UK State Pension · New Zealand

Living in New Zealand with UK National Insurance gaps: what buying the missing years is worth

Two New Zealand households, worked out

Worked out by the engine behind our calculator, all at Class 3. Pension = qualifying years ÷ 35 × the full new State Pension of £241.30 a week (2026–27). A record with years before April 2016 may start from a different amount; the Future Pension Centre’s forecast decides.

Run your own record through the voluntary NI from abroad calculator: choose New Zealand and it shows the years you can buy, what each costs and the estimate of what you keep.

How NZ Super treats the years you buy

This is the rule that makes New Zealand different. Most overseas pensions are taken off NZ Super: for every $1 you get, your NZ payment falls by $1. So the part of your UK pension built from your compulsory UK years is taken off NZ Super, so it replaces part of NZ Super rather than adding to it. The voluntary amount is the exception. It is not counted, so it is paid on top.

• The split is not yours to choose. The UK pension service works out what share of your pension comes from voluntary contributions. Our kept figure assumes the years you buy are that share, so treat it as an estimate.
• It still counts as income elsewhere. The voluntary part is treated as income for other income-tested help.
• No Special Banking Option. People with voluntary contributions cannot use it.
• Tax. New Zealand taxes an overseas social security pension, voluntary part included, if you are tax resident there.

What a frozen pension misses

The UK State Pension is frozen in New Zealand. You get the rate from when you first claim, and it never rises. The only published rise so far takes the full rate from £241.30 to £250.70 a week in 2027–28, about 3.9%. If rises carried on at that pace, here is how far each household would fall behind someone drawing the same pension in a country where it rises.

This assumes rises continue at the one published rise (2026–27 to 2027–28). Future rises are not known. Freezing does not change the purchase price, but it means each year bought is worth the same number of pounds for life.

The 5 April 2027 deadline

• 2020–21 closes on 5 April 2027: after that this gap year can never be filled.
• Waiting past it costs the first household 2020–21 and £184.60 more for the rest, at the 2027–28 rates announced at Budget 2026. The second household’s gaps start later, so it loses no year but pays £150.80 more.

More on what closes and why: the 5 April 2027 deadline.

What people get wrong

• “NZ Super will claw it all back.” Not the voluntary part. That is the whole point of buying years from New Zealand.
• “I keep every pound of my UK pension.” The compulsory part is still deducted from NZ Super dollar for dollar.
• “It will rise like it does in the UK.” It is frozen at the rate you first claim.
• “Class 2 is cheaper, so I will use that.” Only for years up to 2025–26, and only if you worked in the UK just before leaving and work in New Zealand. From 2026–27 it is Class 3 at £18.40 a week.
• “Any gap can be filled.” Only the past six years. 2020–21 is the oldest still open, until 5 April 2027.

How to buy the years from New Zealand

1. Get your UK National Insurance record and State Pension forecast from GOV.UK. The UK State Pension age and forecast reader helps you read it.
2. Use the calculator to see which years count and what they cost.
3. Apply to pay for time abroad with form CF83 online. From 2026–27 you need 10 years in a row living in the UK or 10 years of UK-paid contributions (or the transitional rule).
4. Wait for HMRC’s letter with the amount and payment reference, then pay the oldest year first.

For the rules in full, and the countries where the pension rises, see UK State Pension from Ireland and abroad.

Frequently asked questions

Does NZ Super take my UK pension off?
Partly. New Zealand reduces NZ Super by $1 for each $1 of an overseas pension, but the voluntary amount is not counted. So the part of your UK pension built from years you buy is kept on top of NZ Super. In our first example that is £2,509.52 a year (an estimate: the UK pension service sets the split).

Is my UK State Pension frozen in New Zealand?
Yes. You get the rate from when you first claim, with no yearly increases. If UK rises carried on at 3.9% a year, a pension of £186.15 a week would be £86.76 a week behind after 10 years.

Is it still worth buying years from New Zealand?
Often, because the voluntary part is kept. Buying 7 years for £6,614.40 adds £2,509.52 a year, which pays back in 2.6 years at the frozen rate.

Is the UK pension taxed in New Zealand?
New Zealand taxes an overseas social security pension, voluntary part included, if you are tax resident there.

Can I use the Special Banking Option?
Not if you have voluntary contributions. People with voluntary contributions in their UK pension cannot use it.

Related

• Voluntary NI from abroad calculator: years, class, cost, deadlines and the New Zealand estimate.
• UK State Pension from Ireland and abroad · the 5 April 2027 deadline · State Pension age and forecast reader
• The 10-year test: who can still buy Class 3 from abroad from 2026 to 2027, and the old 3-year rule.
• Other countries: UK State Pension in Australia · in Canada · in Ireland · in the US

Sources

• GOV.UK: Voluntary National Insurance (rates, the six-year limit, deadlines) and if you live or work abroad (Class 2 ended, the 10-year test)
• Work and Income: overseas pensions
• Work and Income: voluntary portion of an overseas pension
• GOV.UK: State Pension if you retire abroad

Read 13 November 2026. General information, not advice; it cannot see your National Insurance record. Only the Future Pension Centre can confirm which years count and what to pay.