Photo: RNZ
Send your questions to susan.edmunds@rnz.co.nz
I now live in Australia, but come back twice a year to visit family. I'm not at pension age but am not far off. I moved to Australia when I was 55. Am I eligible for the NZ pension?
General manager of international, disability and generational policy at the Ministry of Social Development Harry Fenton says New Zealand has an agreement with Australia to share responsibility for social security coverage.
This means you are able to add together your periods of residence in either country to meet the criteria for the pension.
But if you are ordinarily resident you will come under the Australian Age Pension eligibility rules, including that it is not paid until at least age 67.
"There are two steps in the process. First, you need to contact Centrelink in Australia and apply for an Australian Age Pension," Fenton said.
"Second, Centrelink will then send the New Zealand application forms which you return to Centrelink to be sent to the Ministry of Social Development in New Zealand. Based on the information that is received from Centrelink about your entitlement to an Australian Age Pension, the Ministry of Social Development will work out if NZ Super can be paid, and if so, how much."
The Work and Income website notes that if your application for the Australian Age Pension is declined because of income or assets "we'll most likely decline your NZ payment application".
If there is another reason, it may still be approved.
I have a question regarding the length of time you can be overseas while on pension. The Ministry of Social Development told you that the 30 weeks people can be away for was not cumulative in any one year. But Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) says it can be. Which is right?
Fenton says the advice from CAB is not accurate.
When you come back to New Zealand, you can travel again for up to six months.
The key is that you have to be considered ordinarily resident here. So if you made a habit of coming back for a short time every six months, the heading away again, you might strike trouble.
"Whether a person is considered ordinarily resident in New Zealand is assessed on a case-by-case basis," Fenton said.
"Factors taken into account will include their intention towards New Zealand, the length of time they spend in New Zealand, and whether they have a home, bank accounts and other assets in New Zealand.
You can find a definition of "ordinarily resident" here.
Dad is now living in a secure dementia home. Mum is still living in their home which is owned outright. As long as that is the case Dad's care is fully subsidised as his other assets are under the threshold. Our question relates to Mum's next steps. The house is old and not worth trying to fix up and the property is a large half acre town section. She is considering options including subdivision and new small dwellings, potentially partnering with an elder sister who is at the stage of needing to sell farm and move to something smaller in town. We are wondering financially what might be the best way to approach this, so as to minimise the amount Mum would "lose" re: Dad's share then needing to pay for his care. E.g. the GV is about $800,000, if she sold it straight to her sister who has more finance available to complete subdivision and building, Mum would only have $400,000 towards buying one if the new dwellings which isn't much (if that how it works with the means test for Dad's care). Perhaps structuring any deal differently could help?
Thomas Biss, a director at law firm Henderson Reeves, looked at this and says he thinks you'll need to get some specific advice for your situation.
"The way the means test works is that if a couple owns a house together they can own that and get the subsidy. However, if you were to sell the property and divide the proceeds (ie both husband and wife get half the proceeds) then the husband will then have $400,000 and be over the asset threshold. I am not sure how that works with the subsidy - as it may be that once you qualify for care they do not re-test. But that needs to be checked.
"An alternative would be to jointly purchase the new property. There may be reasons not to purchase together, but equally it may be the right decision and will give the wife the benefit of the full sale price."
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