NZ Super Living Overseas: Can You Keep Getting It Abroad? (NZ)

Most people can keep NZ Super while living overseas, but how much you receive depends on where you go. General portability pays a slice based on your NZ residence, the Pacific has its own arrangement, and Australia and other agreement countries work differently again. Here is how each path works.

Retiring overseas is a common plan — to be closer to family, to a warmer climate, or back to a country of origin. A fair question that often comes late in the planning is whether NZ Super travels with you, and if so, how much of it.

The short answer is that you can usually keep NZ Super while living abroad, but the rules split into three quite different paths depending on where you go: general portability for most countries, a special arrangement for a group of Pacific countries, and separate social security agreements for places like Australia and the United Kingdom. This guide walks through each, plus how the payment is taxed and what you need to tell Work and Income before and after you leave.

TL;DR: You can generally keep NZ Super overseas, but the amount changes. Under general portability you receive 1/45th of the full rate for each year you lived in NZ between 20 and 65, reaching the full rate at 45 years ². A group of 22 Pacific countries has its own arrangement — 50% at 10 years, 100% at 20 ⁶. Australia and other agreement countries work differently again ⁷. You must be ordinarily resident and present in NZ on the day you apply to be paid overseas ¹.

Can you keep getting NZ Super if you move overseas?

In most cases, yes. NZ Super is generally portable, meaning it can keep being paid while you live abroad ¹. But there is a gateway condition that catches people who leave first and ask questions later.

To be paid NZ Super overseas, you must be entitled to it in your own right, and you must be ordinarily resident and present in New Zealand on the date you apply to be paid overseas ¹. In plain terms, you need to sort the application while you are still here. You cannot move first and then apply to have it paid to you abroad in the same way.

It is also worth separating two different situations. A holiday or shorter trip is treated differently from a permanent move. If you are away for less than 26 weeks, your payments usually continue unchanged; absences beyond 26 weeks, or a permanent move, are where the portability rules and the reduced rates start to apply ⁹.

For the base eligibility rules — the residency you need before any of this is even on the table — see our guide to NZ Super rates and eligibility.

How does 'general portability' reduce your NZ Super abroad?

General portability is the default path. It applies when you move to a country that New Zealand does not have a social security agreement with, and it also applies once any overseas absence passes 26 weeks in a non-agreement situation ²⁹.

Under general portability, your payment is not the full New Zealand rate. It is calculated as 1/45th of the full rate for each year you lived in New Zealand between the ages of 20 and 65 ². So someone who lived here for the full 45 adult years reaches 100% of the rate, while someone with 30 of those years would receive 30/45ths — about two-thirds.

The rate used for overseas payments is the basic gross rate, before tax. For the 2025/26 year that is $1,254.28 per fortnight for a single person living alone, and $984.28 each per fortnight for a qualifying couple ⁴. That gross figure is the starting point; your actual payment is the relevant fraction of it based on your NZ residence.

The dollar figures for partial years above are illustrations only, calculated from the published basic gross rate ⁴; your actual entitlement is worked out by MSD from your residence record.

Two things are easy to miss. First, this uses the gross rate, which differs from the net "in the hand" rate you may be used to seeing — for context, the single-living-alone net rate on the M tax code was $1,076.84 per fortnight for 2025/26 ³. Second, the years that count are NZ adult residence between 20 and 65, not your total years on the planet. How those residence years are counted is covered in our NZ Super residency years and rules guide.

What are the special rules for moving to the Pacific?

A number of Pacific countries sit outside general portability under a Special Portability Arrangement that covers 22 specified countries ⁶. The arrangement is more generous than the 1/45th formula at the lower end of residence.

Under it, you receive half (50%) of the basic rate if you lived in New Zealand for 10 years since age 20, a pro-rata amount of 1/20th of the basic rate per year between 10 and 20 years, and the full basic rate after 20 or more years of NZ residence ⁶. So someone reaches 100% at 20 years here, rather than the 45 years general portability requires.

