Pension transfer FAQs

All we need are a few easily gathered personal details. Your National Insurance number, the name of your UK pension scheme(s), your last UK address, the date you left the UK, and your IRD number. Simple.

Find out by taking a quick look at this link, https://www.gov.uk/find-pension-contact-details.

Alternatively, your former employer should be able to tell you.

You can access a form on the HMRC website via this link, https://www.gov.uk/lost-national-insurance-number.

You will need to fill out the form and send it to them. It usually takes around six weeks to sort.

Our management and staff have been transferring UK pensions for over twenty years, making us New Zealand’s most experienced and trusted provider, so we have a wealth of knowledge to help make the process painless, simple and efficient.

There are a few key things to look for when choosing a pension transfer expert. We believe it’s most important to consider how long they’ve been providing transfers, how experienced their staff are, and to look at what existing clients have to say about them.

This will depend on a of range factors, including what services you use. We’re more than happy to chat and let you know the different costs involved.

Give us a call or fill out the free assessment form.

Your money will be invested in the Britannia Retirement Scheme and you can continue planning your retirement with NZBritannia.

The Britannia Retirement Scheme is a superannuation scheme designed to help investors save for retirement. The scheme has five investment options and can receive money transferred from UK pension funds.

The Britannia Retirement Scheme has four investment options - Cash Enhanced, Moderate, Balanced, and Growth Fund. The risks, benefits and investment strategy differ for each. Details for each fund are summarised on page 3 of the Product Disclosure Statement. Alternatively, give us a call and we’ll help find out what’s right for you.

The time varies, generally taking anywhere from a few weeks up to six months. We are unable to guarantee times as each UK provider has different requirements.

There are always risks and benefits to consider, and it’s important you understand them before making a decision. We’ve compiled a list of the risks and benefits to help you decide if a pension transfer is right for you, take a look at it here. Section 4 of the Product Disclosure Statement for the Britannia Retirement Scheme also breaks down the risks of investing, and you can visit the Disclose Register for more detailed information about the scheme. Of course, our financial advisers are also happy to talk you through these in more detail.

The scheme only owns investment assets and doesn’t borrow money or incur liabilities beyond what’s needed for its day to day operations. Effectively, this means that although the value of your savings in the scheme may rise or decline in value, there is almost no possibility of the scheme being unable to repay you the value of your member account when payment is required to be made.

We use the bank currency conversion rate that applies on the day your transfer is processed.

Possibly, but generally speaking if you’ve been in New Zealand for less than four years you won’t need to.

Not unless you’re at least 55, although the IRD currently has this under review. Call us for more detail.

In some cases you may have to pay inheritance tax. We can refer you to a tax specialist for further clarification.

Unfortunately not, as the Britannia Retirement Scheme is not a KiwiSaver fund.

In most cases you can’t access your money until you’re at least 55*. However, withdrawals before then are permitted in some limited special circumstances, such as if you suffer from a terminal illness.

*From 6 April 2028 the minimum age at which benefits can be taken will change from 55 to 57 for all individuals who are not aged at least 55 on that date.

You can. While there are always good reasons to bring your pension over, in some cases it may be better to leave it in the UK. We can look into this for you and advise on options.

If you die while invested in the scheme the full value of your investment will be paid to your estate. If you’d like the funds to go directly to your spouse/partner, we recommend specifying this in your Will to help speed up the process. Give us a call if you need help setting up your Will.

You can request to transfer your investment to another qualifying superannuation scheme in the future if the transfer is permitted by the scheme’s Governing Document. This includes transfers back to UK pension schemes.

There are a range of options to suit different circumstances. You can start receiving regular payments, receive a lump sum, a combination of both, or continue investing. Talk to us about what’s best for you.

Our Financial Advisers have the skills and expertise needed to assist you with a wide range of financial planning services. Talk to us about retirement planning, insurance, investments, KiwiSaver, mortgages, estate planning, or any other financial services needs you may have.