Retire in New Zealand from the USA: the Parent Retirement Resident Visa and its NZ$60,000 income test
Written by Hans Goldstein, licensed insurance agent · CA 4273294Short answer: New Zealand’s retirement visa for Americans with an adult child living there is the Parent Retirement Resident Visa: in 2026 it needs NZ$1 million invested in New Zealand for 4 years, NZ$500,000 of settlement funds and NZ$60,000 a year of income (about $2,800 a month at 0.56 USD per NZD). The figures are the same for a single parent and a couple, because the income can be earned by you alone or together with an included partner (Immigration New Zealand). Without a child there, the Temporary Retirement Visitor Visa (age 66+, 2 years, no residence) asks for NZ$750,000 invested, NZ$500,000 and the same NZ$60,000. A life-only SPIA bought while you are still a US resident can carry the income leg; at 62, $2,800 a month costs roughly $424,000 to $481,000 of premium (illustrative, not a quote).
Free guide: Moving abroad on a fixed income
Income rules and taxes by country: Norway, Switzerland, Sweden, Italy, Spain, Malta and more, plus how a lifetime annuity fits.
New Zealand retirement visa requirements in 2026
If you want to retire in New Zealand from the USA, this is the highest bar in this guide series. Immigration New Zealand (INZ) wants capital, cash and income, all at once, and none of the three can be borrowed or double-counted.
| Requirement | NZD | About USD (0.56) |
|---|---|---|
| Investment in acceptable NZ investments, held 4 years | NZ$1,000,000 | $560,000 |
| Settlement funds, separate from investment and income | NZ$500,000 | $280,000 |
| Annual income (you alone, or with an included partner) | NZ$60,000 a year | $33,600 a year, about $2,800 a month |
| Application fee | From NZ$12,850 | About $7,200 |
FX assumption: NZD = 0.56 USD (market rate, early October 2026). Other conditions: your sponsoring child must be an adult NZ citizen or resident living in New Zealand; you must have no dependent children; health, chest X-ray and police certificates apply. Funds must be transferred to New Zealand through the banking system within 12 months of approval in principle. INZ says 80% of applications are approved in principle within 14 months. After 4 years of keeping the investment, you can apply for a Permanent Resident Visa.
The other New Zealand retirement visa
If you have no adult child in New Zealand, INZ’s Temporary Retirement Visitor Visa is the alternative: age 66 or older, at least NZ$750,000 invested in New Zealand for 2 years, NZ$500,000 for your stay, the same NZ$60,000 a year of income (alone or with an included partner), acceptable health or travel insurance, and fees from NZ$7,891. It lets you stay 2 years and does not, on INZ’s page, lead to residence. The annuity logic below applies to its income leg too.
Single or married: how much income you need for New Zealand
| Household | Annual income | About USD a month (0.56) | Capital |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single parent | NZ$60,000 | $2,800 | NZ$1M invested + NZ$500,000 settlement funds |
| Couple (partner included) | NZ$60,000 combined | $2,800 combined | Same figures; INZ lists no higher amount for an included partner |
| Dependent children | Not allowed: you must have no dependent children | ||
INZ’s wording is that your income “can be earned by you alone, or together with a partner you have included in your application.” So a couple can add two Social Security checks and an annuity together. The partner must meet identity, character and health requirements and show evidence of the relationship.
When only one spouse has the income
New Zealand is the easy case. The parent of the New Zealand child applies and includes the partner, and the NZ$60,000 can come from one spouse alone or from both combined. If you are short, the annuity can sit in either spouse’s name; it is priced on that spouse’s age and sex (at 62, $2,800 a month costs about $464,000 for a man and $481,000 for a woman at average payouts), and it must be bought while you are both still US residents. A joint and survivor payout keeps the income going after the first death.
Gift note (general information, confirm with a tax adviser): if one spouse funds an annuity owned by the other, that is a gift. Gifts between spouses who are both US citizens are unlimited. To a spouse who is not a US citizen, the 2026 annual exclusion is $194,000 (Rev. Proc. 2025-32); above that you file Form 709, and generally no tax is due until the lifetime exemption is used up. IRA money cannot simply be moved to a spouse.
Where the annuity fits
New Zealand asks whether you can bring real capital into the country, live on your own money, and leave the investment alone for four years. It is closer to an investor visa than a pensioner visa, and the 4-year condition limits travel: INZ says travel is permitted for the first 2 years, after which you need a variation of conditions, and you must give evidence of the investment at the 2-year and 4-year marks.
