In today's Herald on Sunday...............
David Milner, a certified financial planner with Britannia Financial Services, answers questions on bringing UK pensions to New Zealand.

There is a photo with a caption.... NEW START: When grandparents emigrate from the UK to join families, pension portability can be an issue.

Q My wife and I arrived in New Zealand from Britain in December. I am a computer programmer in my 30s and my wife works in human resources. We have frozen our pension savings in the UK and will start new savings schemes here. Will we have to pay tax on our UK pension savings even though no money is going into them?
And if we start pension schemes here, will we have to pay tax on them in the UK?

A The United Kingdom operates an EET pension savings system which means the savings are made (up to certain levels) with tax concessions, gains made within the scheme are tax-free (although some equity elements within UK pension schemes do not receive a full free tax entitlement).
The pension or annuity paid at retirement age is taxable.
New Zealand operates a TTE system which is exactly the opposite. Contributions made to NZ schemes are made from tax-paid income, gains made within the schemes are taxed. The resultant end benefit is therefore tax paid.
If you have an interest in a UK pension scheme into which you paid more than $50,000 before you became a resident of New Zealand you will be caught under present FIF rules, and gains made by your UK fund should be declared after the expiry of the allowable exemption period of three years plus the remainder of the year in which you arrived in New Zealand.
You will not pay UK tax on your NZ pension schemes.