UK expats and returning Kiwis advised to transfer personal pensions before Brexit

Posted on February 26, 2018October 1, 2018 by simon

British expats and Kiwis who’ve left their personal pension back in the UK are being advised to transfer it before Brexit kicks in.   The advice is aimed not just at UK expats already living in New Zealand, but also to those planning to emigrate in the near future.  ...Read More

Advisers scamming NZ and OZ based UK pension holders

Posted on February 22, 2018June 14, 2019 by simon

For years the New Zealand regulator has been building a strong regulatory regime to protect people from bad advice and worse investments. One of the first principles in this protection is a ban on cold calls selling financial services.   A second principle is giving a fair and balanced view...Read More

Huge pension fund deficits are a global crisis in waiting

Posted on February 20, 2018October 1, 2018 by simon

Ania Zalewska, University of Bath In the past decade, the banking industry has been a central focus of attention for regulators, academics and the general public. The 2007-08 financial crisis led to new regulations and institutions to keep things in check.   In contrast, the issues of the pension industry...Read More

Now harder than ever to transfer a UK pension

Posted on February 9, 2018October 1, 2018 by simon

It's never been harder to transfer a UK pension to New Zealand. Over the last three years UK government agencies have put up consistent barriers to stop the outflows of UK pensions to overseas schemes (QROPS). Some barriers have been direct, like the shutting down of pension transfers out of...Read More

UK final salary transfer values falling

Posted on July 9, 2017October 1, 2018 by simon

U.K. pension deficits fell to the lowest level since the end of 2015, dropping 10 percent in June as yields on government bonds rebounded. The gap between the assets and obligations of U.K. defined-benefit pension plans dropped to June 30, 2017, according to the latest PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP’s Skyval Index. The...Read More

The Evolution of New Zealand QROPS

Posted on June 8, 2017October 3, 2018 by simon

Having been involved in pension transfers since 1999 we have seen it all. What started out as a cottage industry helping New Zealanders and British expats that had moved to New Zealand get their pensions into the same the country that they lived in has grown into something bigger and...Read More

UK budget: Overseas transfer charge

Posted on June 5, 2017October 1, 2018 by simon

On the 9 March 2017, the UK Budget introduced with immediate effect an "Overseas Transfer Charge" (OTC) which is a 25% tax charge on transfers to QROPS from UK registered pension schemes unless: The member is tax-resident in the same jurisdiction as the receiving QROPS. So a transfer from a...Read More

Brexit is leading to “eye-watering” UK final salary scheme transfer values driving more transfers – but for how much longer

Posted on January 5, 2017October 1, 2018 by simon

For decades people in the UK have been told that final salary (or defined benefits) pensions are ‘gold plated’ and the perception has been established that defined benefit pensions should never be transferred. This has always been the opinion of the Financial Conduct Authority of the UK and of course...Read More

Foreign currency fees in New Zealand schemes

Posted on December 12, 2016October 1, 2018 by simon

Most New Zealand QROPS superannuation schemes are in the business of passing on benefits to their members. This extends to foreign exchange rates. Many have negotiated really good deals with banks and get exchange rates a little bit above a wholesale rate. These rates are almost always better than money...Read More

New FMCA rules reduce number of NZ QROPS

Posted on December 1, 2016October 1, 2018 by simon

On 1 December 2016 the number of New Zealand QROPS reduced dramatically, at that date there were only seven schemes that were open to new members and therefore capable of being QROPS. On the same date there were 31 New Zealand schemes showing on the ROPS list kept by the...Read More