Working While on NZ Super Tax (2026): How Part-Time Work Past 65 Affects Your Super, Tax and KiwiSaver in NZ

Working part-time after 65 does not reduce your NZ Super, because Super is not income-tested. But your tax code does change, and your employer KiwiSaver match and the government contribution both stop. Here is how it all fits together.

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.

A lot of people approaching 65 assume that taking a part-time job will cut their NZ Super, the way an income test works in some other countries. In New Zealand it does not. NZ Super is paid in full regardless of what you earn. What does change is your tax, and what happens inside your KiwiSaver. Both are easy to get wrong, and both are easy to sort once you understand how they work.

This guide explains why your Super stays the same, how the secondary tax code works when you have a wage on top, and what happens to your KiwiSaver contributions once you cross 65.

TL;DR: Working part-time does not reduce your NZ Super — it is not income-tested ¹. But your wage is taxed, and the secondary tax code on your job needs to match your total income or too much (or too little) tax comes out ⁴⁶. After 65, your employer's compulsory KiwiSaver contributions and the government contribution both stop; you can still contribute voluntarily ⁷.

Does working part-time reduce your NZ Super?

No. NZ Super is a universal pension, not a means-tested benefit. Your eligibility is based on your age (65 or over) and your residency, not on what you earn or what you have saved ¹. You can work full days, run a small business, or pick up casual shifts, and your gross Super entitlement is exactly the same as someone the same age who has stopped work entirely.

This is genuinely different from the systems many migrants are used to. In a number of countries the state pension reduces, dollar for dollar or on a sliding scale, as your other income rises. New Zealand does not do that. The trade-off is that NZ Super is taxable income, so while your Super is not clawed back, the wage you earn alongside it is taxed ².

So the headline is reassuring: working does not cost you any Super. The detail that follows is about tax, not entitlement.

Why NZ Super is not income-tested (unlike most countries)

NZ Super is funded from general taxation and paid to everyone who meets the age and residency rules, at a flat rate set by your living situation ¹. There is no application of an income or asset test at any point. That design is deliberate: it keeps the system simple to administer and predictable for people planning retirement.

For someone weighing up part-time work, the practical effect is that the question "will this job affect my Super?" has a clean answer — no. The real planning question shifts to "how is my total income taxed, and am I on the right codes?" That is where the value sits, and where mistakes quietly cost people money.

If you want the full breakdown of current rates and the residency rules, our guide to NZ Super rates and eligibility covers them in detail.

What tax code should you use when you work and get Super?

NZ Super is paid to you net — that is, the tax is already taken out before it reaches your account, based on the tax code you give Work and Income ². For most people whose Super is their main income, that code is M.

When you add a part-time job, you have two income sources. Inland Revenue's rule is that you use the main code (usually M) on your largest source of income, and a secondary code on the other one ⁶. In practice, many people leave NZ Super on M as their main income and put the secondary code on their wage.

The secondary code is not a penalty. It exists so that the tax taken across both incomes adds up correctly, because New Zealand income tax is progressive — every dollar of total income is taxed in bands, and a flat code on a second job would otherwise under-tax it. The progressive brackets for the 2025/26 year are ⁵:

The secondary code you choose for the job is meant to match the band your total income (Super plus wage) falls into ⁶:

Inland Revenue's tax code questionnaire (the IR330) walks you through which code applies, and you can use IRD's online tool to confirm it ⁶.

How does the secondary tax code trap catch Super recipients?

Here is the part that catches people out. NZ Super is paid net of tax at whatever code applies to it, so if Super itself ends up on a secondary code — or on the wrong one — the amount that lands in your account drops noticeably.

The table below shows the single, living-alone Super payment (gross $1,294.74 a fortnight) under each code, so you can see how much a wrong code overdeducts ⁴:

Source: Work and Income (MSD), rates effective 1 April 2025 ⁴.

The gap between M and SA is about $320 a fortnight on the same gross entitlement. The point of the table is not that one code is "better" — it is that the code has to fit your real situation. Two things commonly go wrong:

• Super left on M when the wage should carry the secondary code, but the wage is on a flat or wrong code. Too little tax comes out during the year, and a bill arrives at the end of it.
• A secondary code applied that is higher than your total income justifies. Too much tax comes out every fortnight. You usually get it back after year-end, but you have been without that money in the meantime.

Neither outcome reduces your entitlement. They change your cashflow and your year-end position. Getting the codes right across Super and your job is the whole game, and it is worth a quick check rather than a guess.

Do you and your employer still pay into KiwiSaver after 65?

This is where the rules genuinely change at 65, and it is the part most worth knowing before you take a job.

The government contribution stops. Eligibility for the KiwiSaver government contribution runs from age 16 to 65 ⁷. Before 65, the government adds 25 cents for every $1 you contribute, up to a maximum of $260.72 a year, provided you put in at least $1,042.86 of your own money between 1 July and 30 June (and earn under $180,000) ⁸⁹. That figure was halved from $521.43 effective 1 July 2025 ⁸. From the year you turn 65, none of this applies — there is no government top-up on contributions made after that point ⁷.

Compulsory employer contributions stop. Once you are 65, your employer is no longer required to make the compulsory KiwiSaver contribution ⁷. Some employers choose to keep contributing — that depends on your individual employment agreement — but the legal obligation falls away. Below 65, the compulsory minimum employer rate is 3% of your gross pay, matching the 3% minimum employee rate (the employee and employer minimum is scheduled to rise to 3.5% from 1 April 2026) ¹⁰.

You can still contribute voluntarily. If you remain a member, you can keep putting your own money in after 65 ⁷. The two sweeteners are gone, but the fund itself keeps working — your money stays invested and continues to earn returns (which can go up as well as down). Whether that is the right home for the money, versus other options, is a personal call.

