What do I do when I change my employment?
Staying with one employer for an entire working life is the exception rather than the rule. So here’s what you need to do with your SSRSS accounts when you change employment.
Moving permanently to another employer
Going on secondment
Overseas postings
Emigrating overseas permanently
Travelling overseas
Leave of absence
When you change employment, if you're eligible, you will be automatically enrolled in KiwiSaver (or you may already be a KiwiSaver member).
You can contribute 2%, 4% or 8% of your gross pay to KiwiSaver, and receive the member tax credit. (If you are new to KiwiSaver you will also receive the $1000 Government kickstart. ) You will qualify for KiwiSaver employer contributions, and will become an unsubsidised member of SSRSS. As an unsubsidised member, you can continue to save through the SSRSS, making voluntary contributions.
If automatically enrolled, you can opt out of KiwiSaver between weeks two and eight of your new job.
If you change jobs to another participating employer, you have several options:
- You can continue to save with SSRSS or suspend your contributions.
- If you're contributing to both SSRSS and KiwiSaver, you will receive the KiwiSaver employer contribution. After 12 months' membership you may choose to take a KiwiSaver contributions holiday. In this case, if you continue or restart you SSRSS contributions, you will receive the SSRSS employer subsidy (if eligible) instead of the KiwiSaver employer contributions.
- If you're not making KiwiSaver contributions, and you are contributing to your SSRSS scheme, you will continue to receive the SSRSS employer subsidy (if eligible),
- You can close your SSRSS account and transfer the total value of your savings to a KiwiSaver account. Call your scheme provider for details.
If you want to stay a member of SSRSS you need to fill in a Notice of transfer to a new SSRSS participating employer (PDF-34KB) and give it to your new payroll officer. Use the form to tell your new employer what level of contributions to deduct from your pay.
Moving to a non-participating employer
If you change jobs to a non-participating employer, you will be automatically enrolled in KiwiSaver (if you haven’t already joined a KiwiSaver scheme), unless your new employer is an "exempt employer" for the purposes of the KiwiSaver regime. You can continue to save through the SSRSS as an unsubsidised member, making voluntary contributions by arrangement with your SSRSS provider, or you can suspend contributions.
Your existing contributions (plus any employer subsidy and earnings on your account) will remain in the SSRSS and be available when you become eligible for a benefit. You can access your voluntary contributions at any time (subject to a maximum of two withdrawals per scheme year and a minimum withdrawal amount).
You may be able to transfer the total value of your savings to another approved locked-in superannuation scheme. The new scheme must permit transfers in and the State Services Commissioner must be satisfied that the new scheme meets certain requirements, relating in particular to whether your money will be locked into the new scheme. All KiwiSaver schemes are approved by the State Services Commissioner for transfers from SSRSS. If you transfer to another superannuation scheme or to a KiwiSaver scheme your SSRSS membership ceases permanently.
You can still stay in the SSRSS if you go on secondment to another participating employer.
If you stay on the payroll of your pre-secondment employer, arrangements continue unchanged and your employer subsidy continues.
If you move to the payroll of a secondment employer who is also a participating employer, it can continue to make employer contributions for you and arrange for your contributions to continue unaffected. In this situation you need to fill in the relevant change of employment form and give it to your new payroll officer.
Fill in a Notice of transfer to a new SSRSS participating employer (PDF-34KB) and give it to your new payroll officer. Use the form to tell your new employer what level of contributions to deduct from your pay.
If your secondment employer is not a participating employer, you can continue to make your contributions (by arrangement with your SSRSS provider) and these become voluntary contributions to the SSRSS. If you do not make arrangements with your SSRSS provider, your contributions will automatically cease. On your return to your pre-secondment employer, SSRSS arrangements can be resumed as before.
As with a secondment, you can continue to stay in the SSRSS if you are posted overseas.
If you continue on the payroll of your New Zealand employer, arrangements continue unchanged.
If you move to the payroll of your overseas employer, you can continue in the SSRSS as an unsubsidised member, making voluntary contributions, or you can suspend contributions. On return to your participating employer in New Zealand you will be automatically enrolled in KiwiSaver and you will have the same choices available as someone who is moving to another participating employer.
If you emigrate permanently you can withdraw the total value of your savings 12 months after you emigrate.
Alternatively, as soon as you emigrate, you can apply to transfer the total value of your savings into another approved locked-in superannuation scheme overseas. As at December 2008, no overseas schemes have yet been approved for this purpose.
If you leave your State sector employer to travel overseas, you can continue to make voluntary contributions to the SSRSS, or you can suspend your contributions. Your pre-travel contributions and employer subsidy will remain in the SSRSS until a benefit becomes payable.
If, on your return, you recommence employment with a State sector employer then you will be automatically enrolled in KiwiSaver and you will have the same choices available as someone who is moving to another participating employer.
If you take leave of absence from employment without pay, you can continue to make voluntary contributions as an unsubsidised member. Or you can suspend your contributions (this will happen automatically unless you advise your SSRSS provider otherwise).