New Zealand Superannuation (NZ Super) overview

You may qualify for NZ Super if you:

• are 65 or over
• either:
  • are a New Zealand citizen
  • are a permanent resident, or
  • hold a residence class visa
• are ordinarily resident in New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Niue or Tokelau when you apply, and
• have lived in New Zealand for at least 10 years since you turned 20. These 10 years must include 5 years since you turned 50. If you haven't lived in NZ the whole time, you may be able to use other countries to meet this criteria.

You can still be working when you apply for NZ Super. It doesn't depend on your income or your assets. However, any income you do earn can affect other payments you get from us.

Lived in NZ for at least 10 years since 20

When we say 'have lived in NZ', we mean you were:

• resident in NZ, i.e. you permanently made your home in NZ, and
• physically present in NZ.

To determine this, we'll look at things like:

• your involvement in NZ society
• the number of times you left NZ, why you left and how long you left for.

You may be able to use other countries to meet the residence criteria if:

• they are a country that has a Social Security Agreement with NZ, or
• they are a NZ realm country (the Cook Islands, Niue or Tokelau).

Social Security Agreement countries

The 10 years may include time you've spent:

• living in a country that NZ has a Social Security Agreement (SSA) with, and/or
• contributing to a SSA country's pensions scheme.

You might have to live in the country and contribute to their pensions scheme, or you might only have to do one of these. It depends on the agreement.

Some agreements also have other criteria you have to meet if you include time from their country.

You can only include time from one of the SSA countries. You cannot combine time across multiple SSA countries.

For a list of countries NZ has a SSA with, see: Countries NZ has a Social Security Agreement with

NZ realm countries

If those 10 years in NZ don't include 5 years since you turned 50, you can count time you've lived in one or more realm countries since you turned 50.

NZ realm countries include:

• the Cook Islands
• Niue, and
• Tokelau.

When we say 'have lived in a NZ realm country', we mean you were:

• resident in a realm country, i.e. you permanently made your home in a realm country, and
• physically present in a realm country.

To determine this, we'll look at things like:

• your involvement in the realm country's society
• the number of times you left the realm country, why you left and how long you left for.

Example - move to Tokelau at 45

You were born in NZ and moved to Tokelau at age 45. You apply for NZ Super when you turn 65 (from Tokelau).

You've lived in NZ for at least 10 years since you turned 20, but this doesn't include 5 years since you turned 50. You can use the time you've lived in Tokelau since you turned 50 to make up the 5 years.

Example - born in the Cook Islands

You were born in the Cook Islands and moved to NZ at age 30. You move back to the Cook Islands at age 52 and don't return to NZ. You apply for NZ Super when you turn 65 (from the Cook Islands).

You've lived in NZ for at least 10 years since you turned 20, but this only includes 2 years since you turned 50. You can use the time you've lived in the Cook Islands since you turned 50 to make up the rest of the 5 years.

Example - move to Cook Islands at 20

You were born in NZ and moved to the Cook Islands at age 20. You move back to NZ when you turn 60. You apply for NZ Super when you turn 65 (from NZ).

You've only lived in NZ for at least 5 years since you turned 20. Therefore you wouldn't meet this residence criteria for NZ Super until you had lived in NZ for at least 10 years. This means you would need to wait until you were 70 before you would meet this residence criteria for NZ Super.

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How much you get depends on your current circumstances, such as:

• whether you are single, married or in a relationship
• your living situation if you are single (eg live alone, live with dependent children, share accommodation with others)
• any overseas benefit or pension you or your partner (if you have one) may get.

Payments from accident insurance or ACC may affect your pension. If you get these payments you'll need to talk to us.

Payment of NZ Super is made directly to your bank account every two weeks.

If you're ready to apply for NZ Super:

Your SuperGold Card will be sent to you automatically once you have been granted New Zealand Superannuation.

It gives you discounts and offers from a range of businesses, government concessions (such as free off-peak public transport) and discounted services from your local council.

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