; keep them in your taxable income and they count. A 401(k) is different again, because it is an employer's plan funded from that employer's payroll, so it turns on who you work for rather than where you live.