Advance Payment of Benefit: getting part of your benefit early
An Advance Payment of Benefit lets you get some of your future benefit or pension now, to pay for an urgent cost. It is for people already getting a main benefit, NZ Super or Veteran's Pension. Unlike a food grant, you pay it back, usually through small deductions from your payments.
It can be the right answer when the washing machine dies, the car fails its warrant, or your child needs a school uniform. But because it is debt, it is worth checking first whether a Special Needs Grant, which often does not need to be repaid, would cover the cost.
The basics
- Who can get it: People on a main benefit such as Jobseeker Support or Sole Parent Support, Orphan's Benefit or Unsupported Child's Benefit, NZ Super or Veteran's Pension.
- You pay it back: It is an advance on your own future payments, not a grant.
- It is for an essential or urgent cost: Something you need now and cannot pay another way.
- Cash asset limit: From 1 April 2026, under $1,411.22 if you are single or $2,351.46 for a couple or sole parent. Your home, car and everyday belongings do not count.
- The most you can owe: All your unpaid advances together cannot be more than 6 weeks of your benefit, including your partner's share.
- It is usually paid to the seller: Work and Income pays the business directly, or loads the money onto a payment card that expires after 7 days.
What it can help with
Work and Income lists a wide range of costs, including:
- appliances and furniture, such as a fridge, washing machine or bed
- car repairs
- clothing, school uniforms and school costs
- dental treatment, dentures, glasses and hearing aids
- power, gas and water bills
- essential repairs to your home, and losses after a fire or burglary
- travel to a funeral or tangihanga, or if you are stranded
- the cost of ending a tenancy early, or a Tenancy Tribunal fee
- safety footwear for work and child car seats
Other costs are looked at case by case. Work and Income also has guide amounts for each cost. For example, $400 for car repairs, $300 per child for school uniforms, $1,000 for dentures, hearing aids or essential home repairs, and $200 for most other items.
How repayments work
Repayments come out of your benefit or pension each week. They are set so the advance is repaid within 24 months, and Work and Income's guidance is that repayments on all your debts together should usually be no more than $40 a week, unless you agree in writing to pay more.
Worked example. Lisa is on NZ Super and lives alone. Her fridge stops working, and a new one from Work and Income's preferred supplier costs $900. She has $400 in savings.
Her savings: $400 is under the $1,411.22 limit, and not enough to buy the fridge.
The cap: 6 weeks of her NZ Super is well over $900, and she has no other advances, so the cost fits.
Payment: Work and Income pays the supplier directly.
Repayment: at $20 a week, she would repay the $900 in 45 weeks.
The catch
- It is debt. Each advance lowers what you can borrow next time, and existing debt to Work and Income counts against your 6-week limit. If you already owe that much, you generally will not qualify.
- Other debts are looked at. Work and Income checks hire purchase, loans and fines, and whether repayments would still leave you enough to live on.
- Check for a grant first. For bedding, dental treatment and some other costs, a Special Needs Grant may be available, and many of those do not need to be paid back.
- Preferred suppliers. For whiteware and glasses, Work and Income uses preferred suppliers. You cannot use the advance for a private sale, such as a second-hand fridge from Marketplace.
- Repeat help comes with conditions. After 3 or more grants or advances in 12 months, you may be asked to work with a budgeting service.
Do this next
- Get a quote or price for what you need.
- Ask yourself whether a Special Needs Grant might cover it, and ask Work and Income to check that first.
- Phone Work and Income on 0800 559 009 to apply.
- Agree a repayment amount you can manage. You can ask for it to be kept low.
- If you are not on a benefit, ask about a Recoverable Assistance Payment instead.
- For free, confidential help with debt and budgeting, phone MoneyTalks on 0800 345 123.
Going in to see Work and Income? Our free Interview Room helps you get ready.
Common questions
Do I have to pay an Advance Payment of Benefit back?
Yes. It comes out of your future benefit or pension in small weekly amounts.
How much can I get?
It depends on the cost and your situation. All your unpaid advances together cannot be more than 6 weeks of your benefit, and each type of cost has a guide amount.
I am working and not on a benefit. Can I get one?
No, but you may be able to get a Recoverable Assistance Payment, which works in a similar way and is also paid back.
Can I get one if I already owe Work and Income money?
Possibly, but what you already owe comes off the amount you can get. If you already owe 6 weeks of benefit or more, you generally will not qualify.
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Last reviewed 16 October 2026. Written by Streetwise from the official pages listed above. General information only, not legal or financial advice.