NZ Super and moving overseas: what you keep and what changes

You can keep NZ Super on trips of up to 26 weeks, and if NZ Super is your only payment you do not even need to tell Work and Income. If you move overseas for longer, NZ Super can often continue, but how much depends on the country. In most countries without a special agreement, it is paid in proportion to the months you lived in New Zealand between 20 and 65, out of 540. In the United Kingdom it cannot be paid at all. Australia has its own rules. You need to apply at least 6 weeks before you leave. And if you are moving the other way, coming home late in life, the residence rule decides when NZ Super starts. Rules checked 12 November 2026.

Trips of 26 weeks or less

Work and Income's rules for NZ Super on overseas trips (page updated 24 July 2026):

• Trips of up to 26 weeks do not stop NZ Super. If NZ Super or Veteran's Pension is your only payment, you do not need to tell Work and Income about your travel plans. If you get any other payment, you must tell them before you leave.
• If you stay away longer than 26 weeks, NZ Super stops after the 26th week. If the delay is unexpected, such as an illness, a bereavement or a cancelled flight, you may be able to apply to keep it going, but you must apply before the 26 weeks end. Choosing to stay longer is not covered.
• If you come back within 27 to 30 weeks, you do not have to repay the 26 weeks of payments. If you come back after 30 weeks, you may have to.
• Other payments, such as the Winter Energy Payment or Accommodation Supplement, follow different rules and often stop when you leave or after 28 days.

Moving overseas: it depends where you go

For a move, Work and Income says you should apply at least 6 weeks before you leave, through its International Services team, and send your itinerary. You must qualify for NZ Super in your own right and be ordinarily resident in New Zealand when you apply. Here is how the destination changes things, from Work and Income's pages on living overseas (updated 24 June 2026) and travelling for more than 26 weeks (updated 24 July 2026).

The Social Security Agreement countries are Australia, Canada, Denmark, Greece, Ireland, Jersey, Guernsey, Malta, the Netherlands, South Korea and the United Kingdom. An overseas pension may affect what you get under an agreement or the Pacific arrangement; under the proportional rules for other countries, Work and Income says overseas pensions do not affect your payment.

While you live overseas you cannot get the Winter Energy Payment, Accommodation Supplement, Disability Allowance or Temporary Additional Support. Your circumstances are reviewed every 52 weeks, and payments stop if you do not return the review form in time.

Worked example: the proportional rate

For most countries without an agreement, Work and Income works out NZ Super as the full overseas rate times your months in New Zealand from 20 to 65, divided by 540. The full overseas rates are $595.57 a week gross for a single person and $492.14 a week gross for someone with a partner. (The single figure matches the domestic "single, sharing" gross rate; it is lower than the $647.37 gross a week a single person living alone gets in New Zealand.)

These are gross amounts. Work and Income pays the gross rate overseas and says to contact Inland Revenue before you leave to sort out your tax; you may also owe tax in your new country. Time overseas can count towards your months if, for example, you were working abroad while paying New Zealand income tax and stayed ordinarily resident here.

For the Pacific arrangement, the basic rate is $1,191.14 a fortnight gross if single, or $984.28 with a partner. With 15 years in New Zealand since 20 you would get 75% of it: $893.36 a fortnight single, or $738.21 with a partner.

If your partner is included in your NZ Super under the older partner-included rate, their payment stops when you leave and cannot be added back later.

Moving to Australia

Australia is the most common move, and it has the most specific rules. Work and Income's page on living in Australia (updated 9 June 2026) says NZ Super keeps being paid for up to 26 weeks after you leave. To keep it beyond that, if you do not already get the Australian Age Pension, you need to meet the Age Pension criteria, which include being 67 or older on or before the day you leave New Zealand; apply for the Age Pension within 26 weeks of leaving; and apply to continue your New Zealand payment within 12 months of that application.

The amount can change once approved, and New Zealand cannot pay more than your Age Pension amount. If the Age Pension is declined for income or assets, the New Zealand application will most likely be declined too. If you get it wrong, payments can stop and you may have to repay the 26 weeks. Talk to Work and Income's International Services and Services Australia before you go.

Coming home: the residence rule

The other side of moving overseas is coming back. To get NZ Super at all, you must have lived in New Zealand for a set number of years since age 20, including 5 years since age 50. The number is phasing up from 10 to 20 years for people turning 65 from 1 July 2024:

Our NZ Super eligibility guide has every band. The years do not need to be in a row, and time in a Social Security Agreement country can sometimes count.

Worked example. Someone born in June 1968, now 58, comes home after most of their working life abroad, with 2 years in New Zealand since age 20. They need 15. If they stay, they meet the rule at 71, not 65. We ran them through our calculator as a single person earning $70,000 with $150,000 in KiwiSaver and $40,000 of other savings, retiring at 65 and planning to 95. Their retirement pay would be about $561 a week after tax in 9 of 10 markets, against about $667 if they met the rule by 65. Waiting six years for NZ Super costs them about $106 a week for life. The NZ Super calculator works out your own date from your years in New Zealand.

Planning a move

1. Check the rules for your destination with Work and Income's International Services before you commit. Apply at least 6 weeks before you leave.
2. Work out your months in New Zealand between 20 and 65 if you are going to a country without an agreement.
3. Talk to Inland Revenue about tax, and check the tax rules in your new country.
4. Think about KiwiSaver: from 65 you can withdraw it, and our KiwiSaver at 65 guide covers your options.
5. Use our retirement calculator for the New Zealand side. It does not model proportional payments overseas, so if you plan to move, treat its result as a best case. Its "years in NZ since 20" box does show when the residence rule lets NZ Super start.

NZ Super rules may also change after the 2026 election; NZ First has proposed limiting NZ Super to citizens. That is NOT LAW. Our election guide explains the proposals. This is general information, not financial advice; Work and Income decides each case on the agreement and your history.

Questions

How long can I travel overseas and keep NZ Super?

Up to 26 weeks. If NZ Super is your only payment, you do not need to tell Work and Income. Stay longer and it stops after the 26th week, unless an unexpected delay is approved.

Can I get NZ Super if I live in the UK?

No. Work and Income says NZ Super cannot be paid while you live in the United Kingdom. You may be able to get a UK benefit or pension under the agreement.

How is NZ Super worked out if I move overseas?

For most countries without an agreement, it is the full overseas rate ($595.57 a week gross single) times your months in New Zealand between 20 and 65, divided by 540.

Can I get the Winter Energy Payment overseas?

No. The Winter Energy Payment, Accommodation Supplement, Disability Allowance and Temporary Additional Support are not paid while you live overseas.

I have lived abroad. Will I qualify for NZ Super at 65?

Only if you meet the residence rule: between 10 and 20 years in New Zealand since age 20, depending on your date of birth, including 5 since age 50. Otherwise you qualify once you do.