Social Security Act 2018

Administration - Commencement, stand downs, ending, and expiry and regrant - Ending of benefits

325: General rule if person’s entitlement to benefit ceases

You could also call this:

"What happens to your benefit when you're no longer entitled to it"

If your entitlement to a benefit stops, the benefit will end on a date set by the Ministry of Social Development. This date is not earlier than the pay day before your entitlement stops and not later than the pay day after it stops. You can find more information about this in sections 326 to 330 and regulations made under section 441(1), (2)(d), and (4A).

When your benefit stops, you might still get some payments, like the benefit you were getting and other help you were getting under this Act. This happens if you were getting these payments just before your benefit stopped and you would have kept getting them if your benefit had not stopped.

You can also look at section 441(1), (2)(d), and (4A) for more details about these payments and how they work.

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This page was last updated on 19 July 2025

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM6783802.

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324: Effect of participation in certain activities on non-entitlement period, or

"Doing approved activities can end your wait time for a benefit sooner"

326: After death of beneficiary receiving specified benefit, or

"What happens to certain benefits when the person receiving them dies"

Part 6Administration
Commencement, stand downs, ending, and expiry and regrant: Ending of benefits

325General rule if person’s entitlement to benefit ceases

If a person’s entitlement to a benefit ceases, the benefit ends on a date that is set by MSD and is—
not earlier than the pay day before the date on which the person’s entitlement ceases; and
not later than the pay day after the date on which the person’s entitlement ceases.

This section is subject to sections 326 to 330, and to regulations made under section 441(1), (2)(d), and (4A), which require conditional payments of—
the specified benefit; and
all other assistance under this Act—
1. that is payable to the person immediately before the expiry date for the specified benefit; and
2. that would have continued to be payable to the person had their specified benefit not expired.

Compare

1964 No 136 s 80BD(1), (2)

Notes

Section 325(2): replaced, on 1 July 2025, by section 49 of the Social Security Amendment Act 2025 (2025 No 25).