There are conditions. You must be resident and present in New Zealand when you apply, be entitled to NZ Super before you leave, and intend to live in a listed Pacific country for more than 52 weeks ⁶.

The takeaway is that for a move to one of the listed Pacific countries with a moderate NZ residence history, the Pacific arrangement can pay considerably more than general portability would. Which countries are on the list, and the exact conditions, are set by MSD, so confirm your destination is covered before you rely on it.

What happens to your Super if you move to Australia?

Australia is neither general portability nor the Pacific arrangement. It runs under the separate Social Security Agreement between New Zealand and Australia ⁷. That agreement coordinates the two countries' social security systems, so your NZ Super can continue to be paid while you live in Australia, subject to the agreement's conditions ⁷.

The practical differences matter. Under the trans-Tasman agreement your Australian residence can count toward qualifying, the proportion each country pays can be shared, and once you reach the Australian Age Pension qualifying age you are generally expected to claim it — at which point that Australian pension interacts with your NZ Super. This is a bigger topic in its own right; we cover the deduction mechanics and timing in the Australia–NZ Super agreement guide and below under tax.

Australia is not the only agreement country. New Zealand has social security agreements with several countries — including the United Kingdom — that change how, and whether, NZ Super is paid when you move there, compared with the general portability rules ⁸. If your destination is an agreement country, the agreement governs, not the 1/45th formula. Always check the specific country's agreement rather than assuming general portability applies.

Figure (described): a decision tree titled "Three ways NZ Super is paid when you live overseas." It starts with your destination country and branches into three paths — general portability, the Pacific arrangement, and an agreement country — and for each shows the eligibility test, how much is paid, and the key condition (ordinarily resident and present in NZ when you apply). Source: modelled on MSD overseas payment rules ¹²⁶⁷.

How does living abroad before 65 affect your eligibility?

There is a difference between qualifying for NZ Super in the first place and keeping it once you have it. The portability rules above assume you already qualify. Time spent overseas during your working years can affect whether you qualify at all.

To qualify for NZ Super you must have lived in New Zealand for at least 10 years since age 20, with at least 5 of those years since age 50 ⁵. That 10-year requirement is gradually increasing to 20 years, phased in by date of birth from July 2024 to July 2042 ⁵. Years spent living overseas before 65 generally do not count toward this residency test (unless an agreement lets them count), so a long stint abroad in mid-life can leave you short of the qualifying threshold.

This is the part worth planning early. If you are weighing up years overseas before retirement, it pays to know where you sit against the rising residency requirement, because falling short of qualifying is a different and harder problem than simply receiving a reduced portable rate.

How is overseas-paid NZ Super taxed?

Two tax-style issues come up when NZ Super is paid overseas, and they are easy to confuse.

The first is New Zealand's treatment. Overseas portable payments are generally worked out using the basic gross rate ⁴, and how it is then taxed depends on your tax residency and the destination country's rules — so the net amount you actually receive can differ from the gross figure.

The second, and the one that surprises people most, is the direct deduction of overseas pensions. If you receive a pension or benefit from another country — for example the UK State Pension or the Australian Age Pension — that amount is generally deducted from your NZ Super, dollar-for-dollar, under MSD's direct deduction policy ¹⁰. This applies when working out overseas-paid amounts too ¹⁰. In effect you do not receive two full state pensions for the same period; the overseas state pension offsets your NZ Super rather than stacking on top of it.

This is why two people moving to the same country can end up with very different totals: someone with a UK State Pension entitlement will see it deducted, while someone without one will not. The mechanics, and a worked example, are in our Section 70 overseas pension deduction guide. Note that direct deduction applies to overseas state pensions, not to private retirement savings — KiwiSaver and the Australian equivalent are treated differently.

What do you need to tell MSD before and after you leave?