For more on what unlocks at 65 and the three ways to take your KiwiSaver, see our guide to withdrawing your KiwiSaver at 65.

What changes for your money when you keep working past 65

Source: IRD and Work and Income guidance, as at 16 October 2025 ¹⁶⁷⁸¹⁰.

How does extra income affect your overall tax bill?

Because tax is progressive, your wage stacks on top of your Super and is taxed at the rate for that combined band ⁵. A simple way to think about it: NZ Super for a single person living alone is roughly $28,000 a year gross ², which sits inside the 17.5% band. Add a part-time wage and the top slice of your income may be taxed at 17.5% or, if the wage is larger, 30%.

For a couple, each partner's Super (gross $984.28 a fortnight each) and each person's own income are assessed individually for their own codes ³. There is no household income test on Super itself — but each person's tax still follows their own total income.

The practical upshot: extra income is taxed at your marginal rate, not at some penalty rate, and not by reducing your Super. If your codes are set correctly across Super and the job, the right amount of tax comes out as you go and there is no nasty surprise at year-end. If they are not, you either overpay through the year or face a bill — which is exactly what a quick code check is designed to prevent.

Should you keep contributing to KiwiSaver while working past 65?

There is no single answer, and it depends on your circumstances rather than a rule. A few things to weigh up:

• The incentives are gone. Without the employer match and the government contribution, contributing after 65 is just you moving your own money into an invested fund. That can still make sense, but the "free money" that made it compelling before 65 no longer applies ⁷.
• It stays invested and at market risk. KiwiSaver is a long-term investment, not a savings account. The value can fall as well as rise, and you may get back less than you put in. Money you expect to spend within a few years generally sits differently from money you will not touch for a decade.
• Access is no barrier. After 65 you can withdraw whenever you like, so contributing does not lock your money away the way it did earlier in life ⁷.

Some people keep contributing through PAYE because it is automatic and tidy; others would rather hold the money elsewhere or spend it. The decision turns on your wider plan — your other income, how long the money has to last, and your comfort with market ups and downs. This is general information, not a recommendation. To get advice tailored to your circumstances, book a conversation.

How part-time work changes your drawdown plan

Working past 65 does more than add income — it can reshape when and how you draw on your savings. If a wage covers your day-to-day costs, you may not need to touch your KiwiSaver yet, which leaves more of it invested and compounding for longer. That can let you delay drawdowns, or take smaller ones, and give a growth-oriented balance more time to do its work (with the usual caveat that returns are not guaranteed).

It also affects the order you spend things in. Some people use part-time earnings as the first layer on top of Super, and only draw KiwiSaver for larger or irregular costs. Others wind work down gradually and lean more on drawdowns over time. Turning a KiwiSaver balance into a reliable income is its own discipline — our guide to KiwiSaver decumulation and drawdown walks through the options.

If you are self-employed and there is no employer in the picture at all, the contribution and tax mechanics work differently again — see retirement planning when you have no employer.

Frequently asked questions

Does working part-time reduce my NZ Super? No. NZ Super is not income- or asset-tested. Your gross entitlement is based on your age and residency, not your earnings, so working part-time does not reduce your Super payments ¹.

What tax code should I use if I work and get NZ Super? Generally you use M on your main income (often the Super) and a secondary code on the other source. The secondary code — S, SH, ST or SA — should match the band your total income from all sources falls into, so the right amount of tax comes out across both ⁴⁶.

Will I get a tax bill at the end of the year if I work on Super? You can, if your tax codes do not match your total income and too little tax is deducted through the year. Because income tax is progressive, all your income is assessed together, so getting the codes right across Super and your job is what avoids a year-end surprise ⁵⁶.

Does my employer still have to pay into my KiwiSaver after 65? No. Compulsory employer contributions stop once you turn 65. Some employers continue voluntarily, which depends on your employment agreement, but they are no longer legally required to contribute ⁷.

Do I still get the government KiwiSaver contribution after 65? No. Eligibility for the government contribution ends at age 65. Before then it is up to $260.72 a year if you contribute at least $1,042.86 yourself and earn under $180,000 ⁷⁸⁹.

Can I keep paying into KiwiSaver after 65? Yes, you can keep contributing voluntarily if you remain a member. Returns are not guaranteed and the value can go down as well as up. Whether it suits you depends on your wider plan, so it is worth talking through ⁷.

Smiths Financial is a trading name of Craig Smith Business Services Ltd (FSP712931), which holds a Class 2 financial advice provider licence issued by the Financial Markets Authority to provide financial advice on personal risk insurance, health insurance, general insurance, KiwiSaver and managed funds. Our advisers, Henry Smith (Financial Adviser) and Craig Smith (Principal Adviser), are bound by the Code of Professional Conduct for Financial Advice Services and the duty to give priority to clients' interests. Craig Smith Business Services Ltd is a member of the Financial Dispute Resolution Service (FDRS), a free and independent dispute resolution scheme. Our publicly available disclosure information is available free of charge on request and on the FMA Financial Service Providers Register at fsp-register.companiesoffice.govt.nz. To get advice tailored to your circumstances, book a conversation.

KiwiSaver is a long-term savings scheme. Government contributions, contribution rates, withdrawal rules and tax (PIR) settings are set by the Government and can change. Figures are correct as at 16 October 2025. Check current rules at ird.govt.nz, kiwisaver.govt.nz and sorted.org.nz, and the relevant scheme's Product Disclosure Statement. Returns are not guaranteed. The value of investments can go down as well as up and you may get back less than you invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

Written by Henry Smith, Financial Adviser at Smiths Financial (FSP712931). Last reviewed 16 October 2025.