ACC Survivor Grant Amount 2026: NZ Funeral Grants and Survivor Payments Compared

New Zealand has three separate government agencies that pay survivor grants after a death — and most families only know about one of them. The agency that applies to your situation determines both how much you can claim and whether asset testing applies at all. Getting this wrong means either leaving substantial money on the table or applying through the wrong channel and creating repayment complications later.

This article covers the current grant amounts from ACC, Veterans' Affairs, and Work and Income, and explains which channel applies to your circumstances.

The Three Grant Channels: Which One Applies?

ACC (Accident Compensation Corporation) applies when the death was the direct result of an accident — motor vehicle crash, workplace injury, medical misadventure, or criminal act. ACC benefits are significantly more generous than Work and Income, and critically, they are not subject to any income or asset testing.

Veterans' Affairs New Zealand applies when the deceased had qualifying military service. The surviving spouse and dependent children of a veteran may claim both a one-off lump sum and an ongoing pension, regardless of which cause the death was attributed to.

Work and Income (WINZ) applies in all other cases — deaths from natural causes or illness where neither ACC nor Veterans' Affairs qualifies. Work and Income benefits are subject to strict income and asset limits and pay significantly lower amounts than the other two channels.

If ACC or Veterans' Affairs applies to your situation, do not apply through Work and Income first. Receiving a WINZ payment when ACC should have been the primary payer can create clawback obligations.

ACC Survivor Grant Amounts 2026

All ACC payments are indexed annually. The current 2026 figures are:

Funeral Grant: Up to $7,990.30 Paid to cover funeral expenses when the death is covered by ACC. The funeral director submits an itemized invoice. For homicide victims, an additional $10,000 is available. This grant is not income tested.

Survivor's Grant (lump sum):

• Surviving spouse or partner: $8,566.62 (one-off, tax-free)
• Each dependent child under 18: $4,283.32 (one-off, tax-free)

Weekly Compensation: Dependents who relied on the deceased's income may receive ongoing weekly payments — up to 80% of the deceased's pre-injury earnings. Payments are distributed proportionally: typically 60% to the surviving spouse and 20% to each dependent child. These payments continue until the children reach adulthood or the surviving spouse remarries or enters a new de facto relationship.

Childcare Payments:

• 1 child under 14: $182.17 per week
• 2 children: $218.60 per week
• 3 or more children: $255.03 per week

Childcare payments run for five years or until the youngest qualifying child turns 14, whichever comes first.

Concurrent NZ Super: Under recent legislative changes, a surviving spouse of retirement age who was receiving NZ Super can receive both their NZ Super and ACC weekly survivor compensation simultaneously for up to 24 months. This is a significant financial advantage that many families miss.

To start ACC claims, use the myTrove Notify portal to trigger ACC notification, then contact ACC directly with the death certificate and evidence of the accident or injury that caused the death. ACC may request the coroner's report, medical records, or police documentation depending on the type of accident.

Veterans' Affairs Survivor Grant Amounts

Veterans' Affairs Survivor's Grant (lump sum):

• Surviving spouse or partner: $33,315.48 (one-off)
• Each dependent child: $13,326.20 (one-off)

This is one of the largest lump sum payments available to surviving families in New Zealand and is substantially higher than the ACC equivalent for spouses.

Surviving Spouse Pension:

• $216.02 per week ongoing

The pension is paid indefinitely as long as the surviving spouse does not enter a new marriage or de facto relationship. If claimed within six months of the death, the pension is backdated to the day after the death. If claimed later, entitlement begins from the date the application is received — meaning late claims permanently forfeit up to six months of payments.

Dependent Children's Pension:

• $231.29 per week per dependent child

Children's pensions continue until the child finishes full-time education or reaches adulthood.

Veterans' Affairs also works alongside Work and Income — a surviving spouse may receive the Surviving Spouse Pension in addition to NZ Superannuation under certain conditions. Confirm the interaction with Veterans' Affairs when applying.

Work and Income Funeral Grant Maximum

The WINZ Funeral Grant provides a maximum of $2,697.43 toward funeral costs. This is subject to strict income and asset testing — total cash assets (the deceased's and the survivor's combined) must fall below approximately $2,351.46 for a couple before the grant is available at full rate. Cash held in KiwiSaver and the family home are generally exempt from this asset test, but small savings accounts, bank balances, and prepaid funeral bonds may count.

The grant is paid directly to the funeral director for outstanding invoices. Do not pay the funeral director in full before applying — the grant is intended for estates that cannot cover the cost, and paying it yourself may immediately disqualify you.

For deaths that qualify for ACC's funeral grant ($7,990.30), the Work and Income grant is essentially redundant — ACC pays nearly three times as much with no asset testing. Always confirm cause of death and ACC eligibility before lodging a WINZ application.

Why the Channel Matters More Than the Amount

The dollar amounts above assume the claim is lodged through the correct agency. A family who applies to Work and Income because it's the most visible option — and their loved one died in a workplace accident — may receive $2,697 when they were entitled to $7,990. If Work and Income then discovers ACC should have been the primary payer, they may seek to recover their payment from the estate, creating additional administrative burden on top of the original shortfall.

The sequencing rule is straightforward:

1. If the death was accidental → ACC first
2. If the deceased had qualifying military service → Veterans' Affairs first
3. All other cases → Work and Income

The New Zealand Survivor Benefits Navigator includes the eligibility decision tree, current indexed amounts for all three agencies, and the exact steps for lodging each type of claim — including what evidence each agency requires and how long processing typically takes.

See more New Zealand guides →