Decision guidelines - married, civil union or de facto clients

While New Zealand Superannuation should generally be stopped when the qualifying client is imprisoned, there is discretion for payment to be continued to the qualifying client in prison or in full or part  to the partner not in prison.
 
This discretion allows payment of all or part of the New Zealand Superannuation to the partner.

If you feel that payment should be continued, and paid to the partner, this should generally be at the half married, civil union or de facto rate. However, you can pay the full married, civil union or de facto rate if you feel this is warranted after having regard to the particular circumstances of the client and their partner.

To help you decide whether it is reasonable to pay the New Zealand Superannuation to the client  in prison or to the partner of the client in prison, consider the following:

• has the period in prison already passed?
• is the client due to be released from prison shortly?
• is the likely period in prison less than 6 months?
• does the partner qualify for a statutory benefit in their own right?
• do they intend to live together when the partner is released?
• has the partner in prison applied for Home Detention?
• are there exceptional circumstances that warrant paying the full married, civil union or de facto rate of benefit to the partner who is not in prison?
• are there exceptional circumstances to treat the partner in the community as single (eg the client does not intend resuming the relationship with their partner when they are released or has decided to end the relationship due to the imprisonment)?

For further help you can contact Helpline to discuss the circumstances before you make your decision.

Note imprisonment can affect the grandparenting status of non-qualified partner couples.