Paul Godolphin was very distressed when he approached our GP National Secretary and the team. His letter to us below expressed his thanks for the support and advice.
I write to express my gratitude for the great support I received from Grey Power during a stressful financial crisis in my household, brought about by the actions of MSD/NZ Pension Service’s internal procedures to recover the overseas Pension entitlements of NZ Superannuitants.
The extensive overview of your Officers and organisation was pivotal in assisting me to make good decisions, and pre-armed me with the knowledge of procedures needed to approach the NZ Inland Revenue in a state of knowledgeable preparedness that ultimately led to the successful resolution of the problems caused by some misleading information from MSD that resulted in me paying full taxes upon overseas monies that MSD assured me they would recover for their own purposes without implications to myself.
This is a normal procedure that any New Zealand retiree who may have lived or worked overseas will have experienced upon commencement of their NZ Superannuation.
I found that MSD’s statement that the procedure would not involve the Retiree in any way was totally misleading, and that whilst MSD were drawing my entire gross UK Pension, they were diverting the TAX liability on the monies THEY had received, onto myself personally!
I immediately started to receive large tax demands from the UK, for which I had no funds to pay, because MSD had taken the money gross, for themselves!
This is NOT what they inform you will happen!
Calls to MSD and visits to my local Work & Pensions Office only resulted in unhelpful phone meetings with MSD’s International Pensions Dept, and even the operator there sniggering and laughing at my clearly deeply upset and worried state.
Calls to accountants and financial advisers were equally fruitless, as none had experience of the situation I was experiencing. I became very stressed, and spent a week unable to eat or sleep, and started to get shaky and ill. There was seemingly nobody who even understood the problem I was outlining.
At this point I was privileged to have a discussion with Grey Power’s excellent personnel, and found that our organisation is indeed the repository of in-depth experience and knowledge of the circumstances likely to come to the fore in exactly the way I had experienced them, upon retirement.
Confidently armed with a comprehensive overview of conventions regarding these tax matters, I was able to elicit a helpful and positive response from New Zealand Inland Revenue that removed the Tax Liability from our end, and refunded me a large sum that I could then use to pay off the UK demands.
I was saved from a horrible dilemma, and the sun shone for me again, the financial crisis alleviated!
These circumstances are entirely systemic, not specific to my case. Grey Power don’t discuss personal case details, of course. But their understanding of the general synopsis they conveyed to me was the key to my salvation in what was a very frightening situation.
Grey Power are an invaluable resource for Seniors. Joining was one of my best ever decisions.
Regards
Paul Godolphin