INZ lists acceptable income as pensions, rental income, share dividends, investment interest, company profits and share trading gains. The investment and settlement legs are fixed capital tests; the annuity has nothing to do with those. Its job is the third leg: NZ$60,000 a year, every year, without eating into the NZ$1.5 million you have already set aside. If that income comes from dividends or rent, a bad year can leave you short at exactly the moment INZ is looking. A life-only single premium immediate annuity (SPIA) removes that risk with income that looks like a pension.
Which annuity counts
The clean fits are a life-only SPIA, a joint and survivor SPIA for a couple, or an existing deferred annuity or MYGA converted to lifetime payments. INZ’s list names pensions but not annuities, so confirm with INZ or a licensed immigration adviser how they want it evidenced (insurer letter, contract, bank statements) before you buy. A period-certain contract that ends during the 4 years, an income rider (GLWB) on an account you can still cash out, or a MYGA still accumulating reads as savings, not income. A SPIA premium is gone once paid, so it cannot double as settlement funds; budget it on top. The bar is in NZ dollars and the annuity pays US dollars: if the kiwi strengthens from 0.56 to 0.65, NZ$60,000 becomes about $3,250 a month, so size with 10 to 25% headroom.
Why I write about this. My mom is Norwegian, my dad is American, and they’re planning the move from the US to Norway. My mom is the sponsor (the host, or “reference person” in UDI’s words), so Norway’s income test falls on her income, not my dad’s. UDI told us in writing that money in an account does not count as income, and only lifelong income does. Their savings were not the problem; the paperwork wanted a monthly number in the host’s name. The rules in New Zealand are different, but the problem is the same one many retirees hit: the income test, not the net worth. I’m writing this to help others in the same boat as my parents. Read how we worked through the Norway income requirement.
In the same boat? Let’s run your numbers
See roughly what a lifetime annuity would cost to close your income gap, then get my personal read by email. I can help while you still live in the US.
Estimates use the September 9, 2026 ImmediateAnnuities.com payout survey (life only) and a 15% cushion. Illustrative, not a quote.
Example: a 62-year-old American retiring in New Zealand
Payouts at 62 from the September 9, 2026 ImmediateAnnuities.com survey, life-only, per $100,000 of premium per month: man $603 average ($660 best quote), woman $582 average ($637 best). Premium needed = monthly need divided by payout per $100,000, times $100,000. Illustrative, not a quote. At 62 only the parent visa is open to you; the temporary retirement visa starts at 66.
| Who | Monthly need | Premium, average payout | Premium, best quote |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single man, 62, no other pension (NZD at 0.56) | $2,800 | About $464,000 | About $424,000 |
| Single woman, 62, no other pension (NZD at 0.56) | $2,800 | About $481,000 | About $440,000 |
| Single man, 62, sized for NZD at 0.65 | $3,250 | About $539,000 | About $492,000 |
| Couple, both 62, $2,000/mo combined Social Security | $800 | Joint and survivor: more than the single-life cost of about $121,000 to $137,000; get a quote | |
Social Security can start at 62 and counts toward the combined NZ$60,000. For a couple, a joint and survivor contract keeps paying after the first death, which matters when residence rests on the income; it pays less per dollar than single life. Waiting lowers the cost: at 65 the full $2,800 costs about $406,000 (man, best quote), at 70 about $368,000.
How the annuity is taxed in New Zealand
New Zealand taxes residents on worldwide income. For a US annuity, three Inland Revenue rules decide the result:
- Transitional resident exemption. A new migrant who has not been NZ tax resident in the previous 10 years is exempt from tax on most foreign income for 48 months after becoming tax resident (Inland Revenue, IR257, April 2026). Inland Revenue says a foreign pension is generally only taxable from the date transitional residency ends.
- A US annuity is a foreign life insurance policy, not a pension scheme. IR257 says “a life insurance policy is generally not classed as a foreign superannuation scheme” and points to the foreign investment fund (FIF) rules. Under the FIF guide (IR461), a policy bought while you were non-resident or a transitional resident is exempt (section EX 41) only while you remain one, so in practice through your first four years.
- After four years. The FIF rules can then tax a deemed return on the policy’s value (commonly 5% of opening market value under the fair dividend rate method) rather than the payments, unless the total cost of all your foreign FIF interests stays below NZ$50,000. A separate exemption (EX 43) for a non-cashable pension or annuity acquired while non-resident is listed by Inland Revenue under superannuation interests, so whether it reaches a SPIA from a US insurer is unclear. Inland Revenue has published no guidance on a US purchased life annuity in payout; get a New Zealand tax adviser’s written view before you buy, and model years 5 onward.
