Finding lost money in New Zealand.
KiwiSaver and money held by the state can both be traced through official New Zealand pages.
Last read: 1 November 2026
Pensions
State pension: Work and Income (NZ Super). The residence and age rules for NZ Super. From abroad: Work and Income says you must be ordinarily resident in New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Niue or Tokelau when you apply.
Workplace and private pensions: Inland Revenue (myIR, KiwiSaver). If you are a KiwiSaver member but do not know your provider, Inland Revenue says to look in myIR under the KiwiSaver section.
Key facts and sources
- The Financial Markets Authority reports 3,385,856 KiwiSaver members, 123.1 billion dollars under management and a mean balance of 36,349 dollars at 31 March 2025, with 1,375,820 members contributing nothing. Source: Financial Markets Authority, read 1 November 2026.
- If you are a KiwiSaver member but do not know your scheme provider, look in myIR under the KiwiSaver section, where the provider's contact details are also shown. Source: Inland Revenue, read 1 November 2026.
- After living overseas, outside Australia, for a year you can withdraw most of your KiwiSaver savings, but you cannot take out the government contributions. Source: Inland Revenue, read 1 November 2026.
- NZ Super is open to people aged 65 or older who are ordinarily resident in New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Niue or Tokelau when they apply. Source: Work and Income, read 1 November 2026.
- Money left untouched with banks or other holders is generally passed to Inland Revenue, Public Trust or Treasury after 5 years, and in limited cases sooner. Source: Inland Revenue, read 1 November 2026.
Other lost money
- Official money registers: Lost and forgotten money search (Inland Revenue). You can search by the name of a person or organisation, on the website or in myIR, to see whether Inland Revenue holds money in that name. Run by: Inland Revenue.
- Official money registers: Treasury: Lost and forgotten money. The Treasury holds trust money for six years before it moves to the Crown, and the page says to contact its Legal group about it. Run by: The Treasury.
- Lost shares: Public Trust: liquidated company surplus assets. Public Trust receives surplus assets from liquidated companies, and the page says to contact it to check. Run by: Public Trust.
Questions
How do I find a lost pension in New Zealand?
If you are a KiwiSaver member but do not know your provider, look in myIR under the KiwiSaver section. The provider's contact details are shown there too.
Can I check my New Zealand state pension from abroad?
Work and Income says you must be ordinarily resident in New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Niue or Tokelau when you apply for NZ Super. Check its eligibility page before you plan.
Can I search for other forgotten money in New Zealand?
Yes. Inland Revenue runs a name search of the money it holds, on its website or in myIR. The Treasury and Public Trust also hold some money.
Worked in more than one country?
No national tool looks across borders. PensionHunter traces pensions left behind across borders. It is run by Battersea Park Capital. Capital Find Money's founder has an interest in it, and we feature it because no national tool looks across countries. Try the free lost pension checker. Our own count of pensions left behind and the guides are free.
We always point people to the free government tracing route first, and we take nothing from financial advisers.