Transferring retirement savings between New Zealand and Australia has never been an easy task, but rules have been introduced to make the process much simpler. In light of the changes, it should be easier to allow the transfer of retirement savings between some KiwiSaver funds in New Zealand and superannuation accounts based in Australia. It is, however, at the discretion of the KiwiSaver provider whether it chooses to offer this service to its customers. The arrangements, which took effect on July 1 2013, are only applicable to funds held in KiwiSaver schemes - all other retirement funds cannot be transferred. Member tax credits and the government's $1,000 kick-start program are both included in the scheme, which is currently the only way of transferring KiwiSaver funds to Australia. Anyone who does opt to have their money sent over to an Australian superannuation fund should be aware they will not be able to withdraw savings as cash one year after permanently migrating. Under the regulations, member tax credits must be returned to the government if savings are withdrawn as cash. Self-managed super funds are unable to receive money from a KiwiSaver account - only those regulated by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority can receive your retirement savings. Those operating accounting software in New Zealand will also find any contributions made to KiwiSaver accounts while living offshore will not be eligible for member tax credits, so this is worth considering if permanently migrating to Australia. It also isn't possible to leave some savings in New Zealand while moving the remainder to a superannuation account. Further to this, the funds cannot be accessed until New Zealand's retirement age - which currently stands at 65 - and they are not transferrable to a third country at a later date.