If you’re a New Zealand permanent resident or citizen who worked in Australia at any time in the last 20 years, you may have unclaimed super money (USM) held by the Australian Tax Office (ATO).
The Australian Tax Office currently holds billions of dollars from inactive superannuation accounts. Aussie Super providers transfer inactive accounts to the ATO when:
- The balance is less than AUD6000, and;
- There haven’t been any contributions for at least 16 months
The good news is that if you have an Aussie Super account that fits this description, there's a simple process to transfer the funds from the ATO to your KiwiSaver account. The benefit of this is that the funds can be invested with your KiwiSaver funds and they'll be easy to access when you retire.
Is your account with the ATO or your previous Aussie Super provider?
ATO:
If your Aussie Super account is considered inactive, it will likely have been transferred to the ATO. An Aussie Super account will be deemed inactive if the balance is less than AUD6000 and there haven't been any contributions for at least 16 months.
Aussie Super provider:
If you have an Aussie Super account with a balance higher than AUD6000, or you have contributed to your account within the last 16 months, then your account will likely still be invested with your Aussie Super provider.
You can transfer funds from an Aussie Super provider to your KiwiSaver account, but the process is different. You'll need to fill out a specific form depending on who your Aussie provider is. You can contact your Aussie provider directly to get the paperwork or contact Generate to help (as long as you know the provider name).
To find out how to transfer money from an Aussie Super provider to New Zealand, click here.
Why transfer inactive Aussie Super to your KiwiSaver account?
If your Aussie Super account has been transferred to the ATO by your previous Aussie Super provider, then it is not currently invested – so you are missing out on potential returns!
Even with a balance that’s less than AUD6000, the magic of ‘compounding returns‘ can make investing these funds alongside your KiwiSaver account very worthwhile by the time you reach retirement and are ready to withdraw your funds^.
Millions of unclaimed super money never gets withdrawn from the ATO, often because the rightful owner has forgotten about the funds or considers the process to access them too hard or not worth the trouble. Don’t let this be you! This new process is easy, and the sooner you transfer your funds – the sooner you can potentially start benefiting from time in the market.
That’s the most important reason to transfer your Aussie money into your KiwiSaver fund, but there are a couple of others too – visibility and certainty.
Having all your retirement savings in one place makes it easier to keep track of your savings and what is happening with it. And if you are planning to retire in New Zealand, you probably want to know what your nest egg is worth in New Zealand dollars.
^Money transferred from an Australian Super Account to a KiwiSaver account cannot be withdrawn as part of a first-home withdrawal. It can be accessed when you reach retirement, or earlier in cases of significant financial hardship or serious illness.
How to transfer your inactive Aussie Super to your KiwiSaver account?
Transferring ATO-held Aussie Super:
Generate is a participating provider in a new Australian Tax Office to Inland Revenue process which makes it easier for our members to track down their unclaimed super money sitting with the ATO and transfer it to their KiwiSaver account.
The new process is as simple as completing an 'Application for transfer of ATO-held USM to New Zealand' form and posting it to the Australian Tax Office. That’s it!
To make it even easier, we’ve filled out the details about Generate on the form for you.
One form. One envelope. And your part is done!
From there, we’ll work directly with the Australian Tax Office to confirm how much unclaimed super you have, and when it can be transferred to your KiwiSaver account - and we’ll keep you informed on the progress!
Transferring funds from your Aussie Super provider:
For Aussie Super accounts with a balance over $6000, or where there have been contributions within the last 16 months, you'll need to fill in a different form. If so, you'll need to fill out a specific form depending on who your Aussie provider is. You can contact your Aussie provider directly to get the paperwork or contact Generate to help (as long as you know the provider name). See the details here.
If you’re not sure whether your Aussie Super account is with your provider or has been transferred to the ATO – contact the ATO.
Ready to transfer your inactive Aussie Super from the ATO to your KiwiSaver account?
It’s easy to get the ball rolling. Find the application form on the webpage below:
‘Application for transfer of ATO-held USM to New Zealand’
To make it easy for you, we have pre-filled the details about the Generate KiwiSaver scheme under Section C. All you need to add in this section is your Generate KiwiSaver member number.
If you already are using a blank form that you downloaded from the ATO, here are the details to fill in under Section C:
Name of KiwiSaver scheme: Generate Investment Management Limited
New Zealand business number of the scheme: 9429030374034
KiwiSaver scheme name: Generate KiwiSaver Scheme
KiwiSaver scheme number: SCH10791
KiwiSaver scheme membership number: This can be found in your Generate Online Account
If you need any help filling out this form, give us a call on 0800 855 322 and we’d be happy to help.
Once the form has been completed, post the form to:
Australian Taxation Office
PO Box 3578
ALBURY, NSW 2640
AUSTRALIA
Please allow time for postage and processing by the ATO. Trans-Tasman account transfers are processed twice each year, usually in January and July. How long the transfer takes may depend on when in the bi-annual cycle you initiate the request. As soon as we get notice from the ATO about your Aussie Super, we’ll be in touch with a progress update.
No part of this article is intended as financial advice; it is intended as general information only. To see our Financial Advice Disclosure Statement, please see Generate FAP Disclosure Statement. For more information about the Generate Schemes see the Generate KiwiSaver Scheme Product Disclosure Statement and the Generate Unit Trust Scheme (Managed Funds) Product
Disclosure Statement or the fund updates. The issuer of both schemes is Generate Investment Management Limited. Past performance is not indicative of future performance.