Who can get Veteran's Pension

Criteria you need to meet

You may qualify for Veteran's Pension if you:

• have served in the New Zealand Armed Forces on Qualifying Operational Service
• are 65 or older
• either:
  • are a New Zealand (NZ) citizen
  • are an NZ permanent resident, or
  • hold an NZ residence class visa
• are ordinarily resident in New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Niue or Tokelau when you apply, and
• have lived in New Zealand for a certain amount of time.

If you are ordinarily resident in a country NZ has a Social Security Agreement (SSA) with when you apply for Veteran's Pension, you may still qualify. There may be additional criteria you need to meet, it depends on your situation. 

If you get other income, it may affect your Veteran's Pension payments.

You must have lived in NZ

You must have lived in New Zealand for a certain number of years from age 20. This must include 5 years from age 50.

The total number of years you need is based on your date of birth. 

These years (including the 5 years from age 50) do not need to be consecutive.

What we mean by 'have lived in NZ'

When we say 'have lived in NZ', we mean you were 'resident' and 'physically present' in NZ at the same time.

If you left NZ to travel overseas, this period may not be counted as having lived in NZ. Read the definition to find out more.

You're a refugee or protected person

If you're recognised as a refugee or protected person, the number of years may be worked out differently. It depends on the age you started living in NZ.

Work out how many years you need

Use the table below to work out how many years you must have lived in NZ.

Date of birth	Total number of years you must have lived in NZ from age 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

Example - born in 1961

Your date of birth is 28 March 1961. You must have lived in NZ for at least 11 years from age 20. The 11 years must include 5 years from age 50.

The 11 years (including the 5 years from age 50) do not need to be consecutive.

Haven't lived in NZ for required years

If you haven't lived in NZ the whole time, you may be able to use another country to meet this 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).

SSA countries are: Australia, Canada, Denmark, Greece, Ireland, Jersey, Guernsey, Malta, the Netherlands, South Korea and United Kingdom.

Wait until you meet the residence criteria

If you don't meet the residence criteria when you're 65, you can wait until either:

• you've lived in NZ for the required number of years, or
• you can use another country to meet this criteria.

Then you can apply for NZ Super (as long as you meet all the other criteria).

If you get other income

If you get other income, it may affect your Veteran's Pension payments.

Getting other income may also mean the tax code you use could change. This means you could get less for your Veteran's Pension payments, it depends what tax code you're on.

If you get an overseas pension, you can still get Veteran's Pension. However this could affect your Veteran's Pension payment.

How much you can get for Veteran's Pension