A recent question sent into Mary Holm a columnist for the New Zealand Herald. Her response sets out clear guidelines for New Zealanders who have lived in Australia — or in any other country — and apply for New Zealand Super. Q: I am 60, my wife is 63. We are lucky enough to both be retired and living off moderate incomes and savings. My wife worked for eight years in her native Aussie before we married. We have lived in New Zealand since then and raised a family. She has worked over all those years in New Zealand. She hasnt become a New Zealander. We have heard that when she applies for New Zealand Super at 65 to prepare ourselves for a huge paper war. We understand that this paper war will also be an annual event? Hence we are starting now! Do you have any information on what we can expect and what we could do to make this process straightforward and less complicated? A: Your wifes situation is no different from that of all those New Zealanders who have lived in Australia — or in any other country — and apply for New Zealand Super. Under the Social Security Act, anyone who gets a benefit or pension has to take reasonable steps to apply for any overseas pension administered by or on behalf of the government of that country that they may be entitled to receive, says a Ministry of Social Development spokesperson. If they do receive that benefit or pension, thats deducted from the amount the New Zealand Government pays them, so they are no better off. But New Zealand taxpayers are. For former Australian residents, its also possible to accept the Special Banking Option, whereby your Australian pension is effectively paid directly to the New Zealand Government and you receive the full rate of New Zealand Super. The system seems reasonable to me. Why should someone who has lived in more than one country end up with more total government pensions than someone who has lived in just one country? For those who have worked in Australia: The ministry does screen applications to determine whether a person is asked to apply for the Australian Age Pension, says the spokesperson. People who are able to demonstrate that their time in Australia does not meet the Australian resident criteria will most likely not be required to test their entitlement. Furthermore, When we send the Australian Age Pension application pack to those people who meet the residency and work duration criteria, we invite them to check their income and assets against the level allowed by the Australian Government. This is information available on the CentreLink website. This is because the Australian Age Pension, unlike New Zealand Super, is paid only to those on lower incomes and with relatively few assets. If the applicant thinks they will exceed the income and asset level, they are invited to come and discuss their circumstances with us. If there is evidence that they exceed the income and asset level we will defer the requirement to apply for an Australian Pension by 12 months, if the income threshold is exceeded, or 24 months, if the asset threshold is exceeded. A longer deferral is given for assets because these are less likely to change. Heres where your annual event comes in. At the end of the deferral period, we will write to the client and ask them to demonstrate that their income or assets continue to exceed the Australian threshold, says the spokesperson. If there has not been any significant change, the deferral will be renewed. If, however, the client now meets Australian income/asset criteria they will be asked to complete an application for the Australian Age Pension. Thats when the fun can begin. The current application form for the Australian Age Pension — which assesses the financial situation of you and your partner — is 27 pages. However, says the spokesperson: Often applicants are not required to answer all parts of the application, particularly if New Zealand Superannuation is their only source of income. What can you do now about it? Firstly, relax. Yes there is a bit to get organised but it doesnt have to be a war, and planning ahead helps makes things run a whole lot smoother, says the spokesperson. In the event that they need to complete the necessary application forms, they will need to know the approximate dates for arrival in and departure from Australia, and also have up-to-date financial information. He adds: The ministry is always happy to help. You can freephone on 0800 552 002 , Monday to Friday 8am-5pm or email us at [email protected]. My tuppence worth: it seems the New Zealand Government does try to avoid making people apply for the Aussie pension unnecessarily. And if you do have to apply, it cant be all that bad. Easy for me to say? Not really. Ive lived not only in Australia but also England and the US. - Mary Holm,The NZ Herald
Posted on: Sun, 13 Jul 2014 04:48:26 +0000
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