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.
5 guides involve the United States. Guides covering more than one country appear under each.
Does one affect the other?
Does my Australian super affect my US Social Security?
No, not for any benefit payable from January 2024 onwards. The rule that used to cut US Social Security for people with a pension from work outside the US system, the Windfall Elimination Provision, was repealed by the Social Security Fairness Act, signed on 5 January 2025 and reaching back to benefits payable from January 2024. Separately, the US and Australia have a social security agreement, but superannuation is not one of the Australian benefits it covers. What it can do is help you qualify for a US benefit using time in Australia, once you have at least six US quarters of coverage.
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 The Social Security Fairness Act of 2023 repealed it, and the repeal reaches back to benefits payable from January 2024.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.
Moving money between countries
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.