How long do I need to have lived in New Zealand to get NZ Super?

How many years, exactly?

It depends on your date of birth. Section 8(4) of the New Zealand Superannuation and Retirement Income Act 2001 sets what it calls the total time requirement:

At least ten of those years have to be in New Zealand itself. Any remainder can be in New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Niue or Tokelau.

What is the five years since 50?

A second test that sits alongside the first. Section 8(3) says that since reaching 50 you must have been resident and present in New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Niue or Tokelau for at least five years in total.

The two tests are separate. Plenty of years in your twenties and thirties do not help if you have not also spent five years here after 50.

Do the years have to be in a row?

No. Work and Income are clear that "these years (including the 5 years from age 50) do not need to be consecutive."

What counts as a year living here?

Being resident and physically present at the same time. Work and Income put it this way: "When we say 'have lived in NZ', we mean you were 'resident' and 'physically present' in NZ at the same time."

That has a practical edge. Work and Income note that if you left New Zealand to travel overseas, that period may not be counted as having lived here.

What else do I need?

Section 7(1) entitles a person to New Zealand Superannuation once they "attain the age of 65 years".

Work and Income list the remaining criteria. You need to be a New Zealand citizen, 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.

One thing that is not a test: you can keep working while you get it, though Work and Income note that a change of tax code may mean less reaches you after tax.

How does the rise play out in practice?

The Act carries its own worked example. Someone born on 30 June 1967 arrives in New Zealand at 55, on 1 July 2022. Their birth date falls in the fourteen year band, so the earliest they can meet the requirement is 1 July 2036, at 69. They reach the qualifying age of 65 four years before they qualify.

For anyone arriving later in life, that gap between turning 65 and qualifying is the number that matters.

Can time overseas help?

Sometimes. New Zealand's Social Security Agreement with Australia is one example. Work and Income say that if you haven't lived here for the required time, "you may be able to use your Australian residence to meet this criteria." That has its own guide.

What this guide does not tell you

It does not tell you what you would be paid, or how the rate changes if you live alone, have a partner, or move overseas after you start receiving it.

It also leaves alone the different rules for refugees and protected persons, which section 8A treats separately and Work and Income say depend on the age you started living here; the exact tests for being ordinarily resident; and how overseas pensions are deducted once you are receiving New Zealand Superannuation.

If your own years are close to the line, count them in months with real dates. Work and Income can check them for you.