A New Zealand pension loophole is letting Australians who never contributed a dollar to NZ taxpayers retire here and claim NZ Super—avoiding Australia's means-tested pension in the process.
Mate, this isn't a social security agreement. It's a one-way ticket to retirement funded by Kiwis who actually live here.
The case that sparked outrage: a person born in New Zealand but who's worked in Australia since age 22 wants to move back and claim NZ Super at 67. They openly admitted they're "trying to avoid" Australia's means-tested pension, implying they have assets that would disqualify them across the Tasman.
Under current rules, they can do exactly that. New Zealand's social security agreement with Australia counts Australian working years toward NZ Super eligibility, according to RNZ money correspondent Susan Edmunds.
The kicker: NZ Super isn't means-tested. While Australia checks your assets and income before handing over a pension, New Zealand just checks residency and age.
Edmunds expressed skepticism, noting it feels unfair for someone who "spent most of [their] working life paying tax in Australia" to then be "supported by New Zealand taxpayers." But she acknowledged these are the current rules.
There's a partial offset: any Australian pension entitlements get deducted from NZ Super payments. But if you're wealthy enough to fail Australia's means test, you get zero from Canberra—and full NZ Super from .
