The governments of Australia and New Zealand have signed an arrangement allowing Australians and New Zealanders to transfer their retirement savings when they move between the two countries, according to a government statement.
The arrangement will look to preserve the integrity of the retirement savings systems of both countries, the statement said.
“Under the scheme, Australians and New Zealanders will be able to transfer their superannuation benefits between certain Australian superannuation funds and New Zealand KiwiSaver schemes,” the government said.
In most cases, transfers will be subject to the rules of the host country but must be separately identifiable within the account established in the host country, to allow the application of certain source country rules.
The arrangement would mean individuals can move their retirement savings between a complying Australian super fund and a New Zealand KiwiSaver scheme, but Australian savings from an Australian untaxed source, or defined benefit scheme, cannot be transferred.
Funds or schemes will accept fund transfers on a voluntary basis.
New Zealand savings may only be moved into Australian Prudential Regulation Authority-regulated Australian funds, not self-managed super funds, and may not be on-transferred to a third country.
They also would not qualify for Australian release conditions, but must wait for the New Zealand qualification age of 65.
Australians transferring to KiwiSaver schemes can access the funds from the Australian release age of 60, but they may not withdraw funds to purchase a first home and also can not on-transfer them to a third country.
