The new residence criteria for New Zealand Superannuation (NZ Super) and Veteran's Pension affect people turning 65 from 1 July 2024.
If you're getting NZ Super or Veteran's Pension before 1 July 2024, these changes won't affect you.
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New residence criteria
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To get NZ Super or Veteran's Pension you must have lived in NZ for a certain amount of time. This is gradually increasing from 10 years to 20 years.
The number of years you must have lived in NZ since you turned 20 is based on your date of birth. You still need to have lived in NZ for at least 5 years since you turned 50.
These years (including the 5 years from age 50) do not need to be consecutive.
Use the table below to work this out:
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Date of birth
Number of years you must have lived in NZ since you turned 20
On or before 30 June 1959 10 years
1 July 1959 - 30 June 1961 11 years
1 July 1961 - 30 June 1963 12 years
1 July 1963 - 30 June 1965 13 years
1 July 1965 - 30 June 1967 14 years
1 July 1967 - 30 June 1969 15 years
1 July 1969 - 30 June 1971 16 years
1 July 1971 - 30 June 1973 17 years
1 July 1973 - 30 June 1975 18 years
1 July 1975 - 30 June 1977 19 years
On or after 1 July 1977 20 years
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If you haven't lived in NZ the whole time, you may be able to use another country to meet the residency criteria if:
it is a country that has a Social Security Agreement (SSA) with NZ, or
it is a NZ Realm country (the Cook Islands, Niue or Tokelau).
If you're recognised as a refugee or protected person, the number of years you need is worked out differently.
Other criteria you need to meet
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As well as meeting the residence criteria, you also need to:
be 65 or older
either:
be a New Zealand (NZ) citizen
be a permanent resident, or
hold a residence class visa, and
be ordinarily resident in New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Niue or Tokelau when you apply.
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www.workandincome.govt.nz...
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Some Choice News!
DOC is rolling out a new tool to help figure out what to tackle first when it comes to protecting our threatened species and the things putting them at risk.
Why does this matter? As Nikki Macdonald from The Post points out, we’re a country with around 4,400 threatened species. With limited time and funding, conservation has always meant making tough calls about what gets attention first.
For the first time, DOC has put real numbers around what it would take to do everything needed to properly safeguard our unique natural environment. The new BioInvest tool shows the scale of the challenge: 310,177 actions across 28,007 sites.
Now that we can see the full picture, it brings the big question into focus: how much do we, as Kiwis, truly value protecting nature — and what are we prepared to invest to make it happen?
We hope this brings a smile!
Poll: 🤖 What skills do you think give a CV the ultimate edge in a robot-filled workplace?
The Reserve Bank has shared some pretty blunt advice: there’s no such thing as a “safe” job anymore 🛟😑
Robots are stepping into repetitive roles in factories, plants and warehouses. AI is taking care of the admin tasks that once filled many mid-level office jobs.
We want to know: As the world evolves, what skills do you think give a CV the ultimate edge in a robot-filled workplace?
Want to read more? The Press has you covered!
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52.7% Human-centred experience and communication
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14.7% Critical thinking
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29.8% Resilience and adaptability
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2.7% Other - I will share below!
Share your favourite main crop potato recipe and win a copy of our mag!
Love potatoes? We will give away free copies of the May 2026 issue to readers whose potato recipes are used in our magazine. To be in the running, make sure you email your family's favourite way to enjoy potatoes: mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, by March 1, 2026.
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