NZ Super rates 2026: what you get each week and fortnight

From 1 April 2026, NZ Super after tax at the M code is $1,110.30 a fortnight ($555.15 a week) for a single person living alone, $1,024.90 ($512.45) for a single person sharing a home, and $854.08 a fortnight each ($427.04 a week) for a couple who both qualify, or $1,708.16 a fortnight together. Rates went up about 3.1% this year, in line with prices. They are adjusted every 1 April, and the 2027 rates are not yet published. Rules checked 12 November 2026.

The 2026 rates in one table

Work and Income publishes NZ Super as a fortnightly amount per person, because that is how it is paid. The weekly figure is exactly half. For a yearly figure we multiply the fortnightly amount by 26.

Source: Work and Income, "How much you can get" (updated 2 July 2026) and "Benefit rates at 1 April 2026" (updated 13 July 2026).

A calendar year has slightly more than 26 fortnights (365.25 days divided by 14 is about 26.09), so multiplying by 26 understates a full calendar year by a few dollars. For a single person living alone, a full year of weekly payments on that basis is about $28,967. We use 26 fortnights in tables because it matches how the payments arrive.

Which rate applies to you

Single, living alone or sharing

A single person gets the higher living alone rate unless they are sharing. Work and Income treats you as sharing if you live with someone aged 18 or over (other than a dependent child who is 18), or if a visitor stays with you for more than 13 weeks in any 26-week period. Boarding with family, or a flatmate moving in, can switch you to the sharing rate, which is $42.70 a week less after tax.

Couples

If you are married, in a civil union or in a de facto relationship and both qualify, you each get $427.04 a week after tax at M. If only one partner qualifies, that partner gets the same individual amount; the younger partner does not get NZ Super until they qualify in their own right.

Partner included: a closed option

Before November 2020 some people could include a non-qualifying partner, at a combined $1,624.12 a fortnight after tax. That option is closed to new applicants and only continues for people already on it. Unlike ordinary NZ Super, it is income tested.

Our NZ Super calculator picks the rate for your situation and shows when you qualify.

Gross versus net, and the tax codes

NZ Super is taxable income, so Work and Income deducts tax before paying you. Unusually, the law sets the net (after tax) rates, and the gross figures are worked back from them. The table above uses the M code, which applies when NZ Super is your main or only income. It is not liable for the ACC earners' levy.

If you also have a job or other income that pays more, NZ Super may be taxed at a secondary code instead, so the amount that lands in your account is lower. These are Work and Income's published weekly equivalents (half the fortnightly figures):

The secondary code does not change your NZ Super entitlement, only how much tax is taken at source. Our NZ Super and tax guide explains how to choose the right code when you work, and why the wrong one leads to a bill or a refund.

How the rates are adjusted each 1 April

Rates are reviewed every year on 1 April under sections 15 and 16 of the New Zealand Superannuation and Retirement Income Act 2001. The Ministry of Social Development set out the method in an Official Information Act response in December 2024:

1. Prices. The net rates rise by the increase in the Consumers Price Index (CPI) for the year to the previous December quarter, if prices went up.
2. Wages. The combined net rate for a married couple must then be at least 66% and at most 72.5% of the net average ordinary time weekly wage. If the CPI rise leaves it below 66%, it is lifted to the floor.
3. Single rates. The single living alone rate is set at 65% of the couple's combined rate, and the sharing rate at 60%.

You can check step 3 on the 2026 rates: 65% of $854.08 is $555.15, and 60% is $512.45, exactly the published weekly figures.

A worked example from MSD: April 2024

The December 2023 CPI was 4.655% above a year earlier. The couple's weekly rate each went from $381.82 to $399.59, or $799.18 together. The net average wage was $1,192.40 a week, so the 66% floor was $786.98. At 67.02%, the new rate was already above the floor, so no wage top-up was needed. The single rates followed: $519.47 living alone and $479.51 sharing. Our engine reproduces all of those figures.

2025 and 2026

In 2026, CPI rose 3.11% and average wages 2.91%, according to Work and Income's March 2026 news release. The published rates rose by 3.107%, which matches prices. In 2025 the Massey retirement guidelines report that the wage floor applied and NZ Super rose 3.65%, more than prices.

Over time, the 66% floor tends to lift NZ Super faster than prices when real wages grow. In our calculators we hold NZ Super level in today's dollars (it rises with prices only), as Sorted does. That is slightly cautious. The retirement calculator has an option to let it grow with wages instead.

When and how it is paid

• Fortnightly. NZ Super is paid every two weeks into your bank account. If you are budgeting weekly, halve the fortnightly amount.
• From your 65th birthday. You can apply up to 12 weeks before you turn 65. Apply on or before your birthday and you are paid from that date; apply later and payments start from the date you apply, not your birthday. See NZ Super eligibility.
• Winter extra. From 1 May to 1 October the Winter Energy Payment is added automatically: $20.46 a week for a single person, $31.82 for a couple.
• No income or asset test. Working, savings and property do not reduce your own NZ Super. An overseas pension can.

What to expect in April 2027

No 1 April 2027 rates had been published when we checked on 12 November 2026. The adjustment will use the CPI for the year to December 2026, which Stats NZ releases in January, and the average wage figures published before 1 March 2027. The rates order is usually made in early March. We update this page and the calculators when Work and Income publishes the new figures.

Several parties went into the 2026 election with proposals about NZ Super, such as raising the age to 67 or limiting it to citizens. These are NOT LAW. Our NZ Super and the 2026 election guide tracks them.

This is general information, not financial advice. Work and Income confirms your actual entitlement when you apply.

Questions

How much is NZ Super a week in 2026?

After tax at the M code: $555.15 for a single person living alone, $512.45 for a single person sharing, and $427.04 each for a couple ($854.08 together). These apply from 1 April 2026.

Is NZ Super paid weekly or fortnightly?

Fortnightly. Work and Income publishes fortnightly rates; the weekly figures people quote are half the fortnightly amount.

What is the gross NZ Super rate?

Before tax it is $1,294.74 a fortnight for a single person living alone, $1,191.14 sharing, and $984.28 each for a couple. The law sets the after-tax rates, and the gross figures are worked back from them.

When will NZ Super go up next?

On 1 April 2027. The rise follows the CPI for the year to December 2026, with a top-up if the couple rate would fall below 66% of the net average wage. The new rates had not been published at 12 November 2026.