New Zealand Superannuation (NZS): Available to people who have reached the age of eligibility (currently 65 years) and who meet other eligibility criteria (eg residency). It may be paid to people who do not meet the eligibility criteria, but are married (ie married, living as married or in a civil union) to qualified recipients of NZS. People receiving NZS while under the qualifying age of 65 years are called non-qualified partners. NZS is not income tested, except when a non-qualified partner is included in the payment.
Veteran's Pension (VP): Available to ex-service personnel who have served in a war or an emergency and who are aged 65 or over and qualified for a War Disablement Pension, or aged under 65 and unable to work because of a disability. It is not income tested except where a non-qualified spouse is receiving a VP or a qualified VP recipient is aged under 65.
Overseas pensions: Some people receive a reduced rate of NZS or VP because they are also receiving overseas pensions while living in New Zealand. New Zealanders living overseas may be entitled to payment of NZS or VP overseas.
Ethnicity: Ethnicity data is self-identified and multiple ethnicities may be chosen by an individual as fits their preference or self-concept. Multiple selected ethnicities are then prioritised into a hierarchy. The Māori ethnicity has the highest priority in this hierarchy, followed by Pacific peoples. NZ European has the lowest priority.
From the dataset Benefit Fact Sheets: New Zealand Superannuation and Veteran's Pension data tables June 2025, this data was extracted:
Sheet: Recipient chars - over time
Range: D5:X55
Provided: 924 data points
Dataset originally released on:
June 2025
About this dataset
The Benefit Fact Sheets provide a high-level view of trends in social welfare receipt. This dataset focuses on New Zealand Superannuation and Veteran's Pension recipients.