Telling Work and Income at the right time is what keeps your payments correct and avoids a debt later. The system is built on you informing them, not the other way around.

Before you go, you generally need to tell Work and Income about your travel or move so your NZ Super is paid correctly ⁹. A trip of less than 26 weeks is usually fine and your payments continue, but absences of more than 26 weeks, or a permanent move, can change or reduce your payments depending on the country ⁹. Crucially, to be paid under portability you must apply while you are still ordinarily resident and present in New Zealand ¹ — so the application is a before-you-leave job, not an after.

A short checklist for a planned move overseas:

• Confirm you qualify for NZ Super in your own right before relying on portability ¹.
• Apply to be paid overseas while still resident and present in NZ — do not leave first ¹.
• Check which path applies to your destination — general, Pacific, or an agreement country ²⁶⁷.
• Tell Work and Income about the move, and note the 26-week threshold ⁹.
• Declare any overseas pension you receive or expect, since it will be deducted ¹⁰.

Should you get advice before retiring overseas?

Many people can handle a clean case directly with Work and Income — a full NZ working life, a move to a single country, no overseas pension in the mix. Advice tends to earn its keep where the picture is layered: a partial residence record that makes the 1/45th fraction material, a Pacific move where the special arrangement changes the maths, an agreement country with its own rules, or an overseas pension that triggers the direct deduction. The value is in seeing the whole retirement picture at once — your portable NZ Super after any deduction, any overseas pension, your KiwiSaver, and the timing of the move — rather than each piece on its own. We do not make the eligibility or deduction decisions; MSD does. But we can help you understand the likely effect and plan around it, and make sure your KiwiSaver is sorted alongside, including any transfer to Australia if that is where you are headed.

Frequently asked questions

Can I keep NZ Super if I move overseas permanently? Generally yes. NZ Super is portable, but you must be entitled to it in your own right and be ordinarily resident and present in New Zealand on the date you apply to be paid overseas ¹. How much you receive depends on the country and your NZ residence history ²⁶.

How much NZ Super will I get under general portability? You receive 1/45th of the full rate for each year you lived in New Zealand between ages 20 and 65, reaching 100% at 45 years ². It is calculated on the basic gross rate, which for a single person living alone is $1,254.28 per fortnight for 2025/26 ⁴.

Are the Pacific rules better than general portability? For a moderate NZ residence history, often yes. Under the Special Portability Arrangement covering 22 Pacific countries you get 50% of the basic rate at 10 years and the full rate at 20 years, rather than the 45 years general portability needs to reach 100% ⁶. Conditions apply, including intending to live there for more than 52 weeks ⁶.

Will my overseas pension reduce my NZ Super? Generally yes if it is a state pension. A pension or benefit from another country, such as the UK State Pension or Australian Age Pension, is usually deducted dollar-for-dollar from your NZ Super under MSD's direct deduction policy ¹⁰. Private retirement savings are treated differently.

Do I have to tell Work and Income before I leave? Yes. You generally need to tell Work and Income before you travel or move so your NZ Super is paid correctly, and you must apply to be paid overseas while still resident and present in New Zealand ¹⁹. Being away less than 26 weeks is usually fine; more than that can change your payments ⁹.

This article is general information only and is not personalised financial advice. It does not take into account your particular financial situation, goals or needs. Before acting, consider whether it's right for you and seek advice tailored to your circumstances. NZ Super rates, the residency rules, the portability formulas and the direct-deduction policy are set by the Government and can change; figures are correct as at 26 August 2025. Check current rules at workandincome.govt.nz, msd.govt.nz and ird.govt.nz. Craig Smith Business Services Ltd (FSP712931), trading as Smiths Financial, holds a Class 2 licence issued by the Financial Markets Authority and is a member of the Financial Dispute Resolution Service (FDRS). Written by Henry Smith, Financial Adviser; reviewed by Craig Smith, Principal Adviser. Last reviewed 26 August 2025.