UK Pension Transfer to NZ – 4 Year Rule applies to end of Financial Year

If you arrived in New Zealand in the 2021 Financial year (April 2020-Mar 2021) and you haven't moved your pension to New Zealand, you might be surprised to know that you have until 31st March 2025 to complete the pension transfer tax free.

This is because the 4 year rule works on financial years if we use one of the available tax methods called the schedule method. We don't need to calculate tax by looking at precisely 4 years from the day you became a tax resident in New Zealand.

If you have gone a bit beyond 4 years, there is a good chance that it is still in your interest to transfer your pension, albeit with some tax to pay but the comment above applies that you want to get it done by 31 March 2025 to avoid the tax from increasing.

Bottom line, you can save tax on pension transfer if you can complete it by 31 March, and be aware this would mean that you need to move paperwork quickly if it turns out it is in your interest to transfer your pension.

This does not apply to Australian Super, and for US you would need to speak to a specialist US tax advisor.