UK Pension Transfer Service

MAKING A HOME IN NEW ZEALAND WITH YOUR UK PENSION

New Zealand offers a safe and beautiful country and an appealing recreational lifestyle to all who choose to immigrate here. Often the questions is asked “how do I make the transition financially from the UK and still have access and control of my money on the other side of the world?”.

Having developed a positive savings behaviour in the UK, immigrants to New Zealand often have a major head start on Kiwis with a retirement platform already established. Comparatively New Zealand has now had the KiwiSaver superannuation platform for 10 years and so Kiwis are now slowly changing their saving habits. The realisation that retirement savings can accumulate from disciplined savings in well-structured funds is a hallmark of the financial knowledge and discipline that we see from UK immigrants.

None the less, UK Pension transfers and transfer of finances in general from the UK can be a fraught with hazards to the unwary and uniformed. Google ‘UK Pensions’ and under this subject you will find everything from outright scams to informative New Zealand websites giving you in depth information on the correct process to follow, tax implications and costs. Within New Zealand there are a number of UK pension transfer providers but the question is how do I know which one is right for me as they all offer slightly different things and sometimes what you need is only offered by one provider? For example, which provider allows me to have a New Zealand growth investment fund but allows me to keep it in Sterling Pounds while the exchange rate is poor. The answer is found by choosing an Adviser who can work across all the providers.

It’s fair to say most advice around UK Pensions is of a transactional nature and although the questions will be asked about your pension scheme type and if transferring is the best option for you, very seldom do we see this combined with a full financial plan and full financial advice. Without full financial advice, the outcome of transferring or delaying a UK transfer can potentially have significant financial consequences.

A primary benefit of incorporating your UK pension transfer requirements into a full financial plan is the advice can become independent of any one UK pension transfer provider. In New Zealand an Authorised Financial Adviser (AFA) has a fiduciary duty to put you first and understand your personal circumstances, helping match your goals and personal situation to the UK pension transfer provider best suited to serve your needs. This puts you in a good space to get a positive outcome, customised to your needs.

Our approach at RMA Financial is to help you answer the question if transferring funds from the UK is right for you and if so, match you with the UK pension transfer provider best suited to your individual needs. If a transfer is agreed, we assist with the transaction, covering those questions of tax obligations and fees incurred.

Overall, we believe you will better off by making your UK Pension or cash transfer part of a full financial plan which looks at your future goals, current plans and provides a sophisticated probability analysis as to whether your UK Pension as part of your financial plan should be transferred to NZ or allowed to run it’s course in the UK.

To speak to one of our Authorised Financial Advisers, email Roger and Dave at ukpension@rmafinancial.co.nz