New Zealand pension.

[easygoin]

Hi. I am hoping to find someone who has retired here from NZ, or who has knowledge of this, and can advise. I am seeing conflicting information online concerning the age pension, the only type which I will be receiving. At a glance I read that you can take your NZ age pension and live anywhere, but looking further into it, it says you can leave NZ for no longer than 26 weeks or pension will stop. I am a few years away yet from the required age and fulfill all the requirements, just cant seem to find any solid info concerning this. If the 26 weeks is correct are there any loopholes?

Thank you.

 

[gomangosteen]

Hi - the 26 week restriction is for a NZ resident receiving superannuation who is traveling/holidaying out of the country - as per this diagram from Work and Income; if you intend to reside overseas NZ superannuation is transferable I'll provide info below

 

"If you get New Zealand Superannuation or Veteran's Pension, you can go anywhere in the world and you may still be able to take up to 100 per cent of your gross payment with you. What you'll get depends on where you go to and how long you've resided in New Zealand."

 

My example, if you choose to live/reside in Thailand and wish to receive NZ Super

You must have resided in New Zealand for a minimum of ten years after the age of 20, and five years between the ages of 50 and 65.

The amount you receive is based on a calculation of how long you have lived in New Zealand between the ages of 20 and 65 - that is 540 months.

540 months = full entitlement

For every month residing (not holidaying) out of the country the superannuation payment would reduce by 1/540th

For example if you had lived in Thailand for 10 years, that is 120 months, you would receive 420/540th of full entitlement - that is 78%

 

More info here

Hope this helps. The most common confusion/ myth is around that 26 weeks which only applies to NZ residents, not if you're moving permamently

[xylophone]

4 minutes ago, gomangosteen said:

Hi - the 26 week restriction is for a NZ resident receiving superannuation who is traveling/holidaying out of the country - as per this diagram from Work and Income; if you intend to reside overseas NZ superannuation is transferable I'll provide info below

 

"If you get New Zealand Superannuation or Veteran's Pension, you can go anywhere in the world and you may still be able to take up to 100 per cent of your gross payment with you. What you'll get depends on where you go to and how long you've resided in New Zealand."

 

My example, if you choose to live/reside in Thailand and wish to receive NZ Super

You must have resided in New Zealand for a minimum of ten years after the age of 20, and five years between the ages of 50 and 65.

The amount you receive is based on a calculation of how long you have lived in New Zealand between the ages of 20 and 65 - that is 540 months.

540 months = full entitlement

For every month residing (not holidaying) out of the country the superannuation payment would reduce by 1/540th

For example if you had lived in Thailand for 10 years, that is 120 months, you would receive 420/540th of full entitlement - that is 78%

 

More info here

Hope this helps. The most common confusion/ myth is around that 26 weeks which only applies to NZ residents, not if you're moving permamently

Excellent, well done @gomangosteen

[easygoin]

3 hours ago, xylophone said:

Excellent, well done @gomangosteen

 

3 hours ago, xylophone said:

Excellent, well done @gomangosteen

 

4 hours ago, gomangosteen said:

Hi - the 26 week restriction is for a NZ resident receiving superannuation who is traveling/holidaying out of the country - as per this diagram from Work and Income; if you intend to reside overseas NZ superannuation is transferable I'll provide info below

 

"If you get New Zealand Superannuation or Veteran's Pension, you can go anywhere in the world and you may still be able to take up to 100 per cent of your gross payment with you. What you'll get depends on where you go to and how long you've resided in New Zealand."

 

My example, if you choose to live/reside in Thailand and wish to receive NZ Super

You must have resided in New Zealand for a minimum of ten years after the age of 20, and five years between the ages of 50 and 65.

The amount you receive is based on a calculation of how long you have lived in New Zealand between the ages of 20 and 65 - that is 540 months.

540 months = full entitlement

For every month residing (not holidaying) out of the country the superannuation payment would reduce by 1/540th

For example if you had lived in Thailand for 10 years, that is 120 months, you would receive 420/540th of full entitlement - that is 78%

 

More info here

Hope this helps. The most common confusion/ myth is around that 26 weeks which only applies to NZ residents, not if you're moving permamently

Thank you.

[easygoin]

Thank you for the information. Looking at the site you directed me to I see that being married considerably lessens the amount of pension you receive. Am in the process of getting married in Thailand right now, may have to rethink. Any thoughts?

