Income-tested New Zealand Superannuation Factsheet
April 2012
Who can get this
If you have a partner1 who doesn’t already qualify for their own New Zealand Superannuation (NZS), you can choose to include them in your payments.
If you do this, you could both get paid, but any other income either of you earn could affect how much you get. We can help you work out the best option.
Other income
If your partner is included in your payments, you can have combined other income of up to $5,200 (before tax) a year before your NZS is affected. If you earn more than this, we will take 70c off your payment for each dollar of income over this limit.
It would not be to your financial advantage to have your partner included if you and your partner have a combined annual income of $25,270.51 or more (before tax)2, not including NZS.
This is because the total NZS paid to you both would be less than what would be paid to you when your partner is not included.
Income includes wages, bank interest, investments, rental income, dividends from shares, income from trusts, etc. It also includes deprivation of any income or property by you and/or your partner.
If you, or your partner, receive overseas benefits or pensions, these may be directly deducted (dollar-for-dollar) from your payments.
For more information
If you have any questions or want to know more, contact us on 0800 552 002 or visit:
1 A partner is a spouse (husband or wife), your civil union partner, or someone of the same or opposite sex with whom you have a de facto relationship.
2 Rates as at 1 April 2012.
