If you don’t have any income, you can apply to Work and Income for an ongoing benefit. The type of benefit you might qualify for will depend on whether you have children and how old your children are (see: “Dealing with Work and Income”).

Accident Compensation Act 2001, s 69, Schedule 1, clauses 65, 66, 70, 76

If the death was caused by an accident, ACC will provide a range of ongoing or one-off support for the surviving partner and children:

• Survivor’s grants – ACC will pay a one-off survivor’s grant of $7,531.49 to the deceased’s spouse or partner, and $3,765.76 to each child under 18 or other dependents.
• Weekly compensation for spouse/partner – This is paid at 60% of the rate the deceased would have got had they lived but been completely unable to work. These payments continue for five years, or until the children are all 18, whichever happens first. The payments won’t be affected if the surviving spouse/partner remarries or gets a new partner. The weekly compensation can be converted to one or more lump-sum payments.
• Weekly compensation for children – This is paid to each of the deceased’s children (or other dependants), at 20% of the rate the deceased would have got. The payments continue until the children turn 18 (or 21 if they’re studying).
• Childcare – You can get weekly payments from ACC to help pay childcare costs. The amount you get depends on how many children you have under 14. The payments continue for five years, or until your youngest child turns 14, whichever happens first. If your child has a disability, you might be able to get childcare payments for longer.