Pension for adult child

[Hopthegoodgod]

Has anyone set up a pension for their adult child? Our son is 29 and does not have a work based pension ( lives in NZ). I would like to set up and pay in monthly until i die. I want to secure his future as much as possible as the whole pension system has changed so much in my lifetime and I fear it may well be getting worse for future generation. Anyone done this and are there any restrictions?

Is he likely to stay in NZ? https://www.workandincome.govt.nz/eligibility/seniors/superannuation/index.html

Not sure. 50 -50. Does it make a difference? He cannot afford pension contributions atm .

Could he set it up in his name and you send him the funds to contribute?

At his age he can only set it up in his own name. You can only set one up on behalf of a child if they're under 18. You can open an ISA or a S&S ISA (again only in your name) and put money into it for him then gift it at a later stage.

I don't know, but it seems unlikely he'd be able to benefit from the tax advantages of either a pension or ISAs in the uk if he's not a uk taxpayer.

How’s he going to get the tax relief if he lives in another Country?

Sipps also ask if you’re a UK resident.

I don’t think it’s a goer unfortunately.

Why don’t you just send him money so he can subscribe to his employer scheme, no doubt he’d also get their contributions that way and he’d pay less tax.

I believe it is possible to pay up to £2880 net into a SIPP as a non-resident, but I have also seen references that suggest this is limited to the first five tax years after leaving the UK. You really need some specialist advice from the industry rather than from MN.

That said, one option definitely open would be for you (at the moment, at least) to make NI contributions so that he builds up entitlement to the UK State Pension.

I pay into a SIPP for my adult son, but I set it up when he was a teenager and he lives in the UK.

I think if he lived abroad I'd be looking at pension schemes abroad (his employer scheme and a private pension similar to a SIPP if they have one). Even if he doesn't end up living in NZ in retirement I'm sure there would be a way to access the money if he returned to living in the UK, just like you can use a UK pension if you retire abroad.

Unless he pays UK tax he won't be able to save into a UK pension.

You could still pay into a long-term fund fro him, of course.