[robertrippon]

Hi all,

We are asking all sorts of questions and you guys may help,

When we move permanently to New Zealand, are we entitled to any benefits to help with our monthly budget, before you all jump to the wrong conclusion, we are hard working family with four children and any financial assistance is always welcome as you all know....

We are trying to work out living costs, I have been offered a job at $26.00 an hour, I don`t think I will get a better offer until I get my Electricians Licence and then hopefully it may increase.

Any advice will be great, wonderfull forum, you all seem to be enjoying the new life and thats what we want too,

Rob, Jo and the boys

[holland]

Hi Rob,

This may help:

http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=9223&highlight=child+benefit

J

PS- At the top of the page there is a search button, if you click on it, you can put in key words and it will bring up all of the threads that are related to the topic!! hope this helps....

[jubjub]

I guess a search of WINZ website and IRD will answer that for you, if you have more than one child and earn less than about $75k you are entitled to something..

http://www.workandincome.govt.nz/
http://www.ird.govt.nz/

Having been here a wee while now, we dont get anything, but I hear dealing with WINZ you need your wits about you and be willing to stand up for what you are entitled to, research carefully if you need their assistance.

[IanW99]

The main thing that you can claim for will be Working for Families Tax Credit (http://www.ird.govt.nz/wff-tax-credits/) if you go to this link, you can run an online calculator and enter your specific details e.g. age of children etc and it will tell you how much you can claim per week.

You should also be aware that it is possible to claim UK child benefit for the first 26 weeks whilst in NZ under the right circumstances, which may also be useful.

Ian

[dharder]

You should also be aware that it is possible to claim UK child benefit for the first 26 weeks whilst in NZ under the right circumstances, which may also be useful.

Not really if you intend to stay away. It's probably a bit of a grey area, but strictly speaking, if you intend to stay away for longer than a year, you shouldn't claim it anymore. You can always start claiming again when you move back, though.

Daniela

[jubjub]

I have to say I would be careful with the UK benefit thing, there was a forum member got shopped for claiming it while she was here and it got terminated.... cant remember who the heck it was though....

[IanW99]

I have to say I would be careful with the UK benefit thing, there was a forum member got shopped for claiming it while she was here and it got terminated.... cant remember who the heck it was though....

Agreed that you should ensure that you are eligible, but there is clearly an agreement to continue paying child benefit to those who move to NZ from the UK for the first 26 weeks. If you are entitled to claim it then I would recommend that you do so.

You can find the details here:- Social Security Agreement between the UK and NZ (pdf) (http://www.dwp.gov.uk/lifeevent/benefits/recip_health_pdfs/2005/sa8-oct05.pdf) to see if you will be eligible.

Ian

[dharder]

Agreed that you should ensure that you are eligible, but there is clearly an agreement to continue paying child benefit to those who move to NZ from the UK for the first 26 weeks. If you are entitled to claim it then I would recommend that you do so.

You can find the details here:- Social Security Agreement between the UK and NZ (pdf) (http://www.dwp.gov.uk/lifeevent/benefits/recip_health_pdfs/2005/sa8-oct05.pdf) to see if you will be eligible.

Ian

What it says is that if you are not leaving the UK for good, you can claim for 26 weeks. If you are leaving the UK for good, it stops straight away.

I do guess it is a bit of a grey area, but if you are selling a house, giving up your job and leaving on one way tickets, I'd have a hard time believing you were going on an extended holiday..

I'm just saying that strictly speaking, if you are emigrating, you should stop claiming it immediately.

And here's the relevant passage from the above quoted document (italics mine):
"If you are getting the UK Benefit and go to New Zealand, but you are not going for good, you can usually be paid UK Child Benefit for the first 26 weeks you are away. If you are leaving the UK for good, your Child Benefit will stop from the Monday following your date of departure."

hth,
Daniela

[IanW99]

What it says is that if you are not leaving the UK for good, you can claim for 26 weeks. If you are leaving the UK for good, it stops straight away.

I do guess it is a bit of a grey area, but if you are selling a house, giving up your job and leaving on one way tickets, I'd have a hard time believing you were going on an extended holiday..

I'm just saying that strictly speaking, if you are emigrating, you should stop claiming it immediately.

And here's the relevant passage from the above quoted document (italics mine):
"If you are getting the UK Benefit and go to New Zealand, but you are not going for good, you can usually be paid UK Child Benefit for the first 26 weeks you are away. If you are leaving the UK for good, your Child Benefit will stop from the Monday following your date of departure."

hth,
Daniela

Agreed that if you are emigrating then you shouldn't be claiming UK child benefit, but I am sure that although this is an 'Emigrate NZ' forum there are many people who go to NZ to check it out e.g. for 2 years before they make their mind up whether it will be for good.

Your posts keep on implying that it can not (or should not) be claimed, whereas many people will be entitled to it and IMO should claim it. Of course I accept that my posts may have been implying the opposite that everyone can claim when of course they cannot.

I am sure that you will find many people on this forum who were able to claim but didn't know that they could.

Hopefully the information provided on this thread will help.

Ian

[dharder]

Agreed that if you are emigrating then you shouldn't be claiming UK child benefit, but I am sure that although this is an 'Emigrate NZ' forum there are many people who go to NZ to check it out e.g. for 2 years before they make their mind up whether it will be for good.


The child benefit people's definition of 'for good' is 'longer than one year.'

I'm sure you can claim it for 26 weeks, and if you don't tell them your intent, you will probably get away with.

I am merely pointing out that they are indeed quite clear on the fact that you are NOT entitled to the 26 weeks if you plan to leave the country for more than one year ('for good').

In case of doubt, I suggest calling them. They have been quite helpful, and actually acting promptly (more than can be said for family tax credit people in the UK, but I digress)

Daniela

[IanW99]

...
In case of doubt, I suggest calling them. They have been quite helpful, and actually acting promptly (more than can be said for family tax credit people in the UK, but I digress)

Daniela

All good, but I doubt that SamB would agree on them being helpful and acting promptly :exit

Ian

[stephenandjulie]

You can claim Family Assistance in NZ as soon as you arrive here, as long as you have PR visas and IRD numbers for everyone, including the children. It's very easy to work out how much you will get. I have the chart in my file somewhere. If you want to tell me your annual gross salary by pm, I can have a look for you. Or, maybe you can find this chart on the NZ government website.

[beano_bill]

Hi,

OH & I have looked at the websites that have been quoted previously as we've decided to start a family but I must admit that I'm a bit confused with the system here.

In the UK I was used to the mother receiving her full wage during her maternity leave from the employer, who would then claim back the GBP104 or so from the Inland Revenue.

Reading through the literature posted on the www.ird.govt.nz website and also the winz site confuses me - using the IRD calculator we are, apparently, able to receive the $391.25 maximum plus a tax credit of a potential $67 per week. Is anybody able to confirm whether employers normally top up the payment from IRD to the normal take home pay??

As OH & I both work at the same place, I can't ask random questions without raising a few eyebrows - especially as OH has only recently landed the position after temping for a long time.

Thanks in advance,

Beano.