Treaty and the US side. Under Article 18 of the US-New Zealand income tax treaty, annuities (defined to include payments “during life”) and private pensions are taxable only in the country where you live, and US Social Security paid to a New Zealand resident is taxable only in the US (Art. 18(1)(b)). The saving clause (Art. 1(3)) still lets the US tax its citizens, and Article 22(4)(c) treats the income as arising in New Zealand to the extent needed, so a US citizen can credit New Zealand tax on Form 1116. On the US return, a non-qualified SPIA is taxed under the exclusion ratio (part of each payment is your premium coming back), a SPIA bought with IRA money is fully taxable, and the foreign earned income exclusion does not apply to annuities (IRC 911(b)(1)(B)(i)). See the exclusion ratio for Americans abroad.
Net result: for the first four years only the US taxes the annuity; after that, New Zealand’s FIF rules can apply and the higher of the two taxes after credits is what you effectively pay. The tax answer for years 5 onward is the one to settle before you buy.
Does New Zealand have a wealth tax?
No. New Zealand has no general wealth tax. So the annuity, and the NZ$1 million investment, are not in any wealth base. The tax to watch for an annuity is the FIF regime above, which is an income tax rule, not a wealth tax. Wealth taxes do come up in New Zealand politics, so recheck before you move.
Practical rules
- Buy while you still have a US address. US insurers generally will not issue to someone already living abroad.
- Plan for US withholding. Since January 1, 2026, a US citizen whose residence address on file is outside the US cannot opt out of federal withholding on annuity payments, even if the payments go to a US bank account (IRC 3405(e)(13), Treas. Reg. 31.3405(e)-1). Withholding is a prepayment of your US tax, not extra tax; you settle up on your return.
- Start payments 3 to 12 months before you lodge, so you can show income actually arriving.
- Insurer letter: monthly amount, paid “for the lifetime of the annuitant,” no cash value or commutation right.
- Get the tax answer first. The FIF question decides whether this is efficient after year four.
A US SPIA is not FBAR or Form 8938 reportable and is not a PFIC from the US side.
The trade-offs, once
A SPIA is irrevocable, level unless you buy a cost-of-living rider, paid in dollars against an NZ dollar bar, and backed by the issuing insurer’s claims-paying ability. In New Zealand it solves one leg of three. For families already able to meet the capital tests, it is the cleanest way to show income that does not depend on markets.
Married? Make the income outlive either of you. In New Zealand spouses may add their incomes together, so two smaller annuities, one on each spouse, can work as well as one larger one. If a single-life annuity is on one spouse and that spouse dies first, the payments stop, and the surviving spouse may have to show income of their own at the next renewal. A joint and survivor annuity, which keeps paying until the second death, or a separate annuity on each spouse closes that gap. Joint and survivor pays less per dollar than single life, so ask for both quotes and compare.
Frequently asked questions
Free annuity gap analysis for New Zealand. Tell me your ages, your Social Security or pension, and whether you are single or a couple. I will show how far your income is from the New Zealand requirement and what a lifetime annuity would cost to fill the gap, in the sponsor’s or main applicant’s name where that matters.
Related reading
- Moving abroad on a fixed income: hub
- Retirement visa income requirements compared
- Bringing parents to Norway
- Switzerland retirement and annuities
- The exclusion ratio for Americans abroad
- Immediate annuity calculator
Sources
- Immigration New Zealand: Parent Retirement Resident Visa
- Immigration New Zealand: Temporary Retirement Visitor Visa
- Inland Revenue IR257 (April 2026): Overseas pensions and annuity schemes
- Inland Revenue IR461: guide to foreign investment funds and the fair dividend rate (EX 41, EX 43, NZ$50,000 threshold)
- Inland Revenue: temporary tax exemption for transitional residents
- US-New Zealand income tax treaty (IRS text: Art. 1(3) saving clause, Art. 18 pensions and annuities, Art. 22 relief)
- James McLeod: guide to the Parent Retirement Resident Visa
- 26 U.S.C. 3405 (withholding on pensions and annuities)
- Treas. Reg. 31.3405(e)-1 (T.D. 10008): no withholding opt-out for a foreign residence address from 2026
- IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32: 2026 inflation adjustments (gifts to a non-citizen spouse)
- ImmediateAnnuities.com: immediate annuity rates by age (survey of September 9, 2026)
Goldstein & Co. LLC dba Goldstein Insurance Services · Hans Goldstein, licensed insurance agent, CA lic. #4273294 · NPN 20602398 · 213-414-2808 · hans@hansgoldstein.com
Education, not tax, legal or immigration advice. Rules, thresholds and exchange rates change; confirm with the consulate or immigration authority and a local tax adviser before you act, and get answers in writing. Hans Goldstein is a licensed insurance agent (CA 4273294) and can only offer annuities to residents of states where he is licensed. Annuity payments are guaranteed by the issuing insurer’s claims-paying ability, not by any government. Payout figures are illustrations from a published survey, not quotes. Immediate annuities are generally irrevocable.