Pursuant to section 5 of the Social Security Act 1964, the Minister for Social Development makes the following instrument.

I n s t r u m e n t

1. Title—This instrument is the Ministerial Direction—Living Alone Payments Amendment 2014.

2. Commencement—This instrument comes into force on 7 December 2014.

3. Principal direction—This instrument amends the direction formerly titled the Ministerial Direction—Living Alone Payments dated the 23rd day of November 1999* (the principal direction).

4. Title of principle direction amended—In the title, replace

“Living Alone Payments”

with

“Single Living Alone Rates”.

5. Principal direction amended—Amend the principal direction in the manner set out in the Schedule.

Schedule

Clause 5

Amendments to principal direction

Enacting formula

In the enacting formula, replace “applications for living alone payments and reviews of living alone payments” with “assessments and reviews of single living alone rates”.

Heading above preamble

Replace the heading above the preamble with “Entitlement to single living alone rate”.

Preamble

Replace the preamble with:

“You must have regard to the matters set out in this direction if, under section 12 or 81 of the Social Security Act 1964, you are assessing or reviewing a person’s entitlement to receive the single living alone rate of New Zealand superannuation.”

Clause 1

Replace clause 1 with:

“1. Interpretation—In this direction, living alone and single living alone rate have the same meanings as in section 4 of the New Zealand Superannuation and Retirement Income Act 2001.”

Clause 2

Above clause 2, insert:

“2. Meaning of house or flat”.

In clause 2, replace “2. You should” with “When assessing whether a person is living alone, you should”.

In clause 2, replace “an Applicant” with “the person”.

Dated at Wellington this 27th day of November 2014.

Hon ANNE TOLLEY, Minister for Social Development.

Explanatory Note

This note is not part of the instrument, but is intended to indicate its general effect.

This instrument, which comes into force on 7 December 2014, retitles and amends the Ministerial Direction—Living Alone Payments* given under section 5 of the Social Security Act 1964 (“the Act”). The amendments reflect that living alone payments were replaced by the single living alone rate of New Zealand superannuation and veteran’s pension by the Social Assistance (Living Alone Payments) Amendment Act 2013, but limit the scope of the direction to the assessment of entitlement to the single living alone rate of New Zealand superannuation because of an amendment to section 5 of the Act made by the Veterans’ Support Act 2014. The instrument also inserts clause headings in the direction.

*New Zealand Gazette, 25 November 1999, No. 177, page 4235