[Dante99]

57 minutes ago, easygoin said:

Am in the process of getting married in Thailand right now, may have to rethink. Any thoughts?

You may have a civil ceremony, typical Thai, and not register your marriage with the Thai government so technically you are not married but your wife and her family are satisfied that you are.

[easygoin]

Was doing it mainly for the marriage visa but now thinking best to stick with retirement and save any future problems.

Cheers.

[Patong2]

All the info above is accurate and the process is not difficult.

 

Just a word of caution, have a friend who converted from a retirement visa to a married visa last year and the extra paperwork, photos etc has annoyed him so much he is converting back to an ordinary retirement visa next application. He has been married and lived with his lovely wife for 15 years plus, so very stable relationship.

 

 

[12lem1]

Enjoyed reading all the above. I'm Kiwi currently on the NZ/AUS agreement and living in Australia.  When I lived in Chiang Mai I received 472/540 proportional rate of portable NZ Super and NZ paid me the rate of living with someone which is less than the living alone rate. I questioned them and they said they always pay the lower rate.  Just after some advice. Thanks 

[thaibeachlovers]

On 6/26/2023 at 10:26 PM, gomangosteen said:

Hi - the 26 week restriction is for a NZ resident receiving superannuation who is traveling/holidaying out of the country - as per this diagram from Work and Income; if you intend to reside overseas NZ superannuation is transferable I'll provide info below

 

"If you get New Zealand Superannuation or Veteran's Pension, you can go anywhere in the world and you may still be able to take up to 100 per cent of your gross payment with you. What you'll get depends on where you go to and how long you've resided in New Zealand."

 

My example, if you choose to live/reside in Thailand and wish to receive NZ Super

You must have resided in New Zealand for a minimum of ten years after the age of 20, and five years between the ages of 50 and 65.

The amount you receive is based on a calculation of how long you have lived in New Zealand between the ages of 20 and 65 - that is 540 months.

540 months = full entitlement

For every month residing (not holidaying) out of the country the superannuation payment would reduce by 1/540th

For example if you had lived in Thailand for 10 years, that is 120 months, you would receive 420/540th of full entitlement - that is 78%

 

More info here

Hope this helps. The most common confusion/ myth is around that 26 weeks which only applies to NZ residents, not if you're moving permamently

I knew all that, but was refused to take the pension to Thailand because of a very unusual situation. The OP needs to discuss with someone at WINZ that deals with such situations. I might still be living in LOS had I known the full situation and taken steps to qualify.

He may be able to do so by e mail.

 

BTW, on my third application to stay overseas for 26 weeks I was told that if I kept doing so my pension would be cancelled. They make it up as much as Thai immigration does.

[thaibeachlovers]

On 9/9/2023 at 4:44 PM, 12lem1 said:

Enjoyed reading all the above. I'm Kiwi currently on the NZ/AUS agreement and living in Australia.  When I lived in Chiang Mai I received 472/540 proportional rate of portable NZ Super and NZ paid me the rate of living with someone which is less than the living alone rate. I questioned them and they said they always pay the lower rate.  Just after some advice. Thanks 

Yes that's right. They give you less overseas than if living in NZ.

[thaibeachlovers]

On 6/27/2023 at 1:26 PM, Dante99 said:

You may have a civil ceremony, typical Thai, and not register your marriage with the Thai government so technically you are not married but your wife and her family are satisfied that you are.

You are talking about a village wedding.

If doing so to get higher rate of pension, never let on you are in a relationship or you'll be penalised for not telling them. They will probably be suspicious of anyone spending 26 weeks of every year in LOS.

[thaibeachlovers]

On 6/27/2023 at 12:27 PM, easygoin said:

Thank you for the information. Looking at the site you directed me to I see that being married considerably lessens the amount of pension you receive. Am in the process of getting married in Thailand right now, may have to rethink. Any thoughts?

Yes, you will lose money if married.

[thaibeachlovers]

On 6/26/2023 at 10:26 PM, gomangosteen said:

You must have resided in New Zealand for a minimum of ten years after the age of 20, and five years between the ages of 50 and 65.

I think that is just to get the pension in NZ. There may be other rules depending on individual circumstances, I qualified for the pension only when in NZ. Had I left for more than 26 weeks I would have got nothing.