Why bring your Aussie Super to New Zealand?
Potential for lower fees
You are probably paying at least two sets of fees. Consolidating your super with one KiwiSaver provider could reduce the total cost. It is also possible that you might have more than one super account in Australia if you changed jobs when you were there.
Visibility
Having all your retirement savings in one place makes it easier to keep track of your savings and what is happening with it.
Certainty
If you are planning to retire in New Zealand, you probably want to know what your nest egg is worth in New Zealand dollars.
Important to know:
- Once you have transferred your superannuation savings to New Zealand you cannot reverse the decision unless you decide to permanently move back to Australia.
- You can only transfer Australian funds back into KiwiSaver in your name.
- You cannot access any Australian funds transferred to New Zealand until age 60 and you satisfy the Australian definition of retirement at that age.
- Transferred Australian funds cannot be used to assist with the purchase of a first home, nor can they be transferred to another country.
- There is no tax to pay on the transferred balance prior to it being invested in your KiwiSaver account, however, once it is invested the balance will be subject to New Zealand tax just like your current KiwiSaver earnings are. Investments in New Zealand are taxed differently to those in Australia. Australia generally has a flat rate of 15% on earnings from superannuation schemes. New Zealand's tax rate can range from 10.5% to 28% depending on your own Prescribed Investor Rate (PIR). However, Australia taxes capital gains in superannuation schemes on equities whereas New Zealand currently does not tax capital gains on New Zealand equities and most Australian equities. International shares are usually taxed as if they earned 5% per annum. If you require further information, we recommend that you seek independent advice on taxation from an expert.
- There may be other benefits specific to your Australian super scheme which are not provided by KiwiSaver Schemes. If you are unsure of the impact of transferring to the Generate KiwiSaver Scheme we suggest you seek personalised financial advice.
Not sure where your Aussie Super is?
It is estimated there is over $5 billion of Kiwis' money sitting ‘lost’ in Aussie Super with the Australia Tax Office (ATO). Aussie Super providers transfer inactive accounts to the ATO when:
- The balance is less than $6000, and;
- There haven’t been any contributions for at least 12 months.
If your Aussie Super has been transferred to the ATO, it's still possible to transfer the money to your KiwiSaver account, but the process is slightly different.
Click here to learn more about Aussie Super transfers from the ATO.
If you're not sure where your Aussie Super is, contact the Australian Tax Office (ATO) here.
If you are considering whether to transfer funds from your Australian Superannuation Fund into any KiwiSaver scheme in New Zealand, you should have a look at the ATO's published
information on their website. If you have any questions, email us or call 0800 855 322 and we can assist you to bring your Aussie Super to New Zealand.
PLEASE NOTE:
- When the rollover is processed by the Australian providers, most will send the funds by foreign AUD cheque via post to Generate.
- Cheques/drafts drawn on overseas banks and received for deposit into Foreign Currency Deposit accounts in the bank are subject to a hold period of 21 business days. According to the bank, this period may also vary from time to time. Once Generate has received the cheque in the post, it is expected that these funds will be cleared and allocated into your KiwiSaver in 4-5 weeks. During this hold period there is no interest accrued on the funds and the NZD value is subject to the wholesale exchange rate at the time of clearance.
- The processing time for Australian transfer and clearance of cheques is unfortunately out of Generate's control. We can assure you that we will be allocating these funds into your KiwiSaver account as soon as the cheque is cleared. You will be informed by email once we receive the cheque, and again once the funds are cleared and allocated into your KiwiSaver account.